Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Department of Pharmacology, School of Medical Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
Phytother Res. 2018 Mar;32(3):480-487. doi: 10.1002/ptr.5993. Epub 2017 Dec 15.
This study investigated the antiinflammatory properties of betulinic acid (BA) and xylopic acid (XA) extracted from Margaritaria discoidea and Xylopia aethiopica, respectively. M. discoidea and X. aethiopica are plants native in Ghana and the West-African region and used traditionally to treat different pathologies including inflammatory conditions. The antiinflammatory effect of BA and XA was established by an in vivo assay using the carrageenan-induced pleural inflammation model in mice. Also, the ability of BA and XA to increase catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione levels and decrease lipid peroxidation level in reactive oxidative assays was assessed. In addition, the ability of XA and BA to prevent potential lung tissue damage was quantified. Pretreatment with BA and XA reduced significantly, signs of inflammation: neutrophil infiltration, oedema, and alveoli septal thickening in carrageenan-treated lung tissue. Additionally, BA or XA pretreatment lowered the degree of lipid peroxidation in the lung tissue while increasing the levels of catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione in vivo. Comparatively, XA was more efficacious than BA in the prevention of lung tissue damage. BA and XA derived from X. aethiopica and M. discoidea possess antiinflammatory and in vivo antioxidant activities in mice pleurisy model. The effect of these compounds gives credence to the traditional use in the management of inflammatory conditions of the airway.
本研究旨在探究从 Margaritaria discoidea 和 Xylopia aethiopica 中分别提取的白桦脂酸（BA）和二甲氧基苯二酸（XA）的抗炎特性。M. discoidea 和 X. aethiopica 是加纳和西非地区的原生植物，传统上用于治疗多种疾病，包括炎症。通过体内实验，采用角叉菜胶诱导的小鼠胸膜炎症模型，确定了 BA 和 XA 的抗炎作用。此外，还评估了 BA 和 XA 在活性氧检测中增加过氧化氢酶、超氧化物歧化酶和谷胱甘肽水平以及降低脂质过氧化水平的能力。此外，还定量了 XA 和 BA 预防潜在肺组织损伤的能力。BA 和 XA 预处理可显著减轻角叉菜胶处理的肺组织中的炎症迹象：中性粒细胞浸润、水肿和肺泡间隔增厚。此外，BA 或 XA 预处理可降低肺组织中的脂质过氧化程度，同时增加体内过氧化氢酶、超氧化物歧化酶和谷胱甘肽的水平。相比之下，XA 在预防肺组织损伤方面比 BA 更有效。来源于 X. aethiopica 和 M. discoidea 的 BA 和 XA 具有抗炎和体内抗氧化活性，可用于治疗气道炎症。这些化合物的作用为其在管理气道炎症方面的传统用途提供了依据。
