Phytochemical and Pharmacological Investigation of the Thick Extract of Gentiana asclepiadea Roots

Plants of the genus Gentiana L. are widely used in medical practice in the treatment of gastrointestinal tract diseases. The pharmacological activity is provided by secoiridoids, xanthones, flavonoids and other compounds. The study of Gentiana asclepiadea L. (family Gentiananceae), which is widely distributed in the Ukrainian Carpathians, is promising.

The aim was to study the acute toxicity and hepatoprotective activity of thick extract of the roots of G. acslepiadea (ERGA).

ERGA was obtained by the fractional maceration method, using 40% ethanol. The obtained extracts were evaporated to a residual humidity of no more than 25%. According to the results of chromatographic and spectrophotometric studies the flavonoids, hydroxycinnamic acids, polysaccharides in the extract were confirmed and the amount of polyphenols was determined.

Determination of acute toxicity showed that ERGA, when administered intragastrically at a dose of 6000 mg/kg, did not lead to the death of mice. Changes in integral, hematological, biochemical indicators and morphological structure of internal organs did not occur. The obtained results characterise the studied extract as practically non-toxic (toxicity class V).

The study of the hepatoprotective activity of ERGA in the tetrachloromethane hepatitis model showed that the most pronounced activity was established when using the extract at a dose of 25 mg/kg, which, according to the biochemical indicators of blood serum and liver homogenate, probably exceeded the referent-drug Silymarin from Silybum marianum.

The conducted research shows the expediency of further pharmacological studies of ERGA.

Funding This work was supported by the MSCA4Ukraine (1232466).

 

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Conflict of Interest

There authors declare no conflict of interest.

Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
16. November 2023