Effects of Five Bangladeshi Plant Extracts on In vitro Thrombolysis and Cytotoxicity

Background

Piper Betle, Pterospermum acerifolium, Saraca indica, Argyreia speciosa, and Rhaphidophora glauca are medicinal plants commonly used as traditional medicine for the treatment of various diseases. To examine, whether organic extracts of these plants possess thrombolytic properties with minimal or no toxicity is our main aim of the study.

Materials and Methods

In vitro thrombolytic model was used to check the clot lysis effects using streptokinase (SK) as a positive control and water as a negative control. Cytotoxicity was screened by brine shrimp lethality bioassay using vincristine sulfate (VS) as positive control.

Results

Among herbal drugs, different organic extracts of P. betle, P. acerifolium, S. indica, A. speciosa, and R. glauca showed significant (P < 0.05 and P < 0.0001) clot lysis activity viz., 31.58% ±0.76%, 40.50% ±0.94%, 49.70% ±1.69%, 35.81% ±0.86%, and 43.80% ±0.91%, respectively, compared to reference drug SK (79.32% ±1.629%). In brine shrimp cytotoxic assay, mortality achieved by the extracts showed lethal concentration 50 (LC₅₀) values 274.64 ± 3.46, 215.60 ± 4.59, 478.40 ± 6.98, 233.37 ± 2.56, and 209.32 ± 1.98 mg/ml, respectively, with reference to VS (LC_50, 0.05 ± 0.34).

Conclusion

In this study, S. indica, R. glauca, and P. acerifolium possessed effective thrombolytic activity. Further studies can be undertaken to identify certain structure of the ingredients in the extracts and to elucidate the precise mechanism of action.