Determination of Hepatoprotective Properties of Clinacanthus Nutans and Strobilanthes Crispus

Law, Chieu Shie (2018) Determination of Hepatoprotective Properties of Clinacanthus Nutans and Strobilanthes Crispus. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University College.

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Abstract

Sabah Snake Grass (Clinacanthus nutans) and Black Face General (Strobilanthes crispus) are herbal plants in Malaysia, proven scientifically to possess antioxidative properties. Thus, the aim of this study was to test the methanolic extracts of both Clinacanthus nutans (CME) and Strobilanthes crispus (SME) for their hepatoprotective potential. The extracts were first tested for their phytochemical content, total phenolic content as well as total flavonoid content. Next, the phenolic compounds and flavonoids in both extracts were identified using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The extracts were then subjected to 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay and direct effects reactive oxygen species (ROS) assay on liver cells to investigate their antioxidative and hepatoprotective effects. It was shown that both extracts contained tannins and phenolic compounds, flavonoids, fixed oil, terpenoids as well as cardiac glycosides. The total phenolic content for SME (36.269 + 1.306 mg GAE/g) was slightly higher than CME (31.755 + 0.997 mg GAE/g). Meanwhile, the total flavonoid content for CME was 7-fold higher than SME (1.686 + 0.026 mg QE/g). The phenolic compounds chlorogenic acid, as well as ellagic acid, and the flavonoid kaempferol were tentatively elucidated in both CME and SME. However, caffeic acid, ferulic acid and (+)-catechin were found only in CME. Furthermore, the DPPH radical scavenging activity of both extracts were dosage dependent. The scavenging activity of CME and SME were 14% and 29% respectively at the concentration of 500 μg/mL. At concentration of 1000 μg/mL, the scavenging activity of both extracts were more than 90%. Interestingly, cells treated with 250 μg/mL SME showed ROS reduction of 72.69%, which was 8% higher than CME. This showed that both CME and SME had the potential to protect the human liver cell line, HepG2 cells from oxidative damage.