Diversity of Pharmacological Properties in Chinese and European Medicinal Plants: Cytotoxicity, Antiviral and Antitrypanosomal Screening of 82 Herbal Drugs

Diversity

Florian Herrmann¹  Marta R. Romero²  Alba G. Blazquez²  Dorothea Kaufmann¹  Mohamed L. Ashour³  Stefan Kahl⁴  Jose J.G. Marin²  Thomas Efferth⁵ 

[1] Institute of Pharmacy and Molecular Biotechnology, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg 69120, Germany; E-Mails:;Laboratory of Experimental Hepatology and Drug Targeting (HEVEFARM), National Institute for the Study of Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases (CIBERehd), University of Salamanca, Salamanca 37007, Spain; E-Mails:;Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University, Abbassia, Cairo 11566, Egypt; E-Mail:;Isostatic Products, RHI AG, Leoben 8700, Austria; E-Mail:;Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Institute of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Mainz, Mainz 55128, Germany; E-Mail:

关键词: anticancer drugs;    gastrointestinal tumors;    traditional Chinese medicine;    cytotoxicity;    hepatitis B;    hepatitis C;    HepG2 2.2.15;    BVDV;    Trypanosoma brucei brucei;   

DOI  :  10.3390/d3040547

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

In an extensive screening, the antiviral, antitrypanosomal and anticancer properties of extracts from 82 plants used in traditional Chinese medicine and European phytomedicine were determined. Several promising plants that were highly effective against hepatitis B virus (HBV), bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV)—a flavivirus used here as a surrogate in vitro model of hepatitis C virus, trypanosomes (Trypanosoma brucei brucei) and several cancer cell lines were identified. Six aqueous extracts from Celosia cristata, Ophioglossum vulgatum, Houttuynia cordata, Selaginella tamariscina, Alpinia galanga and Alpinia oxyphylla showed significant antiviral effects against BVDV without toxic effects on host embryonic bovine trachea (EBTr) cells, while Evodia lepta, Hedyotis diffusa and Glycyrrhiza spp. demonstrated promising activities against the HBV without toxic effects on host human hepatoblastoma cells transfected with HBV-DNA (HepG2 2.2.15) cells. Seven organic extracts from Alpinia oxyphylla, Coptis chinensis, Kadsura longipedunculata, Arctium lappa, Panax ginseng, Panax notoginseng and Saposhnikovia divaricata inhibited T. b. brucei. Moreover, among fifteen water extracts that combined high antiproliferative activity (IC₅₀ 0.5–20 μg/mL) and low acute in vitro toxicity (0–10% reduction in cell viability at IC₅₀), Coptis chinensis presented the best beneficial characteristics. In conclusion, traditional herbal medicine from Europe and China still has a potential for new therapeutic targets and therapeutic applications.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2011 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.