Mitochondrial Function as a Potential Tool for Assessing Function, Quality and Adulteration in Medicinal Herbal Teas

Frontiers in Pharmacology

Meliz Sahuri-Arisoylu¹  Rhys R. Mould²  Steven B. Woodley²  Ifigeneia Kalampouka²  Jimmy D. Bell²  Anthony Booker³ 

[1] Health Innovation Ecosystem, University of Westminster, London, United Kingdom;Research Centre for Optimal Health, School of Life Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Westminster, London, United Kingdom;Research Group 'Pharmacognosy and Phytotherapy', UCL School of Pharmacy, London, United Kingdom;

关键词: herbal tea;    herbal medicine;    quality control;    mitochondria;    functional analysis;    potency;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fphar.2021.660938

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Quality control has been a significant issue in herbal medicine since herbs became widely used to heal. Modern technologies have improved the methods of evaluating the quality of medicinal herbs but the methods of adulterating them have also grown in sophistication. In this paper we undertook a comprehensive literature search to identify the key analytical techniques used in the quality control of herbal medicine, reviewing their uses and limitations. We also present a new tool, based on mitochondrial profiling, that can be used to measure medicinal herbal quality. Besides being fundamental to the energy metabolism required for most cellular activities, mitochondria play a direct role in cellular signalling, apoptosis, stress responses, inflammation, cancer, ageing, and neurological function, mirroring some of the most common reasons people take herbal medicines. A fingerprint of the specific mitochondrial effects of medicinal herbs can be documented in order to assess their potential efficacy, detect adulterations that modulate these effects and determine the relative potency of batches. Furthermore, through this method it will be possible to assess whole herbs or complex formulas thus avoiding the issues inherent in identifying active ingredients which may be complex or unknown. Thus, while current analytical methods focus on determining the chemical quality of herbal medicines, including adulteration and contamination, mitochondrial functional analysis offers a new way of determining the quality of plant derived products that is more closely linked to the biological activity of a product and its potential clinical effectiveness.

【 授权许可】

Unknown