Anti-inflammatory activity, cytotoxicity and active compounds of Tinospora smilacina Benth

• Published in: Phytotherapy research 2004-01, Vol.18 (1), p.78-83
• Main Authors: Li, Rachel W., Leach, David N., Myers, Stephen P., Leach, Gregory J., Lin, G. David, Brushett, Donald J., Waterman, Peter G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 5-lipoxygenase; Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal - administration & dosage; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal - pharmacology; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal - therapeutic use; Anti-inflammatory activity; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic - administration & dosage; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic - pharmacology; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic - therapeutic use; Biological and medical sciences; Cattle; Cell Line, Tumor - drug effects; Cyclooxygenase 1; Cyclooxygenase 2; cycloxygenase-1 and -2; cytotoxicity; General pharmacology; HL-60 Cells - drug effects; Humans; Inhibitory Concentration 50; Isoenzymes - antagonists & inhibitors; Isoenzymes - drug effects; LC-MS; Lipoxygenase - drug effects; Medical sciences; Membrane Proteins; NMR; Pharmacognosy. Homeopathy. Health food; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Phospholipases A - antagonists & inhibitors; Phospholipases A - drug effects; Phytotherapy; Plant Extracts - administration & dosage; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Plant Extracts - therapeutic use; Plant Roots; Plant Stems; Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases - drug effects; Sheep; Tinospora; Tinospora smilacina
• ISSN: 0951-418X; 1099-1573
• DOI: 10.1002/ptr.1373

Tinospora smilacina Benth. has been used in Australian indigenous medicine for the treatment of headache, rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory disorders. As part of an investigation into the anti‐inflammatory potential of plants using an ethnopharmacological approach, the present study sought to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Tinospora smilacina. An ethanol extract of this plant was evaluated in vitro for anti‐inflammatory activities on cyclooxygenase‐1 (COX‐1), cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2), 5‐lipoxygenase (5‐LO) and phospholipase A2 (PA2). The ethanol extract of Tinospora smilacina showed inhibitory activities on COX‐1, COX‐2, 5‐LO and PA2 with the IC50 values of 63.5, 81.2, 92.1 and 30.5 µg/mL respectively. Cytotoxic effect of the extracts of Tinospora smilacina was investigated in vitro using ATP‐based luminescence assay and the results showed no cytotoxic effect on cell lines of skin fibroblasts (1BR3), human Caucasian hepatocyte carcinoma (Hep G2) and human Caucasian promyelocytic leukaemia (HL‐60). This paper also describes the results of fractionations and bioassay guided chemical studies, suggesting that the anti‐inflammatory activity is due to triterpene‐fatty acid esters and free fatty acids. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.