Molecular Analysis of <i>Terminalia</i> spp. Distributed in Thailand and Authentication of Crude Drugs from <i>Terminalia</i> Plants

Abstract

Terminalia, a large genus of Combretaceae, is distributed in Tropical Asia, Africa, and America. Some Terminalia plants are used in folk medicine because they possess powerful medicinal properties. Dried fruits of Terminalia bellirica and Terminalia chebula are used as the main ingredient in Triphala, a famous polyherbal formulation in Ayurvedic medicine and Thai folk medicine, because of their laxative, detoxifying, and rejuvenating effects. To clarify the phylogenetic relationships of medicinal Terminalia species (T. bellirica, T. chebula, and T. catappa) and authenticate their crude drugs, "Samo" and Triphala, nucleotide sequencing alignments in the internal transcribed spacer one-two (ITS 1-2) regions of Terminalia plants collected in Thailand were performed. The amplified fragments of Terminalia species were approximately 800 bp in length. To compare these sequences and DDBJ registered data, a molecular phylogenetic tree was constructed. Phylogenetic analysis clearly separated the sequences into two groups: Asian Terminalia and African Terminalia with some exceptions. In the analyzed sequences, the length of the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region was 674 bp in T. chebula, and 677 bp in T. bellirica and T. catappa. Eighty-one single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and nine insertion-deletions (indels) were observed, and the nucleotide sequences of this region showed species-specific sequences. Based on these differences, polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS) were applied to identify medicinal Terminalia species. Moreover, the ARMS method was chosen for fingerprinting analysis of Samo crude drugs and Triphala formulations because it was a fast, cost-effective, and reproducible approach.

The Terminalia laxiflora modulates the neurotoxicity induced by fipronil in male albino rats

“…Approximately 30 species of Terminalia are found in Africa [17]. Approximately 200 woody species of Terminalia are used as resources in the timber, pharmaceutical, and leather industries [18]. Several biological activities of Terminalia species have been reported such as antibacterial, antifungal [19], anticancer [20], anti-inflammatory [21], hypocholesterolemic [22], anti-ulcer activity [23], anticaries agent [24], antiviral [25], antioxidant, and melanin inhibitory activity [26].…”

Plants of the Genus Terminalia: An Insight on Its Biological Potentials, Pre-Clinical and Clinical Studies

“…and Terminalia chebula Retz. have been used as a polyherbal formulation in Ayurvedic and Thai folk medicine named Triphala ( Intharuksa et al., 2016 ). Therefore, Terminalia sp.…”

“…and T. chebula Retz. usually form Triphala, the well-known polyherbal formulation in Ayurvedic and Thai folk medicine, due to its pharmacological applications as a laxative, detoxifying, and rejuvenating effects ( Intharuksa et al., 2016 ). Phytochemical studies in 39 species led to the identification of 368 compounds, including terpenoids, tannins, flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, simple phenolics, among others ( Zhang et al., 2019 ).…”

Karyotype diversity in four Terminalia L. species and its taxonomic implications

“…Most of the species show anti‐bacterial, anti‐tumor, anti‐fungal, anti‐inflammatory, and anti‐viral properties (Zhang et al, 2019). The fruits of T. chebula , T. bellirica and Phyllanthus emblica L. assemble Triphala, popular Ayurvedic ingredients that have been used for a long time in the treatment of traditional medicine systems (Intharuksa et al, 2016). Terminalia arjuna is effective in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases (Priya et al, 2019).…”