School of Science and Health, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South DC, NSW 1797, Australia.
BMC Complement Altern Med. 2012 Oct 6;12:173. doi: 10.1186/1472-6882-12-173.
The main aim of this study is to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of forty four traditional Chinese medicinal herbal extracts and to examine these activities in relation to their antioxidant content.
The antioxidant activities were investigated using DPPH radical scavenging method and yeast model. The anti-inflammatory properties of the herbal extracts were evaluated by measuring their ability to inhibit the production of nitric oxide and TNF-α in RAW 264.7 macrophages activated by LPS and IFN- γ, respectively. The cytotoxic effects of the herbal extracts were determined by Alomar Blue assay by measuring cell viability. In order to understand the variation of antioxidant activities of herbal extracts with their antioxidant contents, the total phenolics, total flavonoids and trace metal (Mg, Mn, Cu, Zn, Se and Mo) quantities were estimated and a correlation analysis was carried out.
Results of this study show that significant levels of phenolics, flavonoids and trace metal contents were found in Ligustrum lucidum, Paeonia suffuticosa, Salvia miltiorrhiza, Sanguisorba officinalis, Spatholobus suberectus, Tussilago farfara and Uncaria rhyncophylla, which correlated well with their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Some of the plants displayed high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities but contained low levels of phenolics and flavonoids. Interestingly, these plants contained significant levels of trace metals (such as Zn, Mg and Se) which are likely to be responsible for their activities.
The results indicate that the phenolics, flavonoids and trace metals play an important role in the antioxidant activities of medicinal plants. Many of the plants studied here have been identified as potential sources of new antioxidant compounds.
本研究的主要目的是评估 44 种中草药提取物的抗氧化和抗炎特性，并研究其抗氧化含量与这些活性之间的关系。
采用 DPPH 自由基清除法和酵母模型研究抗氧化活性。通过测量 LPS 和 IFN-γ分别激活的 RAW 264.7 巨噬细胞中一氧化氮和 TNF-α的产生来评估草药提取物的抗炎特性。通过 Alomar Blue 测定法测定细胞活力来确定草药提取物的细胞毒性作用。为了了解草药提取物的抗氧化活性与其抗氧化含量的变化，测定了总酚类、总黄酮类和痕量金属（Mg、Mn、Cu、Zn、Se 和 Mo）的含量，并进行了相关性分析。
本研究结果表明，Ligustrum lucidum、Paeonia suffuticosa、Salvia miltiorrhiza、Sanguisorba officinalis、Spatholobus suberectus、Tussilago farfara 和 Uncaria rhyncophylla 中含有大量的酚类、黄酮类和痕量金属，这与它们的抗氧化和抗炎活性密切相关。一些植物表现出较高的抗氧化和抗炎活性，但含有较低水平的酚类和黄酮类。有趣的是，这些植物含有大量的痕量金属（如 Zn、Mg 和 Se），这些金属可能是其活性的原因。
结果表明，酚类、黄酮类和痕量金属在药用植物的抗氧化活性中起着重要作用。本研究中研究的许多植物已被确定为新的抗氧化化合物的潜在来源。
