Research on chemical composition and biological activity of Globba pendula Roxb. in an application-oriented direction to support the treatment of osteoarthritis diseases

01/06/2021

Rheumatoid Arthritis is a specific inflammatory disease that occurs in the joints, usually starting with inflammation of one joint, then progressing to inflammation of many joints at the same time (multi-joint Rheumatoid Arthritis). This is the most common disease among bone and joint diseases, which not only affects life and mobility, but can also cause many dangerous complications that can lead to disability. Contributing to the study of herbal preparations to support disease treatment, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Minh Ha and the research team of the Institute of Natural Products Chemistry carried out the project “Research on chemical composition and biological activity Globba pendula Roxb. in an application-oriented direction to support the treatment of osteoarthritis diseases". The topic has been tested and rated excellent.

Globba pendula Roxb. belongs to genus Globba of the Zingiberaceae family. This species is endemic to Indochina, growing wild in the mountains. It is distributed in some Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia.

In Vietnam, Globba pendula Roxb. grows wild in the hills or cultivated in fields by Khmer people in some southern provinces such as An Giang, Tra Vinh and Soc Trang. It has small elongated ivory-white roots, used as a spice similar to ginger. It does not produce a spicy taste but has a slight pungent smell. Khmer people use Globba pendula Roxb. to remove the fishy smell of prahok sauce. Besides, the body and root of the Globba pendula Roxb. are also used in some folk remedies to treat arthritis and rheumatism in some localities, while the leaves are used to detoxify alcohol. In Malaysia, people use a decoction water of the plant’s body and root for postpartum women and for worming. In Indonesia, the plant’s body and root are also used to treat flatulence.

Globba pendula Roxb.

Currently, there have not been any studies on the chemical, biological or pharmacological effects of this plant in Vietnam, especially its anti-arthritic activity. In this study, the research team aims to find the anti-inflammatory components of the plant, thus producing a finished product with anti-arthritic activity, contributing to elucidating the healing effects of the plant in traditional treatment, contributing more research results to the world about Vietnamese Globba pendula Roxb. and effectively using this precious medicinal plant in supporting the treatment of arthritis.

Globba pendula Roxb. body and root

Through research and experimentation, the research team has determined the chemical composition of Globba pendula Roxb. essential oil by GC-MS method, which includes 25 compounds, accounting for 89.55% of the plant’s essential oil. In which, d-selinene (36.45%) and ishwarane (10.76%) are the two main ingredients. Globba pendula Roxb. essential oil exhibits cytotoxic activity on 2 human liver cancer (Hep3B) and human breast cancer (MCF7) cell lines at a good level, with IC50 values of 35.24 µg/ml and 28.15 µg/ml, respectively. µg/ml.

The group also evaluated the inhibitory activity of NO production and the ability to inhibit inflammatory and pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1, IL-6 of Globba pendula Roxb. extracts. The results showed that the ethyl acetate extract showed good inhibitory activity on NO production with IC50 value of 34.43 ± 2.60 µg/ml and was not toxic (percentage of viable cells reached 91.77%).

Besides, the group isolated and determined the chemical structures of 7 clean substances: globbanol A (NGM-1), crotepoxide (NGM-2), boesenboxide (NGM-3), 2ʹ-hydroxy-4,4ʹ, 6ʹ-trimethoxy- chalcone (NGM-4), ethyl p-methoxycinamate (NGM-5), luteolin tetramethyl ether (NGM-6), luteolin (NGM-7) from the ethyl acetate extract of Globba pendula Roxb. All these compounds were isolated for the first time from the genus Globba. In particular, compound globbanol A is a new compound, showing inhibitory activity on the growth of cancer cell lines A549 (human lung cancer), MCF7 (human breast cancer), LNCaP (prostate cancer) at a good level with IC50 values of 15.92, 12.01 and 20.56 µg/mL, respectively.

Finally, the group succeeded in developing a process to extract and create GP finished products that are effective in the treatment of osteoarthritis diseases from the plants, using 1kg dry material in a batch. The yield of the products (GP) was 3.67% compared to the mass of the dried medicinal samples and the main substance Globbanol A content in the product was 2.66%. At the same time, a basic standard for GP has been developed. GP product is not toxic orally (at a maximum dose of 10,000 mg/kg and is effective in reducing the degree of rheumatoid arthritis in a rat model of rheumatoid arthritis induced by collagen antibodies at a dose of 500 mg/kg through the index of inflammation, and reduces the proinflammatory cytokine IL-6.

The team's research results are new, adding to the chemical and biological activity data of Globba pendula species around the world.

Translated by Phuong Huyen
Link to Vietnamese version

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