Screening of the topical anti-inflammatory activity of the bark of Acacia cornigera Willdenow, Byrsonima crassifolia Kunth, Sweetia panamensis Yakovlev and the leaves of Sphagneticola trilobata Hitchc

J Ethnopharmacol. 2009 Apr 21; 122(3): 430-3Maldini M, Sosa S, Montoro P, Giangaspero A, Balick MJ, Pizza C, Della Loggia RETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: An investigation of topical anti-inflammatory activity was undertaken on plants used in Central America traditional medicine. AIM OF STUDY: Four herbal drugs used in the folk medicine of Central America to treat inflammatory skin affections (Acacia cornigera bark, Byrsonima crassifolia bark, Sphagneticola trilobata leaves and Sweetia panamensis bark) were evaluated for their topical anti-inflammatory activity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Petroleum ether, chloroform and methanol extracts were obtained for herbal medicines and then extracts were tested on Croton oil-induced ear dermatitis model in mice. RESULTS: Almost all the extracts reduced the Croton oil-induced ear dermatitis in mice and the chloroform ones showed the highest activity, with ID(50) (dose giving 50% oedema inhibition) values ranging from 112 microg/cm(2) (Byrsonima crassifolia) to 183 microg/cm(2) (Sphagneticola trilobata). As reference, ID(50) of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug indomethacin was 93 microg/cm(2). CONCLUSIONS: Lipophilic extracts from these species can be regarded as potential sources of anti-inflammatory principles.

Proteome changes related to the anti-cancer activity of HT29 cells by the treatment of ginsenoside Rd.

Pharmazie. 2009 Apr; 64(4): 242-7Lee SY, Kim GT, Roh SH, Song JS, Kim HJ, Hong SS, Kwon SW, Park JHGinseng is a representative herbal medicine in Asia and various pharmacological activities of ginsenoside Rd isolated from ginseng have been reported. However, anti-cancer activity and mechanism of ginsenoside Rd in HT29 colon cancer cell lines were not studied yet. We performed proteomic analysis through two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS and database to identify altered protein induced by ginsenoside Rd treatment in HT29. We can identify fourteen proteins contributed to cell growth inhibition induced by Rd. Proteins involved in the inhibition of mitosis (Stathmin1, Microtubule-associated protein RP/EB family and Stratifin) were significantly up- and down-regulated. And proteins associated with apoptosis (Rho GDP dissociation inhibitor, Tropomyosin1 and Annexin5) were significantly changed. Furthermore, ginsenoside Rd in HT29 was involved in cytoprotection, DNA replication and repair, protein synthesis and degradation, metastasis and mutagenesis. It was supposed that ginsenoside Rd contributed to induce anti-cancer activity by complementary functions of these proteins in colon cancer cells.

Separation and Purification of Epimedin A, B, C, and Icariin from the Medicinal Herb Epimedium brevicornum Maxim by Dual-Mode HSCCC.

J Chromatogr Sci. 2009 May-Jun; 47(5): 337-40Li HB, Chen FEpimedium brevicornum Maxim is a famous medicinal herb which has been widely used for the treatment of impotence, infertility, osteoporosis, cardiovascular diseases, amnesia, and senile functional diseases. A dual-mode high-speed counter-current chromatographic method is developed for the separation and purification of four bioactive flavonoids from the medicinal herb Epimedium brevicornum Maxim. The crude flavonoids are obtained by extraction with ethyl acetate and ethanol from the dried aerial parts of Epimedium brevicornum Maxim under sonication. High-speed counter-current chromatography with a two-phase solvent system composed of n-butanol-ethyl acetate-water (3:7:10, v/v) is performed using a dual-mode method, which yields 3.2 mg of epimedin A at a purity of 98.2%, 5.5 mg of epimedin B at a purity of 92.6%, 12.7 mg of epimedin C at a purity of 90.4%, and 42.9 mg of icariin at a purity of 96.8% based on the HPLC analysis. The recoveries are 95.2%, 89.4%, 91.1%, and 94.8%, respectively. The isolation of these flavonoids in adequate amounts makes them readily available for structure-activity relationship studies and for quality control of the herbal medicine.