In vitro thrombolytic assay of Alpinia zerumbet, Alpinia nigra and Urena sinuata

Abstract

Atherothrombotic  diseases   are   serious   impacts   of   the   thrombus   formed   in   blood   vessels.  Thrombolytic agents are used to dissolve the already formed clots in the blood vessels; but these drugs have cer- tain limitations which can lead to serious and sometimes fatal consequences. Herbal preparations have been used since ancient times for the treatment of several diseases. The present study was carried out to investigate the thrombolytic activity, synergistic activity on thrombolysis in the aqueous extract of leavs of Alpinia zerumbet, Alpi- nia nigra and Urena sinuata. An in vitro thrombolytic method was used to investigate the thrombolytic activity of plant extracts in blood sample from healthy human volunteers, along with streptokinase as a positive control and water as a negative control. Same method was also applied to assess the synergistic activity of plant extracts with streptokinase. Aqueous extract of Alpinia zerumbet, Alpinia nigra and Urena sinuata showed 43.85%, 42.83%, 26.40% thrombolytic activity and also showed 37.14%, 60.00%, 26.83% synergistic activity with streptokinase re- spectively. On the other hand streptokinase alone showed 81.20% thrombolytic activity. Among the plant extracts studied Alpinia nigra showed significant % of synergistic activity (60%) with compared to other plant extracts. The present study demonstrates that Alpinia nigra extract showed synergistic activity with streptokinase on thrombo- lysis. Alpinia zerumbet and Alpinia nigra also showed reasonable clot lytic property. Isolation and purification of the compound responsible for synergistic activity would be one of the best sources of herbal drugs for atheroth- rombotic diseases. However, in vivo clot lytic properties are yet to be discovered.