Studies on hepatoprotective, antispasmodic and calcium antagonist activities of the aqueous‐methanol extract of Achillea millefolium

Abstract

The crude extract of Achillea millefolium (Am.Cr) was studied for its possible hepatoprotective effect against d-galactosamine (d-GalN) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced hepatitis in mice and antispasmodic effect in isolated gut preparations to rationalize some of the folklore uses. Co-administration of d-GalN (700 mg/kg) and LPS (25 microg/kg) produced 100% mortality in mice. Pre-treatment of animals with Am.Cr (300 mg/kg) reduced the mortality to 40%. Co-administration of d-GalN (700 mg/kg) and LPS (1 microg/kg) significantly raised the plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels compared with values in the control group (p< 0.05). Pre-treatment of mice with Am.Cr (150-600 mg/kg) significantly prevented the toxins induced rise in plasma ALT and AST (p < 0.05). The hepatoprotective effect of Am.Cr was further verified by histopathology of the liver, which showed improved architecture, absence of parenchymal congestion, decreased cellular swelling and apoptotic cells, compared with the toxin group of animals. In isolated rabbit jejunum preparations, Am.Cr caused a concentration-dependent (0.3-10 mg/mL) relaxation of both spontaneous and K(+)-induced contractions as well as shifting the Ca(++) concentration-response curves (CRCs) to the right, similar to that caused by verapamil. These results indicate that the crude extract of Achillea millefolium exhibits a hepatoprotective effect, which may be partly attributed to its observed calcium channel blocking activity.

Moringa oleifera: a food plant with multiple medicinal uses

“…Moringa oleifera, known to be rich in multiple medicinally active chemicals, may be a good candidate to see if it contains effect enhancing and/or side-effects neutralizing combinations. Medicinal plants are relatively rich in their contents of calcium channel blockers (CCBs) which are known to possess a wide variety of pharmacological activities such as antihypertensive, hepatoprotective, antiulcer, antiasthmatic, antispasmodic and antidiarroeal (Stephens and Rahwan, 1992;Gilani et al, 1994b;2005b;Yaeesh et al, 2006; and it remains to be seen whether such activities reported to be present in Moringa oleifera have a direct link with the presence of CCBs.…”

“…β-Carotene of M. oleifera leaves exerts a more significant protective activity than silymarin against antitubercular induced toxicity. It would be interesting to see if it also possesses hepatoprotective effect against other commonly used hepatotoxic agents such as CCl 4 and galactosamine, which are considered more suitable models and close to human viral hepatitis (Gilani and Janbaz, 1995;Yaeesh et al, 2006).…”

Chemical composition of the essential oils and extracts of Achillea species and their biological activities: A review

“…In Pakistan (Said, 1982;Yaeesh et al, 2006), A. millefolium L. has been recognized as a diaphoretic and stimulant medicinal plant which can treat various liver diseases (see Table 2). …”

“…A diaphoretic, stimulant, antipyretic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, carminative, antihelmentic, hepatoprotective, antispasmodic remedy; in the treatment of various liver diseases Pakistan (Said, 1982;Yaeesh et al, 2006) A. millefolium L. Effective anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antispasmodic, and antiseptic properties Brazil (Cavalcanti et al, 2006) A. millefolium L.…”

An overview and economical importance of few selected endangered medicinal plants grown in Jammu and Kashmir region of India

“…Antihepatoprotective, antispasmodic and calcium antagonistic activity was reported in the aqueous methanolic extract of Achillea millefolium (Yaeesh et al, 2006). The plant has shown antiulcer efficacy after chronic treatment in winter rats (Cavalcanti et al, 2006).…”