Botes Lisa, van der Westhuizen Francois H, Loots Du Toit
School for Physiology, Nutrition and Consumer's Science, Private Bag X6001, Box 594, Potchefstroom, 2531, South Africa.
Molecules. 2008 Sep 12;13(9):2169-80. doi: 10.3390/molecules13092169.
Aloe greatheadii var. davyana (Asphodelaceae) is used among rural South African communities to treat arthritis, skin cancer, burns, eczema, psoriasis, digestive problems, high blood pressure and diabetes, despite very little supporting scientific evidence. Due to increased interest by both the scientific community and industry regarding the medicinal uses of this plant species, we identified, quantified and compared the phytochemical contents and antioxidant capacities of two extracts of A. greatheadii; a leaf gel extract (LGE) and a 95 % aqueous ethanol leaf gel extract (ELGE), using various modified extraction procedures, GC-MS and spectrophotometry. Apart from extensively characterizing this medicinal plant with regards to its organic acid, polyphenols/phenolic acid, alcohol, aldehyde, ketone, alkane, pyrimidine, indole, alkaloid, phytosterol, fatty acid and dicarboxylic acid contents and antioxidant capacities, we describe a modified extraction procedure for the purpose of general phytochemical characterization, and compare this to a 95 % aqueous ethanol extraction technique. From the results it is clear that A. greatheadii contains a variety of compounds with confirmed antioxidant capacity and other putative health benefits (such as blood glucose, cholesterol and cortisol lowering properties) relating to the prevention or treatment of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and hypertension. The results also indicate that separate ethyl acetate/diethyl ether and hexane extractions of the LGE, better serve for general phytochemical characterization purposes, and 95 % aqueous ethanol extraction for concentrating selective groups of health related compounds, hence justifying its use for biological in vivo efficacy studies.
南非农村社区使用库拉索芦荟（阿福花科）治疗关节炎、皮肤癌、烧伤、湿疹、牛皮癣、消化问题、高血压和糖尿病，尽管几乎没有科学依据支持。由于科学界和产业界对该植物药用价值的兴趣增加，我们采用多种改良提取方法、气相色谱 - 质谱联用（GC-MS）和分光光度法，对库拉索芦荟的两种提取物（叶凝胶提取物（LGE）和95%乙醇叶凝胶提取物（ELGE））的植物化学成分含量和抗氧化能力进行了鉴定、定量和比较。除了广泛表征这种药用植物的有机酸、多酚/酚酸、醇、醛、酮、烷烃、嘧啶、吲哚、生物碱、植物甾醇、脂肪酸和二羧酸含量以及抗氧化能力外，我们还描述了一种用于一般植物化学表征的改良提取方法，并将其与95%乙醇提取技术进行比较。结果表明，库拉索芦荟含有多种具有抗氧化能力以及其他与预防或治疗糖尿病、心血管疾病、癌症和高血压相关的潜在健康益处（如降低血糖、胆固醇和皮质醇的特性）的化合物。结果还表明，对LGE分别进行乙酸乙酯/乙醚和己烷提取，更适合用于一般植物化学表征目的，而95%乙醇提取则适合浓缩与健康相关的选择性化合物组，因此证明了其在体内生物学功效研究中的应用合理性。
