Clemen-Pascual Lydia M, Macahig Rene Angelo S, Rojas Nina Rosario L
Department of Chemistry, School of Science and Engineering, Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights, Quezon City, 1108, Philippines.
Department of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Southern Mindanao, North Cotabato, 9407, Philippines.
Toxicol Rep. 2021 Dec 10;9:22-35. doi: 10.1016/j.toxrep.2021.12.002. eCollection 2022.
The study compares the toxicity of 53 selected medicinal plants commonly used in the Philippines to treat various diseases. It uses as a benchmark L., which was approved by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration as an herbal drug for cough and asthma after passing clinical trials for safety and efficacy. The methods were chosen for their simplicity and accessibility even for resource-limited laboratories. Extracts (95 % ethanol) of the medicinal parts of the plants were (1) chemically profiled using qualitative phytochemical tests that detect the presence of key classes of bioactive compounds; and (2) evaluated for toxicity using the brine shrimp ( sp.) lethality assay (BSLA). General phytochemical screening revealed the presence of tannins in 50 plant extracts, alkaloids in 43, glycosides in 33, flavonoids in 31, steroids in 21, triterpenoids in 20, anthraquinones in 10, and saponins in 8. Extracts from eight plants had LC values lower than the potassium dichromate control (approximately 12 μg/mL) and were considered highly toxic; extracts from 21 plants had LC values between 12 μg/mL and 100 μg/mL and were considered moderately toxic; extracts from 19 plant extracts, including Vitex negundo and some common vegetables, had LC values between 100 μg/mL and 500 μg/mL, and were considered mildly toxic and likely to have reasonable safety margins; five plant extracts, including common vegetables, had LC values above 500 μg/mL and were considered essentially nontoxic. No apparent correlation could be found between toxicity and chemical diversity or a specific class of phytochemicals present. Our findings may serve as a guide for herbal drug and nutraceutical development, especially in prioritizing plants for more detailed safety studies.
该研究比较了菲律宾常用的53种用于治疗各种疾病的药用植物的毒性。它以L.为基准，L.在通过安全性和有效性的临床试验后，被菲律宾食品药品监督管理局批准为治疗咳嗽和哮喘的草药。所选用的方法即便对于资源有限的实验室而言，也具备简单易行的特点。这些植物药用部位的提取物（95%乙醇）：(1) 使用定性植物化学测试进行化学剖析，以检测关键生物活性化合物类别的存在；(2) 使用卤虫（卤虫属）致死率测定法（BSLA）评估毒性。一般植物化学筛选显示，50种植物提取物中存在单宁，43种中存在生物碱，33种中存在糖苷，31种中存在黄酮类化合物，21种中存在甾体，20种中存在三萜类化合物，10种中存在蒽醌，8种中存在皂苷。8种植物的提取物的LC值低于重铬酸钾对照（约12μg/mL），被认为具有高毒性；21种植物的提取物的LC值在12μg/mL至100μg/mL之间，被认为具有中等毒性；19种植物提取物（包括黄荆和一些常见蔬菜）的LC值在100μg/mL至500μg/mL之间，被认为具有轻度毒性且可能具有合理的安全边际；5种植物提取物（包括常见蔬菜）的LC值高于500μg/mL，被认为基本无毒。在毒性与化学多样性或存在的特定植物化学类别之间未发现明显相关性。我们的研究结果可为草药和营养保健品的开发提供指导，特别是在为更详细的安全性研究确定植物优先级方面。
