Molecular effects of bioactive fraction of Curcuma mangga (DLBS4847) as a downregulator of 5α-reductase activity pathways in prostatic epithelial cells

Teratogenic effects of ethanol extract of Curcuma mangga Val. rhizomes in wistar rats

We have recently highlighted the immunomodulatory effect of ethanol extract of Curcuma mangga Val. rhizomes. The current study was performed to investigate the teratogenic effects of C. mangga extract in Wistar rats. The C. mangga extract at doses of 100, 500 and 1000 mg/kg bw were administered to pregnant rats on day 6-15 of gestation. The litter size, length and birth weight as well as body weight of pregnant rats were determined to evaluate the teratogenic effects of C. mangga extract. External and skeletal malformations were also examined. The extract reduced the litter length compared to normal control (p < 0.05). The average body weight gain of the pregnant rats also decreased. Resorption was observed after treatment with extract at the dose of 1000 mg/kg bw. The extract at the doses of 500 and 1000 mg/kg bw reduced litter birth weight and induced external and skeletal malformations. This demonstrates that ethanol extract of C. mangga has teratogenic effects in Wistar rats and should be used with caution in pregnancy.

Gastroprotective Effect of DLBS2411 Bioactive Fraction from Cinnamomum burmannii Against Ethanol-Induced Gastric Damage in Rats

Background

The study was carried out to evaluate the anti-ulcerative and gastroprotective effect of DLBS2411, a bioactive fraction from Cinnamomum burmannii (Nees & T. Nees) Blume, in Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus).

Methods

The rats were divided into five treatment groups, which were the Normal control group, Negative control group (ethanol-induced) and two treatment groups: DLBS2411 at the doses of 25 mg/kg body weight (BW) and 50 mg/kg BW, and the Positive control group treated with sucralfate at the dose of 100 mg/kg BW. Gastroprotective effect was measured by the ulcerative lesion index, ulcer surface area, percentage of lesion area, and cure ratio. Hematological and histopathological analyses were also conducted to gain additional data regarding the gastroprotective effect of DLBS2411 in the rats' stomachs.

Results

DLBS2411 was found to contain not less than 15% of total phenolic compounds. Treatment with DLBS2411 at doses of 25 mg/kg BW and 50 mg/kg BW significantly reduced the percentage of ulcer area in rats. The percentage of ulcer area for the Negative control group and both doses in the DLBS2411 treatment group reached 22.64±6.82%, 6.75±4.41%, and 6.18±4.63%, respectively. Ulcer surface area in the treatment groups and Positive control group also decreased. Histopathological data showed that gastric epithelial cells in the Negative control group were more severely ulcerated than in the treatment group of DLBS2411 and the Positive control group.

Conclusion

This study showed that DLBS2411 at the dose of 50 mg/kg BW was more effective in protecting the stomach lining than DLBS2411 at the dose of 25 mg/kg BW, as measured by percentage of ulceration inhibition and the ulcerative lesion index.

Simultaneous micronization and purification of bioactive fraction by supercritical antisolvent technology

Simultaneous micronization and purification of DLBS3233 bioactive fraction, a combination of two Indonesian herbals Lagerstroemia speciosa and Cinnamomum burmannii has been successfully performed via supercritical anti-solvent (SAS) technology. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of SAS technology to micronize and reduce coumarin content of DLBS3233. The effects of four SAS process parameters, i.e. pressure, temperature, concentration and solution flow rate on particle formation were investigated. In SAS process, DLBS3233 was dissolved in dimethylformamide (DMF) as the liquid solvent. The solution was then pumped through a nozzle into a chamber simultaneously with supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) which acts as the anti-solvent, resulting in DLBS3233 precipitation. Physicochemical properties of unprocessed DLBS3233 and SAS-processed DLBS3233 particles were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). Total polyphenol content (TPC) was also analyzed. Particles with mean particle size ranging from 0.107±0.028 μm to 0.298±0.138 μm were obtained by varying the process parameters. SAS-processed DLBS3233 particles showed no coumarin content in all experiments studied in this work. Results of TPC analysis revealed no significant change in SAS-processed DLBS3233 particles compared to unprocessed DLBS3233. Nano-sized DLBS3233 particles with no coumarin content have been successfully produced using SAS process. This study demonstrates the ability of SAS for processing herbal medicine in single step process.

Supercritical CO2 extraction of candlenut oil: process optimization using Taguchi orthogonal array and physicochemical properties of the oil

A series of experiments was conducted to determine optimum conditions for supercritical carbon dioxide extraction of candlenut oil. A Taguchi experimental design with L9 orthogonal array (four factors in three levels) was employed to evaluate the effects of pressure of 25-35 MPa, temperature of 40-60 °C, CO2 flow rate of 10-20 g/min and particle size of 0.3-0.8 mm on oil solubility. The obtained results showed that increase in particle size, pressure and temperature improved the oil solubility. The supercritical carbon dioxide extraction at optimized parameters resulted in oil yield extraction of 61.4% at solubility of 9.6 g oil/kg CO2. The obtained candlenut oil from supercritical carbon dioxide extraction has better oil quality than oil which was extracted by Soxhlet extraction using n-hexane. The oil contains high unsaturated oil (linoleic acid and linolenic acid), which have many beneficial effects on human health.