Acute Toxicity and General Pharmacological Action of QGC EXT

A Comparative and Comprehensive Characterization of Polyphenols of Selected Fruits from the Rosaceae Family

The present research presents a comprehensive characterization of polyphenols from peach, pear, and plum using liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization quadrupole-time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS), followed by the determination of their antioxidant potential. Plums showed the highest total phenolic content (TPC; 0.62 mg GAE/g), while peaches showed the highest total flavonoid content (TFC; 0.29 mg QE/g), also corresponding to their high scavenging activities (i.e., DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, and TAC). In all three fruit samples, a total of 51 polyphenolic compounds were tentatively identified and were mainly characterized from hydroxybenzoic acids, hydroxycinnamic acids, hydroxyphenylpentanoic acids, flavanols, flavonols, and isoflavonoids subclasses. Twenty targeted phenolic compounds were quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection (HPLC-PDA). The plum cultivar showed the highest content of phenolic acids (chlorogenic acid, 11.86 mg/100 g), whereas peach samples showed the highest concentration of flavonoids (catechin, 7.31 mg/100 g), as compared to pear. Based on these findings, the present research contributes and complements the current characterization data of these fruits presented in the literature, as well as ensures and encourages the utilization of these fruits in different food, feed, and nutraceutical industries.

The Genus Rumex: Review of traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

The approximately 200 species of the genus Rumex (sorrel, Polygonaceae) are distributed worldwide (European, Asian, African and American countries). Some species have been used traditionally as vegetables and for their medicinal properties. Based on the traditional knowledge, different phytochemical and pharmacological activities have been at the focus of research. This review aims to provide an overview of the current state of knowledge of local and traditional medical uses, chemical constituents, pharmacological activities, toxicity, and safety of Rumex species, in order to identify the therapeutic potential of Rumex species and further directions of research.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The selection of relevant data was made through a search using the keyword "Rumex" in "Scopus", "Google Scholar", "Web of Science", "PubMed", and "ScienceDirect" databases. Plant taxonomy was validated by the databases "The Plant List", and "Mansfeld's Encyclopedia". Additional information on traditional use and botany was obtained from published books and MSc dissertations.

RESULTS

This review discusses the current knowledge of the chemistry, the in vitro and in vivo pharmacological studies carried out on the extracts, and the main active constituents, isolated from plants of genus Rumex. Although, there are about 200 species in this genus, most of the phytochemical and pharmacological studies were performed on up to 50 species. The aerial parts, leaves and roots of the plants are used as vegetables and for the treatment of several health disorders such as mild diabetes, constipation, infections, diarrhoea, oedema, jaundice, and as an antihypertensive, diuretic and analgesic and in case of skin, liver and gallbladder disorders, and inflammation. Many phytochemical investigations on this genus confirmed that Rumex species are rich in anthraquinones, naphthalenes, flavonoids, stilbenoids, triterpenes, carotenoids, and phenolic acids. Moreover, it draws the attention that high level of oxalic acid in some species can cause toxicity (kidney stones) if consumed large quantity.

CONCLUSIONS

This review confirms that some Rumex species have emerged as a good source of the traditional medicine for treatment of inflammation, cancer and different bacterial infections and provides new insights for further promising investigations on isolated compounds, especially quercetin 3-O-glucoside, emodin, nepodin, torachrysone, and trans-resveratrol to find novel therapeutics and aid drug discovery. In addition, hepatoprotective, antiviral and antidiabetic activities should have priority in future pharmacological studies. However, for applying species to prevent or treat various diseases, additional pharmacological studies are needed to find the mechanism of actions, safety and efficacy of them before starting clinical trials.

Effect of ECQ on Iodoacetamide-Induced Chronic Gastritis in Rats

This study investigated effect of extract containing quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucuronopyranoside from Rumex Aquaticus Herba (ECQ) against chronic gastritis in rats. To produce chronic gastritis, the animals received a daily intra-gastric administration of 0.1 ml of 0.15% iodoacetamide (IA) solution for 7 days. Daily exposure of the gastric mucosa to IA induced both gastric lesions and significant reductions of body weight and food and water intake. These reductions recovered with treatment with ECQ for 7 days. ECQ significantly inhibited the elevation of the malondialdehyde levels and myeloperoxidase activity, which were used as indices of lipid peroxidation and neutrophil infiltration. ECQ recovered the level of glutathione, activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), and expression of SOD-2. The increased levels of total NO concentration and iNOS expression in the IA-induced chronic gastritis were significantly reduced by treatment with ECQ. These results suggest that the ECQ has a therapeutic effect on chronic gastritis in rats by inhibitory actions on neutrophil infiltration, lipid peroxidation and various steps of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation.

Protective Effect of ECQ on Rat Reflux Esophagitis Model

This study was designed to determine the protective effect of Rumex Aquaticus Herba extracts containing quercetin-3-β-D-glucuronopyranoside (ECQ) on experimental reflux esophagitis. Reflux esophagitis was induced by surgical procedure. The rats were divided into seven groups, namely normal group, control group, ECQ (1, 3, 10, 30 mg/kg) group and omeprazole (30 mg/kg) group. ECQ and omeprazole groups received intraduodenal administration. The Rats were starved for 24 hours before the experiments, but were freely allowed to drink water. ECQ group attenuated the gross esophagitis significantly compared to that treated with omeprazole in a dose-dependent manner. ECQ decreased the volume of gastric juice and increased the gastric pH, which are similar to those of omeprazole group. In addition, ECQ inhibited the acid output effectively in reflux esophagitis. Significantly increased amounts of malondialdehyde (MDA), myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and the mucosal depletion of reduced glutathione (GSH) were observed in the reflux esophagitis. ECQ administration attenuated the decrement of the GSH levels and affected the MDA levels and MPO activity. These results suggest that the ECQ has a protective effect which may be attributed to its multiple effects including anti-secretory, anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory actions on reflux esophagitis in rats.

Inhibitory Effects of ECQ on Indomethacin-Induced Gastric Damage in Rats

We investigated inhibitory effects of extract containing quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucuronopyranoside (ECQ) extracted from Rumex Aquaticus Herba on indomethacin-induced gastric damage in Rats. Gastritis was induced in male Sprague-Dawley rats (200~220 g) by oral administration of indomethacin at a dose of 40 mg/kg. One hour before administration of indomethacin, animals were orally pretreated with ECQ at doses of 0.3, 1, 3 or 10 mg/kg. Six hours after indomethacin administration, the rats were sacrificed and the stomach was excised and opened along the greater curvature, and the surface area of gastric lesion was measured using optical microscope. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), myeloperoxidase (MPO) activities and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were measured by ELISA. Western blot analysis was performed to detect protein expression of SOD-2. Linear hemorrhagic mucosal lesions were observed in the stomach 6 hours after oral administration of indomethacin. Pretreatment with ECQ significantly reduced the severity of the lesions in a dose-dependent manner. It also inhibited the reductions in SOD and CAT activities and SOD expression by the indomethacin-induced gastric damage. In addition, the pretreatment with ECQ significantly suppressed the elevation of the MPO activity and the MDA levels induced by indomethacin. These results suggest that ECQ has the inhibitory effects via antioxidative action against indomethacin-induced gastritis in rats.