24 research outputs found
Extracts of six Rubiaceae species combined with rifampicin have good in vitro synergistic antimycobacterial activity and good anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities
BACKGROUND : The Rubiaceae family has played a significant role in drug discovery by providing molecules with
potential use as templates for the development of therapeutic drugs. This study was designed to study the in
vitro synergistic effect of six Rubiaceae species in combination with a known anti-TB drug. The antioxidant and
anti-inflammatory activity of these species were also evaluated to investigate additional benefits in antimycobacterial
treatment.
METHODS : The checkerboard method was used to determine the antimycobacterial synergistic activity of plant
extracts combined with rifampicin. The antioxidant activity of extracts was determined by the 2,2-diphenyl-
1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method. Anti-inflammatory activity via inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) production was
performed in LPS-activated RAW 264.7 macrophages using the Griess assay.
RESULTS : Combination of rifampicin with the crude extracts resulted in a 4 to 256-fold increase of activity
of extracts. The crude extract of Cremaspora triflora produced the best synergistic effect with rifampicin, with
a fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) index of 0.08 against Mycobacterium aurum. Extracts of Psychotria
zombamontana had the best antioxidant activity with an IC50 value of 1.77 ÎŒg/mL, lower than the IC50 of
trolox and ascorbic acid (5.67 ÎŒg/mL and 4.66 ÎŒg/mL respectively). All the extracts tested inhibited nitric oxide (NO)
production in a concentration dependent manner with the percentage of inhibition varying from 6.73 to 86.27 %.
CONCLUSION : Some of the Rubiaceae species investigated have substantial in vitro synergistic effects with rifampicin
and also good free radical scavenging ability and anti-inflammatory activity. These preliminary results warrant further
study on these plants to determine if compounds isolated from these species could lead to the development
of bioactive compounds that can potentiate the activity of rifampicin even against resistant mycobacteria.The University of Pretoria Institutional Research Theme for Animal and
Zoonotic Diseases (IRT-AZD), National Research Foundation (NRF,
Grant No 81010) and Medical Research Council (MRC) of South
Africa provided funding to support this study. The National Research
Foundation
(NRF) provided a doctoral fellowship to AOA. The University of Pretoria
provided a postdoctoral fellowship to JPD.http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmccom/plementalternmedam2017Paraclinical Science
Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of selected Chinese medicinal plants and their relation with antioxidant content
Background: The main aim of this study is to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of forty four traditional Chinese medicinal herbal extracts and to examine these activities in relation to their antioxidant content.\ud
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Methods: The antioxidant activities were investigated using DPPH radical scavenging method and yeast model. The anti-inflammatory properties of the herbal extracts were evaluated by measuring their ability to inhibit the production of nitric oxide and TNF-alpha in RAW 264.7 macrophages activated by LPS and IFN-gamma, respectively. The cytotoxic effects of the herbal extracts were determined by Alomar Blue assay by measuring cell viability. In order to understand the variation of antioxidant activities of herbal extracts with their antioxidant contents, the total phenolics, total flavonoids and trace metal (Mg, Mn, Cu, Zn, Se and Mo) quantities were estimated and a correlation analysis was carried out.\ud
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Results: Results of this study show that significant levels of phenolics, flavonoids and trace metal contents were found in Ligustrum lucidum, Paeonia suffuticosa, Salvia miltiorrhiza, Sanguisorba officinalis, Spatholobus suberectus, Tussilago farfara and Uncaria rhyncophylla, which correlated well with their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Some of the plants displayed high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities but contained low levels of phenolics and flavonoids. Interestingly, these plants contained significant levels of trace metals (such as Zn, Mg and Se) which are likely to be responsible for their activities.\ud
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Conclusions: The results indicate that the phenolics, flavonoids and trace metals play an important role in the antioxidant activities of medicinal plants. Many of the plants studied here have been identified as potential sources of new antioxidant compounds
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