Isatis tinctoria – From the rediscovery of an ancient medicinal plant towards a novel anti-inflammatory phytopharmaceutical

Author: Hamburger M.^{1, 2, 3}

Source: Phytochemistry Reviews, Volume 1, Number 3, 2002 , pp. 333-344(12)

Publisher: Springer

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Abstract:

An account on the reinvestigation of the old dye and medicinal plant Isatis tinctoria as an anti-inflammatory and current research on the active principles in woad is given. In a broad-based screening, a dichloromethane extract from the leaves displayed significant activities on several clinically relevant targets of inflammation. The cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitory principle was identified with the aid of HPLC-based activity profiling as the alkaloid tryptanthrin. In cell based assays, tryptanthrin strongly inhibited eicosanoid synthesis catalyzed by cyclooxygenase-2 and 5-lipoxygenase. A supercritical carbon dioxide extraction process was developed to replace the dichloromethane extract. Dichloromethane and carbon dioxide extracts showed in vivo anti-inflammatory activity in topical and oral application. With the aid of electrospray ionization liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry coupled skin microdialysis, tryptanthrin was found to penetrate the skin. The penetration from the extract was better than for the pure alkaloid. A screening of 67 woad samples of different geographic origin revealed up to 30-fold differences in tryptanthrin content in leaves.

Keywords: anti-inflammatory; Brassicaceae; breeding; cyclooxygenase inhibition; 5-lipoxygenase inhibition; Isatis tinctoria; phytopharmaceutical; standardisation; supercritical fluid extraction; tryptanthrin

Language: English

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Institute of Pharmacy, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Semmelweisstrasse 10, D-07743 Jena, Germany (Tel: +49 3641 949840 2: Fax: +44 3641 949842 3: E-mail: b7hama@rz.uni-jena.de)

Publication date: 2002-01-01