Chemical analysis and biological potential of <i>Valerian root</i> as used by herbal practitioners in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

Abstract

Background: Herbal practitioners in the Eastern Cape of South Africa use valerian root (Valeriana capensis, Valerianaceae) to manage pains, arthritis and inflammation. The herb prepared from this plant was studied to determine the chemical composition of its essential oil, carried out phytochemical screening and biological activities on its infusion extract as used by the herbal practitioner. Materials and Methods: Essential oil of Valerian root was obtained by hydrodistillation and subjected to chemical analyses. Infusion extract of the Valerian root was screened to determine its secondary metabolites and the relative abundance of some major metabolites. The infusion extract was further evaluated for acute toxicity (LD50), anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities in rodents. Results: The yield of the essential oil was 0.18% w/w. The GC/MS analysis indicated the presence of 42 compounds with major ones being caryophyllene oxide (18.11%), viridiflorol (9.37%) and bornyl acetate (8.84%). Phytochemicals found in the infusion extract were alkaloids, saponins, tannins and flavonoids while quantitative screenings showed saponins and flavonoids accounted for 6.39% and 7.40% respectively. The LD50 of the extract was found to be 3808 mg/kg per oral. The infusion extract of the root (250-500 mg/kg, p.o.) caused significant (p<0.01) activity in the carrageenan-induced rat paw oedema model comparable to aspirin, indicating anti-inflammatory activity; but lacked analgesic activity on the acetic acid-induced writhing test. Conclusion:The infusion extract possessed significant anti-inflammatory but lacked analgesic activity; the present data justify the use of this herbal agent by the herbal practitioners from the Eastern Cape region of South Africa. Key words:Valeriana capensis, essential oil, caryophyllene oxide, infusion extract, anti-inflammatory, analgesic IntroductionMedicinal plants have been in use for centuries in South Africa, especially in the rural communities throughout the Eastern Cape Province where many people consult traditional healers who use medicinal plants as major sources of their medication (Cocks and Moller, 2002). Valerian root (Family: Valerianaceae) is a perennial flowering plant with over 350 species and several more subspecies (Bardakci et al., 2012). Valerian is native to Europe and Asia, although it has been naturalized in Eastern North America and other parts of the world including South Africa (Van Wyk et al., 1997). The part of the plant used medicinally is the root or rhizome which is light grayish brown, about the size of a finger joint, bearing many rootlets. The mature plant is about 50-150 cm tall with pinnate leaves and the stem is upright and without branches (Fleming, 1998). Valerian fresh root has no odour, while the dried root possesses distinctly unpleasant smell similar to old dirty socks (Schulz et al., 1998).Valerian is a popular herbal product often used to treat insomnia, anxiety and related ailments (Murti et al., 2011). Valerian root extracts contain essential oils...

The potential of Valeriana as a traditional Chinese medicine: traditional clinical applications, bioactivities, and phytochemistry

“…Essential oil also showed potential antibacterial effects against Staphylococcus aureus , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Bacillus pumilus , Candida albicans , Escherichia coli , and Staphylococcus epidermidis ( Agnihotri et al, 2011 ). Essential oil also exhibited significant anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects ( Pandian and Nagarajan, 2015 ; Dyayiya et al, 2016 ).…”

Growth, Yield and Phytochemical Constituents of Arctium lappa L. in Response to Phosphorous and Potassium Fertilizers Application

“…Fresh leaves and roots samples at maturity were harvested from the different plant treatments and were used to prepare aqueous root and leaf extracts of Arctium lappa L. for the different fertilizer treatments. The different extracts were screened for the presence of phenols, tannins, flavonoids, steroids, terpenoids, saponins, alkaloids and glycoside by the following reactions; Ferric chloride test for tannins, Foam test for saponins, NaOH with dilute acid for flavonoids, 5% ferric chloride solution for phenol, Dragendoff`s and Meyer`s reagent for alkaloids, Chloroform, and acetic acid anhydride with Con Sulphuric acid for steroids, glacial acetic acid with a drop of FeCl3 and Con Sulphuric acid for Glycosides, Chloroform and acetic acid anhydride with Con Sulphuric acid for terpenoids as fully described by [9] in the laboratory of the Department of Chemical and Physical Science Walter Sisulu University of Science and Technology. Proximate analysis of the dry powdered root and leaf samples of Arctium lappa L. was carried out using, Sulphuric acid and Sodium hydroxide for Crude fibre, Diethyl ether for Crude lipid and incineration at 550 o C for ash content using the method of [10] at the Agric-Hub in the Postgraduate Analytical Laboratory of the Department of Agriculture, Wellington Campus, Cape Peninsula University of Technology.…”

An Effective Chromatography Process for Simultaneous Purification and Separation of Total Lignans and Flavonoids from Valeriana amurensis

“…Chinese Traditional Medicine Resources , Northeast Medicinal Plants and Heilongjiang Local Medicine recorded that V. amurensis was primarily used for treating nervous system diseases such as insomnia, neurasthenia, anxiety, hysteria and epilepsy [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]. Compounds isolated or identified from V. amurensis include iridoids, lignans, flavonoids, sesquiterpenoids, alkaloids and essential oils [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]. To date, only an essential oil with a sedative effect has been developed for clinical treatment of insomnia [ 13 ].…”