Effect of Rumex Abyssinicus on preneoplastic lesions in dimethylhydrazine induced colon carcinogenesis in rats

Medicinal uses, chemical constituents and biological activities of Rumex abyssinicus: A Comprehensive review

Rumex abyssinicus is a valuable medicinal plant species that is native to tropical Africa. Traditionally, R. abyssinicus is used to treat different disease such as, liver diseases, hepatitis, malaria, scabies, blood pressure, jaundice, wound and pneumonia. The purpose of the current study was to review the literature on the ethnomedicinal uses, chemical constitutes and biological activities of R. abyssinicus in an attempt to create information for future studies aimed towards exploring the therapeutic ability of the species. A scientific search engines, namely Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct and Web of knowledge for the search terms: Rumex abyssinicus, ethnomedicinal studies, phytochemical investigations, and pharmacological activities were undertaken. The search strategy included all articles with descriptors that were available until December 30, 2021. Only published works in English have been used on this study. The data was collected using textual descriptions of the studies, tabulation, grouping, and figures. The principal phytochemicals of R. abyssinicus are anthraquinones, flavonoids, terepenoids and phenolic compounds. The in vitro and in vivo studies on the crude extracts and compounds of R. abyssinicus showed antibacterial, antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, wound healing, antialzeimer’s and hepatoprotective activities of it. R. abyssinicus afforded drug leads such as helminthosporin (4) with anti-alzheimer and physicon (3) with antifungal and antioxidant activity. R. abyssinicus have traditionally been used to cure a variety of diseases. Pharmacological actions of phytochemicals were shown to be promising. Despite this, further studies on crude extracts and promising compounds are needed to find new drug candidates.

Evaluation of the Antidiabetic Activity of Hydromethanolic Roots Extracts of Rumex abyssinicus Jacq: (Polygonaceae) in Swiss Albino Mice

Introduction

Diabetes Mellitus isa chronic metabolic disorder that required long-lasting treatment. In Ethiopian traditional medicine practices, abundant plants have been used for the treatment of diabetes mellitus for a long period. The root of Rumex abyssinicus is employed for the treatment of diabetes mellitus by Ethiopians. This study aimed to investigate the antidiabetic activity of the crude extract of Rumex abyssinicus root in Swiss albino mice.

Methods

Cold maceration technique and hydro methanolic (80% methanol) solvent with occasionally shaking were employed during the crude extraction processes. To evaluate the antidiabetic activity of the crude extract, normoglycemic, glucose-loaded, and streptozotocin-induced diabetic models were used. In each model, the overnight fasted mice were randomly divided into five groups for normoglycemic and glucose-loaded models as a negative control, positive control, and three tested groups, whereas, in streptozotocin-induced diabetic models, the mice were grouped into six groups like one diabetic and one normal negative control groups, three diabetic tested groups, and one diabetic positive group. Each group comprised six mice. For all models, the tested groups received the crude extract at 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg doses, both diabetic and nondiabetic negative control groups received 10 ml/kg distilled water, and positive groups received 5 mg/kg glibenclamide.

Results

The crude extract of the plant did not show any sign of toxicity up to 2000 mg/kg dose. In normoglycemic and oral glucose tolerance tests, the crude extract significantly (p < 0.01) reduced the blood glucose level at 200 and 400 mg/kg doses. In the streptozotocin-induced diabetes models, a significant effect was observed at all tested doses.

Conclusion

The finding of this study revealed that the crude extract of the plant owned antidiabetic activity and supports the traditional use of Rumex abyssinicus root for the treatment of diabetes mellitus.

In vivo Hepatoprotective and in vitro Radical Scavenging Activities of Extracts of Rumex abyssinicus Jacq. Rhizome

BACKGROUND

Liver diseases contribute a prominent global burden of mortality and morbidity. The current therapies of liver diseases have numerous limitations including severe adverse effects. This denotes that new more effective, safer, and cheaper drugs are required and medicinal plants used in traditional medicines often offer ideal opportunities. Accordingly, the present study aimed to evaluate the in vivo hepatoprotective and in vitro radical scavenging activities of dried rhizome extracts of Rumex abyssinicus (R. abyssinicus), which is traditionally claimed to provide hepatoprotection.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Hepatoprotective activity of extracts was evaluated using carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced liver injury in mice. Pre- and post-treatment models were employed to test the effect of the extracts and silymarin (standard drug). Serum biochemical markers and liver histopathology were used as parameters to evaluate hepatoprotective activities whereas in vitro radical scavenging activity was tested by 2, 2-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl hydrate (DPPH) assay.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

Oral administration of CCl4 (1 ml/kg) significantly (P<0.001) raised the serum levels of liver enzyme markers compared to the normal control group. Pre-treatment with 125, 250, and 500 mg/kg of R. abyssinicus extract reduced the serum level of CCl4-induced rise in liver enzyme markers with the highest reduction observed at a dose of 500 mg/kg. Likewise, in the post-treatment model, the crude extract and butanol fraction at dose 500 mg/kg reduced levels of liver enzymes. Histopathological examinations revealed lesser liver damage of extract-treated mice compared to the toxic (CCl4-treated) controls. The in vitro radical scavenging activity of the different extracts showed concentration-dependent radical scavenging activity. Thus, the results of this study may justify the traditional use of the plant as a hepatoprotective agent.

CONCLUSION

Results of serum biochemical markers and histopathological examinations of CCl4-induced mice models, in the present study, show the hepatoprotective potential of extracts from the rhizome of R. abyssinicus.

Discovery of Helminthosporin, an Anthraquinone Isolated from Rumex abyssinicus Jacq as a Dual Cholinesterase Inhibitor

Natural products have extensively contributed toward the discovery of new leads for Alzheimer's disease. During our search for new inhibitors of cholinesterase enzymes from natural sources, the ethyl acetate (EtOAc) extract of Rumex abyssinicus Jacq was identified as a dual cholinesterase inhibitor with IC₅₀ values of 2.7 and 11.4 μg/mL against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), respectively. The phytochemical investigation of the EtOAc extract has resulted in isolation of four anthraquinones, namely, helminthosporin, emodin, chrysophanol, and physcion, amongst which the helminthosporin has been isolated for the first time from Rumex sp. All isolated secondary metabolites have displayed significant inhibition of EeAChE with IC₅₀ values of 2.63, 15.21, 33.7, and 12.16 μM, respectively. In addition, the helminthosporin was also found to inhibit BChE with an IC₅₀ value of 2.99 μM. The enzyme kinetic study has indicated that helminthosporin inhibits AChE and BChE in a noncompetitive manner with k _i values of 10.3 and 12.3 μM, respectively. The results of molecular modeling and propidium iodide displacement assay have revealed that helminthosporin occupies the peripheral anionic site of the active site gorge of AChE. In the PAMPA-BBB permeability assay, helminthosporin was found to possess high BBB permeability (P _e = 6.16 × 10^-6 cm/s). In a nutshell, helminthosporin has been identified as a brain permeable dual cholinesterase inhibitor, and thus its further synthetic exploration is warranted for optimization of its potency.