Anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects of leaf extract from Acanthopanax trifoliatus

Acanthopanax trifoliatus is a Thai plant belonging to the ginseng family or Araliaceae, which has been traditionally used for the treatment of oxidative-stress related diseases such as lung hemorrhages, bruises, ulcers, partial paralysis, and neurosis [1–2]. Its leaves are also popularly consumed as tonic vegetables. Our recent work has shown that the decoction extract from the leaves of A. trifoliatus significantly exhibited in vitro antioxidant activity determined by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging assay and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) method for lipid peroxidation of rat brain homogenate [3]. From our previous finding, we evaluated its ability to inhibit inflammation using carrageenan-induced rat paw edema model [4]. Two hours after inflammatory induction, A. trifoliatus leaf extract showed inhibitory effect in dose-dependent manner. At the dose of 600mg/kg, the extract exhibited a significant anti-inflammation (41% inhibition, P<0.05), whereas the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, indomethacin (20mg/kg), showed 35% inhibition (P<0.05). High performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) of the leaf extract revealed peaks corresponded to some flavonoids and polyphenolics including rutin, isoquercetin, quercitrin, chlorogenic acid, 3,5-di-O-caffeolylquinic acid and 4,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid which have been reported to exhibit antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities [5–12].

Acknowledgements: The Graduate Program Development under the Collaboration between Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research and Universities.

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