Research Centre for Plant Growth and Development, School of Biological and Conservation Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal Pietermaritzburg, Private Bag X01, Scottsville 3201, South Africa.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2011 Jan 27;133(2):663-74. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2010.10.053. Epub 2010 Oct 30.
Imbiza ephuzwato is a traditional herbal tonic made from a mixture of extracts of roots, bulbs, rhizomes and leaves of 21 medicinal plants and is used in traditional medicine as a multipurpose remedy.
To compile and investigate the bioactivity and mutagenic effects of extracts of the 21 plant species used in the preparation of Imbiza ephuzwato herbal tonic.
The 21 plant species used to make Imbiza ephuzwato herbal mixture were each investigated for their pharmacological properties. Petroleum ether (PE), dichloromethane (DCM), 80% ethanol (EtOH) and water extracts of the 21 plants were evaluated against two gram-positive, two gram-negative bacteria and a fungus Candida albicans. The extracts were also evaluated for their inhibitory effects against cyclooxygenase (COX-1 and -2) and acetylcholinesterase AChE enzymes. Mutagenic effects of the water extracts were evaluated using the Ames test.
Gunnera perpensa and Rubia cordifolia were the only plant species used to manufacture Imbiza ephuzwato that had water extracts which showed good antibacterial activity. The extracts of G. perpensa (EtOH), Hypericum aethiopicum (DCM) and Urginea physodes (EtOH) showed the best antifungal activity. The water extracts of H. aethiopicum, G. perpensa, Drimia robusta, Vitellariopsis marginata, Scadoxus puniceus and Momordica balsamina showed percentage inhibition of COX-1 that was over 70%. For COX-2 enzyme, the water extracts of G. perpensa, Cyrtanthus obliquus, M. balsamina and Tetradenia riparia exhibited inhibitory activity above 70%. Water extracts of G. perpensa, C. obliquus, V. marginata, Asclepias fruticosa and Watsonia densiflora showed good AChE inhibitory activity (>80%). The Ames test results revealed that all the water extracts of the 21 plant species used to make Imbiza ephuzwato were non-mutagenic towards the Salmonella typhimurium TA98 strain for the assay with and without S9 metabolic activation. In contrast, Imbiza ephuzwato showed mutagenic effects after exposure to S9 enzyme mixture.
The observed activities of some plant extracts, if supported by other confirmatory tests, may justify their inclusion in the makeup of Imbiza ephuzwato herbal mixture as well as their use in traditional medicine. Further studies aimed at investigating possible synergistic effects as a result of mixing plant extracts are necessary. The reported mutagenicity in Imbiza ephuzwato could be as a result of interaction of biomolecules in the heterogeneous mixture, yielding compounds that are converted to mutagenic agents by xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes. It is therefore important to carry out further studies aimed at identifying and eliminating the sources of the mutagenic compounds in the heterogeneous mixture.
Imbiza ephuzwato 是一种传统草药滋补品，由 21 种药用植物的根、鳞茎、根茎和叶子的提取物混合而成，在传统医学中用作多用途的补救药物。
编译并研究制备 Imbiza ephuzwato 草药滋补剂所用的 21 种植物的生物活性和致突变作用。
对用于制作 Imbiza ephuzwato 草药混合物的 21 种植物进行了各自的药理学特性研究。对石油醚（PE）、二氯甲烷（DCM）、80%乙醇（EtOH）和 21 种植物的水提取物进行了评价，以对抗两种革兰氏阳性菌、两种革兰氏阴性菌和一种真菌白色念珠菌。提取物还针对环加氧酶（COX-1 和 -2）和乙酰胆碱酯酶 AChE 酶的抑制作用进行了评估。使用艾姆斯试验评估水提取物的致突变作用。
只有用于制造 Imbiza ephuzwato 的 Gunnera perpensa 和 Rubia cordifolia 植物的水提取物具有良好的抗菌活性。G. perpensa（EtOH）、Hypericum aethiopicum（DCM）和 Urginea physodes（EtOH）的提取物表现出最好的抗真菌活性。H. aethiopicum、G. perpensa、Drimia robusta、Vitellariopsis marginata、Scadoxus puniceus 和 Momordica balsamina 的水提取物对 COX-1 的抑制率超过 70%。对于 COX-2 酶，G. perpensa、Cyrtanthus obliquus、M. balsamina 和 Tetradenia riparia 的水提取物表现出超过 70%的抑制活性。G. perpensa、C. obliquus、V. marginata、Asclepias fruticosa 和 Watsonia densiflora 的水提取物对 AChE 表现出良好的抑制活性（>80%）。艾姆斯试验结果表明，用于制造 Imbiza ephuzwato 的 21 种植物的所有水提取物在不加和加 S9 代谢激活的情况下对鼠伤寒沙门氏菌 TA98 菌株均无致突变性。相比之下，Imbiza ephuzwato 在接触 S9 酶混合物后表现出致突变作用。
如果某些植物提取物的观察到的活性得到其他确证性试验的支持，那么它们可能被纳入 Imbiza ephuzwato 草药混合物中，并且可以在传统医学中使用。有必要进一步研究混合植物提取物可能产生的协同作用。在 Imbiza ephuzwato 中报道的致突变性可能是由于异质混合物中生物分子的相互作用所致，产生的化合物通过外来生物转化酶转化为致突变剂。因此，有必要进行进一步的研究，以确定和消除异质混合物中致突变化合物的来源。
