Elizabeth A. Mazzio and Karam F. A. Soliman
Phytother Res. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2009 March 3.
PMCID: PMC2650746
Published in final edited form as: Phytother Res. 2009 March; 23(3): 385–398. doi: 10.1002/ptr.2636.
In Vitro Screening for the Tumoricidal Properties of International Medicinal Herbs
Phytother Res. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2009 March 3.
PMCID: PMC2650746
Published in final edited form as: Phytother Res. 2009 March; 23(3): 385–398. doi: 10.1002/ptr.2636.
A Novel Anti-inflammatory Role for Andrographolide in Asthma via Inhibition of the Nuclear Factor-{kappa}B Pathway
Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2009 Feb 6. [Epub ahead of print]
Bao Z, Guan S, Cheng C, Wu S, Wong SH, Kemeny DM, Leung BP, Wong WS.
Department of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore; Division of Respiratory Medicine, The First Affiliated-Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
RATIONALE: Persistent activation of nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB has been associated with the development of asthma. Andrographolide, the principal active component of a medicinal plant Andrographis paniculata, has been shown to inhibit NF-kappaB activity. OBJECTIVES: We hypothesized that andrographolide may attenuate allergic asthma via inhibition of the NF-kappaB signaling pathway. METHODS: BALB/c mice sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin developed airway inflammation. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was assessed for total and differential cell counts, and cytokine and chemokine levels. Serum IgE levels were also determined. Lung tissues were examined for cell infiltration and mucus hypersecretion, and the expression of inflammatory biomarkers. Airway hyperresponsiveness was monitored by direct airway resistance analysis. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Andrographolide dose-dependently inhibited ovalbumin-induced increases in total cell count, eosinophil count, and IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13 levels recovered in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and reduced serum level of ovalbumin-specific IgE. It attenuated ovalbumin-induced lung tissue eosinophilia and airway mucus production, mRNA expression of E-selectin, chitinases, Muc5ac and inducible nitric oxide synthase in lung tissues, and airway hyperresponsiveness to methacholine. In normal human bronchial epithelial cells, andrographolide blocked TNF-alpha-induced phosphorylation of inhibitory kappaB (IkappaB) kinase-beta (IKKbeta), and downstream IkappaBalpha degradation, p65 subunit of NF-kappaB phosphorylation, and p65 nuclear translocation and DNA-binding activity. Similarly, andrographolide blocked p65 nuclear translocation and DNA-binding activity in the nuclear extracts from lung tissues of ovalbumin-challenged mice. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings implicate a potential therapeutic value of andrographolide in the treatment of asthma and it may act by inhibiting NF-kappaB pathway at the level of IKKbeta activation.
PMID: 19201922 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Anti-malarial activities of Andrographis paniculata and Hedyotis corymbosa extracts and their combination with curcumin
Malar J. 2009 Feb 12;8:26.
Mishra K, Dash AP, Swain BK, Dey N.
Institute of Life Sciences, Nalco Square, Chandrasekhar Pur, Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India. mishrak2002@yahoo.co.in
BACKGROUND: Herbal extracts of Andrographis paniculata (AP) and Hedyotis corymbosa (HC) are known as hepato-protective and fever-reducing drugs since ancient time and they have been used regularly by the people in the south Asian sub-continent. Methanolic extracts of these two plants were tested in vitro on choloroquine sensitive (MRC-pf-20) and resistant (MRC-pf-303) strains of Plasmodium falciparum for their anti-malarial activity. METHODS: Growth inhibition was determined using different concentrations of these plant extracts on synchronized P. falciparum cultures at the ring stage. The interactions between these two plant extracts and individually with curcumin were studied in vitro. The performance of these two herbal extracts in isolation and combination were further evaluated in vivo on Balb/c mice infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKA and their efficacy was compared with that of curcumin. The in vivo toxicity of the plant derived compounds as well as their parasite stage-specificity was studied. RESULTS: The 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of AP (7.2 microg/ml) was found better than HC (10.8 microg/ml). Combination of these two herbal drugs showed substantial enhancement in their anti-malarial activity. Combinatorial effect of each of these with curcumin also revealed anti-malarial effect. Additive interaction between the plant extracts (AP + HC) and their individual synergism with curcumin (AP+CUR, HC+CUR) were evident from this study. Increased in vivo potency was also observed with the combination of plant extracts over the individual extracts and curcumin. Both the plant extracts were found to inhibit the ring stage of the parasite and did not show any in vivo toxicity, whether used in isolation or in combination. CONCLUSION: Both these two plant extracts in combination with curcumin could be an effective, alternative source of herbal anti-malarial drugs.
PMID: 19216765 [PubMed - in process]PMCID: PMC2650700
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