EVALUATION OF THROMBOLYTIC ACTIVITY OF Murraya koenigii AND Spinacia oleracea IN VITRO AND IN VIVO

Author Name(s): *Ramakrishnan Pappa Ammal, Amirthalingam Pushpa
Author Email: pappins_in@yahoo.com

Abstract

Green leafy vegetable consumption has been associated with decreased risk of persistent metabolic diseases. The in vitro thrombolytic property of curry leaves (Murraya koenigii) and palak (Spinacia oleracea) was determined by using human blood. Aqueous extract of Murraya koenigii exhibited maximum clot lysis at a concentration of 10mg/ml contributing to 22.14%. Spinacia oleracea revealed maximum clot lysis of 40.9% at 20mg/ml concentration. The plant extracts, when given in combination showed clot lysis of 33.22% at 20mg/ml. The thrombolytic activity was correlated with serum cholesterol and the findings suggested that the plant extract could possibly lyse a clot regardless of the level of cholesterol. Membrane stabilizing potential of the selected plants was analysed and both the plant extracts moderately protected the human RBC membrane which is an essential quality for thromboysis. To ensure the thrombolytic efficacy of Murraya koenigii and Spinacia oleracea, in vivo models of FeCl3 – induced thrombosis was developed. Haematological and biochemical parameters were determined in experimental animals. Histopathological examination was also carried out after the experimental period. This investigation can help in developing cost effective novel thrombolytic agents from common plant sources, which are advantageous over synthetic drugs.

Keywords

Thrombolysis; Murraya koenigii ; Spinacia oleracea.

Introduction

Many of the modern day’s vital drugs and processed medicines are of plant origin. There are 45,000 species of wild plant out of which 9,500 species are ethnobotanically important species. Of these, 7,500 species are in medicinal use for indigenous health practices. About 3,900 plant species are used by tribals as food out of which 521 species of leafy vegetables (Kamble and Jadhav, 2013). Thrombosis is one of the major causes of the death Worldwide. It occurs due to imbalance between prothrombotic and fibrinolytic pathway (http://departments.edu/chpweb/hemophilia/mechanism_of_blood_coagulation.htm). Thrombolytic agents lyse pre-existing thrombus, either by potentiating the body’s own fibrinolytic pathway or by mimicking natural thrombolytic molecule (Prakash, and Manavalan, 2011). Commonly used thrombolytic agents are alteplase, anistreplase, streptokinase, urokinase and tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) to dissolve clots (Anwar et al., 2011). However, the relatively weak specificity of first generation agents (streptokinase and urokinase) can result in a state of systemic fibrinolysis and associated bleeding complications (Khan et al., 2011). Hence there is great interest in the use of plants with cytotoxic and clot lysis potential as source of novel antitumor agents and thrombolytic drugs (Hossain et al., 2013). Epidemiologic studies have provided evidence that foods with experimentally proved antithrombotic effect could reduce risk of thrombosis. Some plants or plant parts showing thrombolytic activity have also been reported (Rahman et al., 2013). However, there is no reports relating to the thrombolytic properties of green leafy vegetables. In the present study, six different green leafy vegetables were screened for in vitro thrombolytic property. The two plants which showed higher percentage of clot lysis were selected for further investigation.

Conclusion

Assessment of thrombolytic properties of Murraya koenigii and Spinacia oleracea revealed that these plants can be considered as a valuable source of therapeutic agents for human health as thrombolytic agent. The present study might have important implications in cardiovascular health in developing countries where cheap and effective medicines are the need of the hour. Acknowledgement The Authors thankful to Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women, Coimbatore towards the Instrumentation facilities for the study.

1,467 total views, no views today

Download PDF File

About the author: dev