Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng. is a native Labiatae plant of Taiwan. The plants are commonly used in Chinese folk medicine for the treatment of cough, fever, sore throats, mumps, and mosquito bite. The aim of this study was to investigate the analgesic and antiinflammatory properties of the aqueous extract from Plectranthus amboinicus (PA) in vivo and in vitro. PA inhibited pain induced by acetic acid and formalin, and inflammation induced by carrageenan. The anti-inflammatory effect of PA was related to modulating antioxidant enzymes' activities in the liver and decreasing the Malondialdehyde (MDA) level and the production of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and cyclooxygenase2 (COX-2) in edema-paw tissue in mice. In vitro studies show that PA inhibited the proinflammatory mediators in RAW 264.7 cells stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). PA blocked the degradation of IκB-α and nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 subunit. Finally, the amount of carvacrol in the aqueous extract of PA was 1.88 mg/g extract. Our findings suggest that PA has analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities. These effects were mediated by inhibiting the proinflammatory mediators through blocking NF-κB activation. Meanwhile, the effects observed in this study provide evidence for folkloric uses of Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng. in relieving pain and inflammation.
Pogostemon cablin (PC) is a herbal medicine traditionally applied to treat not only common cold, nausea and diarrhea but also headache and fever. The aim of this study was to investigate the analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties of standardized PC methanol extract (PCMeOH) in vivo. Investigations were performed in mice with two analgesic models. One was acetic acid-induced writhing response and the other formalin-induced paw licking. The anti-inflammatory effect was tested by λ-carrageenan (Carr)-induced mice paw edema. These analgesic experimental results indicated that PCMeOH (1.0 g/kg) decreased the acetic acid-induced writhing responses and PCMeOH (0.5 and 1.0 g/kg) decreased the licking time in the second phase of the formalin test. Moreover, Carr-induced paw edema inflammation was significantly reduced in a dose-dependent manner when PCMeOH (0.5 and 1.0 g/kg) was administered 3 and 4 h after the Carr injection. Mechanistic studies showed that PCMeOH decreased the levels of malondialdehyde in the edema paw by increasing the activities of anti-oxidant enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase, in the liver and decreasing the cyclooxygenase 2 and tumor necrosis factor-α activities in the edema paw. This study has demonstrated the analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of PCMeOH, thus verifying its popular use in traditional medicine.
This study attempted to access the neuroprotective effect of diosgenin on the senescent mice induced by d-galactose (D-gal). The mice in the experiments were orally administered with diosgenin (1, 5, 25 and 125 mg/kg), for four weeks from the sixth week. The learning and memory abilities of the mice in Morris water maze test and the mechanism involved in the neuroprotective effect of diosgenin on the mice brain tissue were investigated. Diosgenin (5, 25 and 125 mg/kg, p.o.) showed significantly improved learning and memory abilities in Morris water maze test compared to D-gal treated mice (200 mg/kg, ten weeks). Diosgenin also increased the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and decreased the malondialdehyde (MDA) level in the brain of D-gal treated mice. These results indicated that diosgenin has the potential to be a useful treatment for cognitive impairment. In addition, the memory enhancing effect of diosgenin may be partly mediated via enhancing endogenous antioxidant enzymatic activities.
Oxidative stress and inflammation are related to several chronic diseases including cancer and atherosclerosis. Kalanchoe gracilis (L.) DC is a special folk medicinal plant in Taiwan. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative activities of the methanolic extract and fractions of the stem of K. gracilis. TEAC, total phenolic compound content, total flavonoid content, DPPH radical scavenging activity, reducing power, inhibition of NO production in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells, and inhibition of cancer cell proliferation were analyzed. Among all fractions, the chloroform fraction showed the highest TEAC and DPPH radical scavenging activities. The chloroform fraction also had the highest content of polyphenols and flavonoids. Chloroform fractions also decreased LPS-induced NO production and expressions of iNOS and COX-2 in RAW264.7 cells. The antiproliferative activities of the methanolic extract and fractions were studied in vitro using HepG2 cells, and the results were consistent with their antioxidant capacities. Chloroform fractions had the highest antiproliferative activity with an IC(50) of 136.85 ± 2.32 μg/ml. Eupafolin also had good pharmacological activity in the antioxidant, anti-inflammation and antiproliferative. Eupafolin might be an important bioactive compound in the stem of K. gracilis. The above experimental data indicated that the stem of K. gracilis is a potent antioxidant medicinal plant, and such efficacy may be mainly attributed to its polyphenolic compounds.
This study evaluated the antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of the crude extract and fractions of Desmodium triflorum (L.) DC. The total phenolic content, 1,1-diphenyl-2- picrylhydrazyl hydrate (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity, trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), reducing power, total flavonoid content of D. triflorum were evaluated for the exploration of its antioxidant activities. Furthermore, its antiproliferative activities were investigated through the MTT method. It was compared with the antioxidant capacities of known antioxidants, including catechin, alpha-tocopherol, trolox and ascorbic acid. Among all fractions, ethyl acetate fraction was the most active in scavenging DPPH and TEAC radicals, of which 0.4 mg was equivalent to 186.6 +/- 2.5 microg and 82.5 +/- 2.1 microg of alpha-tocopherol and trolox respectively. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents of the crude extract were equivalent to 36.60 +/- 0.1 mg catechin and 45.6 +/- 0.6 mg rutin per gram respectively. In the reducing power assay, 1.25 mg of crude extract was similar to 61.2 +/- 0.3 microg of ascorbic acid. For the assessment of the safety and toxicity of D. triflorum, LD(50) of the crude extract was greater than 10 g/kg when administered to mice through gastric intubation. The above experimental data indicated that D. triflorum was a potent antioxidant medicinal plant, and such efficacy may be mainly attributed to its polyphenolic compounds.
The aim of this study was to examine the antioxidant activities and phenolic components of the crude extracts of 10 Desmodium species from Taiwan. In this study, DPPH free radical scavenging activity, ABTS radical monocation scavenging activity, ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and reducing power of the 10 Desmodium species were evaluated for their antioxidant activities. The results showed that, of all the samples, Desmodium sequax was the most active in ABTS, DPPH, FRAP and reducing power assays. The total polyphenol, total flavonoid and total flavonol contents of the crude extract were calculated. The correlation coefficient (R 2 ) values of TEAC with phenolic compounds indicated strong positive correlations, except for total flavonoid content. Furthermore, HPLC chromatographic fingerprints were established, and chlorogenic acid and vitexin in D. sequax were quantified. Chlorogenic acid was confirmed to express strong antioxidant activities in ABTS, DPPH, FRAP and reducing power assays. The present study indicated the antioxidant activities of the 10 Desmodium species were related to their phenolic components. D. sequax is a potent antioxidant medicinal plant, and chlorogenic acid may be an important factor in the antioxidant activity of this plant.
This study aims to investigate the hepatoprotective activity and active constituents of the ethanol extract of Scoparia dulcis (SDE). The hepatoprotective effect of SDE (0.1, 0.5 and 1 g/kg) was evaluated on the carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4))-induced acute liver injury. The active constituents were detected by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Mice pretreated orally with SDE (0.5 and 1.0 g/kg) and silymarin (200 mg/kg) for five consecutive days before the administering of a single dose of 0.2% CCl(4) (10 ml/kg of bw, ip) showed a significant inhibition of the increase of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). Histological analyses also showed that SDE (0.5 and 1.0 g/kg) and silymarin reduced the extent of liver lesions induced by CCl(4), including vacuole formation, neutrophil infiltration and necrosis. Moreover, SDE decreased the malondialdehyde (MDA) level and elevated the content of reduced glutathione (GSH) in the liver as compared to those in the CCl(4) group. Furthermore, SDE (0.5 and 1.0 g/kg) enhanced the activities of anti-oxidative enzymes including superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GRd) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST). The quantities of active constituents in SDE were about 3.1 mg luteolin/g extract and 1.1 mg apigenin/g extract. The hepatoprotective mechanisms of SDE were likely associated to the decrease in MDA level and increase in GSH level by increasing the activities of antioxidant enzymes such as SOD, GPx, GRd and GST. These results demonstrated that SDE could alleviate CCl(4)-induced acute liver injury in mice.
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