Yonathan Mariamawit, Asres Kaleab, Assefa Ashenafi, Bucar Franz
Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, Addis Ababa University, PO Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2006 Dec 6;108(3):462-70. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2006.06.006. Epub 2006 Jun 27.
In Ethiopia inflammatory skin diseases are among the most common health problems treated with traditional remedies which mainly comprise medicinal plants. In the present work, the anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive activities of Cheilanthes farinosa (Forsk.) Kaulf (Adianthaceae), a fern used in many parts of Ethiopia to treat inflammatory skin disorders, were studied using in vivo models of inflammation and pain. The results of the study showed that the fronds Cheilanthes farinosa possess strong anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive properties. It was further demonstrated that the active ingredients of the fern reside mainly in the methanol fraction from which three compounds viz. the flavonol glycoside rutin, and the natural cinnamic acids, caffeic acid and its quinic acid derivative chlorogenic acid have been isolated. The methanol extract was also shown to potentiate the anti-inflammatory activity of acetyl salicylic acid. At the tested concentrations, the methanol extract displayed a better anti-nociceptive activity than that of ASA in both the early and late phases of formalin induced nociception in mice. However, the activity of the extract was more pronounced in the late phase, which is commonly associated with inflammatory pain. Evaluation of the pharmacological properties of the compounds isolated from the active fractions pointed out that chlorogenic acid possesses strong anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive activities while caffeic acid and rutin were inactive. Moreover, on molar basis chlorogenic acid was proved to be superior in its anti-inflammatory action to acetyl salicylic acid. It was therefore concluded that chlorogenic acid contributes, in full or in part, to the anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive activities of Cheilanthes farinosa. Both the methanolic extract and pure chlorogenic acid failed to display anti-nociceptive activity when tested by the tail-flick test indicating that the plant is not a centrally acting analgesic but instead exerts its analgesic activity by way of its antinflammtory action.
在埃塞俄比亚，炎症性皮肤病是使用传统疗法治疗的最常见健康问题之一，传统疗法主要包括药用植物。在本研究中，使用炎症和疼痛的体内模型，对埃塞俄比亚许多地区用于治疗炎症性皮肤病的一种蕨类植物——粉质碎米蕨（叉蕨科）的抗炎和抗伤害感受活性进行了研究。研究结果表明，粉质碎米蕨的叶子具有很强的抗炎和抗伤害感受特性。进一步证明，该蕨类植物的活性成分主要存在于甲醇提取物中，从中分离出了三种化合物，即黄酮醇苷芦丁以及天然肉桂酸、咖啡酸及其奎尼酸衍生物绿原酸。甲醇提取物还显示出增强乙酰水杨酸抗炎活性的作用。在测试浓度下，甲醇提取物在小鼠福尔马林诱导的伤害感受的早期和晚期阶段均表现出比阿司匹林更好的抗伤害感受活性。然而，提取物的活性在晚期更为明显，晚期通常与炎症性疼痛相关。对从活性馏分中分离出的化合物的药理特性进行评估指出，绿原酸具有很强的抗炎和抗伤害感受活性，而咖啡酸和芦丁则无活性。此外，在摩尔基础上，绿原酸的抗炎作用被证明优于乙酰水杨酸。因此得出结论，绿原酸全部或部分地促成了粉质碎米蕨的抗炎和抗伤害感受活性。当通过甩尾试验进行测试时，甲醇提取物和纯绿原酸均未显示出抗伤害感受活性，这表明该植物不是中枢性镇痛药，而是通过其抗炎作用发挥镇痛活性。
