Introduction: Asthma is a condition characterized by eosinophilic airway inflammation and remodelling that in- volves several pathological changes, including subepithelial fibrosis, mucus hypersecretion, smooth muscle growth, and vascular changes. The present study aimed to determine the effect of tHGA administered intraperitoneally in a chronic asthma mouse model that closely mimics the human asthma. Methods: Ovalbumin-sensitized and chal- lenged BALB/c mice were i.p. administered with tHGA at different doses (20 and 2 mg/kg). Respiratory function was measured, and brochoalveolar lavage, blood and lung samples were then obtained and analyzed. Results: The airways of OVA-induced mice developed increased pulmonary inflammation with increased levels of cytokines, chemokines, and changes in vascular permeability. Intraperitoneal administration of tHGA in OVA-induced mice significantly and dose-dependently inhibited the airway inflammation, production of immunoglobulin E, Th2-type cytokines and chemokines, and inflammatory mediators. Treatment with tHGA also significantly reduced the airway hyperresposiveness in response to increased methacholine doses. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the effi- cacy of tHGA in alleviating chronic asthmatic symptoms in mouse model improved significantly when administered intraperitoneally compared to oral route. Furthermore, this study also supports that tHGA has a therapeutic potential in chronic asthma management by acting as a cysteinyl leukotrienes (CysLT) inhibitor.
Extraction and chromatographic isolation of the hexane, chloroform and methanol extracts of stem bark of Calophyllum gracilipes has led to the isolation of a new xanthone, gracixanthone (1) and the known zeyloxanthanone (2) and trapezifolixanthone (3) together with three common sterols, namely stigmasterol, friedelin and lupeol. The structures of the compounds were elucidated and established by spectroscopic analysis and compared with the spectral data from literature. The cytotoxicity of the compounds was evaluated and zeyloxanthanone (2) exhibited strong activity towards five cell lines with IC50 values ranging at 8.00-26.00 μΜ.
Centella asiatica or known as ‘pegaga’ in Malaysia, is a popular medicinal herb, which is being used as main ingredient or incorporated into various herbal products. Apart from efficacy, the chemical profile and potential toxic effect of the plant are two important aspects of concern towards ensuring product satisfaction and safety of consumers. This paper reports the qualitative and quantitative chemical analysis of the leaf ethanolic extract of C. asiatica using LCMS/MS. The acute toxiciy effect of the extract and selected marker chemical constituents were further analysed using a zebrafish model. Twenty constituents, were identified and the main chemical marker constituents of the plant viz asiaticoside, asiatic acid, and madecassic acid were further quantified. Asiaticoside was found to be present in higher concentration than the other marker constituents. Meanwhile in the acute toxicity test, the LD50 of the extract on the zebrafish model was determined to be 1250 mg/L while 100% mortality was observed at the highest test concentration of 2500 mg/L. However, acute toxicity evaluation on four marker triterpenoids of the herb, i.e asiatic acid, madecassic acid, asiaticoside and madecassoside, indicated them to be quite safe on the zebrafish model, with no mortality shown for test concentrations between 10 to 500 mg/kg BW.