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Evidence for an in
vitro anticoagulant and antithrombotic activity in
Tulbaghia violacea
Lelethu Bungu, Maryna van
de Venter and Carminita Frost*
Department
of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Nelson Mandela
Metropolitan University, PO Box 77000, Port Elizabeth, 6031,
South Africa.
*Corresponding author. E-mail:
carminita.frost@nmmu.ac.za.
Tel: +27 41 504 4123. Fax: +27 41 504 2814.
Abbreviations:
AGE, aged garlic extract; DADS, diallyl disulphide;
DAS, diallyl sulphide; DATS, diallyl trisulphide; DMBA,
7,12-dimethylbenz (a) anthracene; DMSO, dimethyl sulphoxide;
IC200, doubling of the clotting time; IC50,
50% inhibition; TT, thrombin- induced clotting time; TXB2,
thromboxane B2; SAC, S-allyl ethylcysteine; SAMC,
S-allyl methylcysteine; T. violacea, Tulbaghia violacea.
Accepted
22 January, 2008 |
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The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro
antithrombotic and anticoagulant properties in Tulbaghia
violacea . The bulb and leaf extracts of T. violacea
and garlic showed that T. violacea exhibited
antithrombotic activities which were higher than those found
in garlic. The IC200 values for the leaf and the
bulb extract were 0.4 and 0.3 mg/ml, respectively for the TT
assay. The IC50 value was 1.73 mg/ml for the
bulb extract of the T. violacea. No IC50
was obtained for the leaf extract of T. violacea. IC200
and IC50 values could not be determined for the
garlic extract. Seasonal studies were also conducted and
indicated that the activity obtained for the aqueous extract
was lost during the winter season. Throughout the course of
this study it was observed that T. violacea exhibited
biological activities which were comparable to garlic. These
results indicate that T. violacea can be used as an
alternative to garlic and that it may contribute to
pharmaceutical applications and informal health services.
Key
words:
Anticoagulant, antithrombotic, garlic, thrombin inhibition,
Tulbaghia violacea. |
