Study of the anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory activity of Brachychiton rupestris and Brachychiton discolor leaves (Malvaceae) using in vitro models

Amany A. Thabet, Fadia S. Youssef, Michal Korinek, Fang Rong Chang, Yang Chang Wu, Bing Hung Chen, Mohamed El-Shazly*, Abdel Nasser B. Singab, Tsong Long Hwang

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Article peer-review

33 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Brachychiton rupestris and Brachychiton discolor (Malvaceae) are ornamental trees native to Australia. Some members of Brachychiton and its highly related genus, Sterculia, are employed in traditional medicine for itching, dermatitis and other skin diseases. However, scientific studies on these two genera are scarce. Aiming to reveal the scientific basis of the folk medicinal use of these plants, the cytotoxicity, anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic activities of Brachychiton rupestris and Brachychiton discolor leaves extracts and fractions were evaluated. Also, phytochemical investigation of B. rupestris was performed to identify the compounds exerting the biological effect. Methods: Extracts as well as fractions of Brachychiton rupestris and Brachychiton discolor were tested for their cytotoxicity versus hepatoma HepG2, lung A549, and breast MDA-MB-231 cancer cell lines. Assessment of the anti-allergic activity was done using degranulation assay in RBL-2H3 mast cells. Anti-inflammatory effect was tested by measuring the suppression of superoxide anion production as well as elastase release in fMLF/CB-induced human neutrophils. Phytochemical investigation of the n-hexane, dichloromethane and ethyl acetate fractions of B. rupestris was done using different chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques. Results: The tested samples showed no cytotoxicity towards the tested cell lines. The nonpolar fractions of both B. rupestris and B. discolor showed potent anti-allergic potency by inhibiting the release of β-hexosaminidase. The dichloromethane fraction of both species exhibited the highest anti-inflammatory activity by suppressing superoxide anion generation and elastase release with IC50 values of 2.99 and 1.98 μg/mL, respectively for B. rupestris, and 0.78 and 1.57 μg/mL, respectively for B. discolor. Phytochemical investigation of various fractions of B. rupestris resulted in the isolation of β-amyrin acetate (1), β-sitosterol (2) and stigmasterol (3) from the n-hexane fraction. Scopoletin (4) and β-sitosterol-3-O-β-D-glucoside (5) were obtained from the dichloromethane fraction. Dihydrodehydrodiconiferyl alcohol 4-O-β-D-glucoside (6) and dihydrodehydrodiconiferyl alcohol 9-O-β-D-glucoside (7) were separated from the ethyl acetate fraction. Scopoletin (4) showed anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory activity. Conclusions: It was concluded that the nonpolar fractions of both Brachychiton species exhibited anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory activities.

Original languageEnglish
Article number299
JournalBMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Volume18
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 09 11 2018

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 The Author(s).

Keywords

  • Anti-allergic
  • Anti-inflammatory
  • Brachychiton discolor
  • Brachychiton rupestris
  • Cytotoxicity
  • Phytochemistry

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