Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UCSI University, UCSI Heights 1, Jalan Puncak Menara Gading, Taman Connaught, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, 56000, Malaysia.
Institute for Tropical Biology & Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, 88400, Malaysia.
BMC Complement Med Ther. 2023 Mar 28;23(1):93. doi: 10.1186/s12906-023-03921-0.
Scientific literature has demonstrated the association of free radicals in the aetiology of various chronic diseases. Hence, the identification of potent antioxidants remains a useful task. The combination of multiple herbs in polyherbal formulations (PHF) is often associated with greater therapeutic efficacy due to synergistic interactions. However, antagonism can occur in natural product mixtures and the resultant antioxidant potential might not always be the additive value of the antioxidant properties of each component. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the phytochemicals, antioxidative potential and interaction among the herbs in TC-16, a new PHF comprising Curcuma longa L., Zingiber officinale var. Bentong, Piper nigrum L., Citrofortunella microcarpa (Bunge) Wijnands and Apis dorsata honey.
TC-16 was screened for phytochemicals. Phenolic and flavonoid contents of TC-16 and its individual ingredients were determined, followed by assessment of antioxidant properties using in vitro assays including 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) (ABTS), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) and β-carotene bleaching (BCB) assays. Interactions among the herbs were also investigated by calculating the difference in antioxidant activity and combination index.
Alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, saponins and glycosides were present in TC-16. TC-16 possessed the highest phenolic (46.14 ± 1.40 mg GAE/g) and flavonoid (132.69 ± 1.43 mg CE/g) contents following C. longa. Synergistic antioxidant activity among the herbs was evident in ORAC and BCB assays which uses mainly hydrogen atom transfer-based antioxidant mechanisms.
TC-16 demonstrated roles in combating free radicals. In a PHF, synergistic interaction among the herbs is observed in some but not all mechanisms. Mechanisms showing synergistic interactions should be highlighted to maximise the beneficial property of the PHF.
科学文献已经证明自由基在各种慢性疾病的发病机制中的作用。因此，寻找有效的抗氧化剂仍然是一项有用的任务。多种草药的组合在复方草药制剂（PHF）中经常与更大的治疗效果相关，这是由于协同作用。然而，在天然产物混合物中可能会发生拮抗作用，并且抗氧化潜在值不一定总是每个成分抗氧化特性的附加值。在这项研究中，我们旨在评估 TC-16 中的草药的植物化学物质、抗氧化潜力及其相互作用，TC-16 是一种新的 PHF，包含姜黄、蓬莪术、黑胡椒、Citrofortunella microcarpa（Bunge）Wijnands 和 Apis dorsata 蜂蜜。
TC-16 进行了植物化学物质筛查。测定了 TC-16 及其各成分的酚类和类黄酮含量，然后通过体外测定法评估其抗氧化特性，包括 2,2'-联氮-双（3-乙基苯并噻唑啉-6-磺酸）（ABTS）、2,2-二苯基-1-苦基肼（DPPH）、铁还原抗氧化能力（FRAP）、氧自由基吸收能力（ORAC）和β-胡萝卜素漂白（BCB）测定法。还通过计算抗氧化活性和组合指数的差异来研究草药之间的相互作用。
TC-16 中存在生物碱、类黄酮、萜类、皂苷和糖苷。TC-16 含有最高的酚类（46.14 ± 1.40 mg GAE/g）和类黄酮（132.69 ± 1.43 mg CE/g）含量，紧随其后的是姜黄。在主要基于氢原子转移的抗氧化机制的 ORAC 和 BCB 测定中，草药之间存在协同抗氧化活性。
TC-16 显示出对抗自由基的作用。在 PHF 中，草药之间的协同相互作用在某些但不是所有机制中观察到。应该强调显示协同相互作用的机制，以最大限度地发挥 PHF 的有益特性。
