Friday, May 9, 2008

Anti-inflamatory, Antimutagenecity & Antitumor-promoting Activities of Mahogany Seeds (Swietenia macrophylla)

The crude ethanol extract of mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla King) seeds was tested for anti-inflammatory, antimutagenic, and antitumor-promoting activities. Solvent fractions of the ethanol extract, namely hexane, CCl4 and methanol fractions were also tested for their anti-inflammatory and antitumor-promoting activities.

At a dosage of 1 mg per gram body weight of the test mice, the ethanol extract reduced carrageenan- induced inflammation by 79%. Less activities were observed for the solvent fractions, with the highest inhibition given only at 60% for the methanol fraction and a low of 23% inhibition for the hexane fraction. These observations indicate anti-inflammatory activity.

Mutagenicity/antimutagenicity of the ethanol extract was studied using the Micronucleus test. The result indicate antimutagenicity of the extract. At a dosage of 0.02 mg per gram body weight, the extract reduced the number of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes induced by mitomycin C, a known mutagen, by almost 50%.

The antitumor promoting activity of the crude extract and the solvent fractions were studied using the Epstein-Barr early-antigen (EBV-EA) activation, with 12-0 tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) as the tumor promoter. The results indicate significant inhibitory effects on EBV-EA activation indicating the antitumor-promoting activity.

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