Ethanol Extract of Leaf Ameliorates Hyperuricemia in Mice via Inhibition of Hepatic and Serum Xanthine Oxidase Activity.

Bureau (Moraceae) (CT) is a dietary and medicinal plant distributed widely in Northeast Asia. There have been no studies on the effect of CT and/or its active constituents on xanthine oxidase (XO) activity, hyperuricemia, and gout. The aim of this study was to investigate XO inhibitory and antihyperuricemic effects of the ethanol extract of CT leaf (CTLE) and its active constituents and . Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses were used to determine a chemical profile of CTLE. XO inhibitory and antihyperuricemic effects of CTLE given orally (30 and 100 mg/kg per day for 1 week) were examined in potassium oxonate-induced hyperuricemic ICR mice. CTLE exhibited XO inhibitory activity with an IC of 368.2 g/mL, significantly reduced serum uric acid levels by approximately 2-fold (7.9 nM in normal mice; 3.8 nM in 30 mg/kg CTLE; 3.9 nM in 100 mg/kg CTLE), and significantly alleviated hyperuricemia by reducing hepatic (by 39.1 and 41.8% in 30 and 100 mg/kg, respectively) and serum XO activity (by 30.7 and 50.1% in 30 and 100 mg/kg, respectively) in hyperuricemic mice. Moreover, several XO inhibitory and/or antihyperuricemic phytochemicals, such as stigmasterol, -sitosterol, vitamin E, rutin, and kaempferol, were identified from CTLE. Compared with rutin, kaempferol showed markedly higher XO inhibitory activity . Our present results demonstrate that CTLE may offer a promising alternative to allopurinol for the treatment of hyperuricemia and gout.