1992 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Search for anti-allergic constituents in South-East Asian traditional medicine
| Project/Area Number |
03671002
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Research Field |
Chemical pharmacy
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| Research Institution | HIROSHIMA UNIVERSITY |
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Principal Investigator |
YAMASAKI Kazuo Hiroshima University, School of Medicine, Professor, 医学部, 教授 (00034017)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1991 – 1992
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| Keywords | Anti-allergy / Philippine / Boraginaceae / Histamine release / Rosmarininic acid / Allantoin / Mast cell / Structure elucidation |
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| Research Abstract |
Bioassay method of measuring inhibiting activity of histamine release from mast cells was improved to be able to measure many samples at a time rapidly.
By measuring the activity of several Philippine traditional medicinal plants, the following plants (MeOH extract) which showed strong activity, were selected for further study: Ehretia microphylla, E. philippinensis, Cordia myxa (Boraginaceae). These plants were locally used for anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory purposes.
From the first and the second plant extracts, rosmarinic acid was isolated and characterized by NMR analysis. This compound was known to have anti-inflammatory activity, and it may well be responsible for the effect of these herbal medicines.
Again from the first plant, two novel acyclic diterpene glucosides and allantoin were isolated and the chemical structure were elucidated by instrumental analysis, especially NMR spectroscopy.
The diterpene glucosides were phytol congeners. A similar compound, plaunotol was recently found from Thai medicinal plant and is now being used as an anti-ulcer medicine. From the similarity of the structure, our glucosides need to be tested for such activity. Allantoin is known to be topical vulnerary and is used for skin ulcer therapy, so it may also be a contributor to the activity of the said plant. It is to be noted that the high content of rosmarinic acid is remarkable and the two Ehretia plants are promising sources of this active compound. From an antiallergic plant, Pesudoelephantopus spicatus, two novel sesquiterpenes were isolated and the chemical structures were decided.
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