Brief idea and uses of Medicinal plant Acanthus ilicifolius

Acanthus ilicifolius is known as Harkuch kanta, hargoza. The plant will be found on the coastal areas of west Bengal in saline environment; common along ditches, Riverbank and seacoast as sand binder. This plant is an erect shrub; stems several; scarcely branched, stout, glabrous. Leaves like holly, oblong or elliptic, usually pinnatifid or toothed, rigid, acute or truncate at apex, with sharp spinous teeth on the margins; petioles with stipule like spines
at the base. Flower sessile in opposite pairs, in terminal crowded or interrupted spikes; bracts ovate, acute, glabrous; bracteoles similar. Calyx glabrous, segments 4; segments elliptic-oblong, obtuse, mucronulate. Corolla blue, 2-lipped;  lower lip obovat, hairy on the upper surface, very shortly 3-lobed, the lobes rounded, the middle one much narrower than the lateral. Stamens 4; filaments thick, glabrous; anthers densely bearded. Ovary 2-celled; ovule 2 in each cell; style glabrous. Capsules oblong, obtuse apiculate, brown, smooth and shining. Seed broadly ovoid or suborbicular,  much compressed; testa very lax.

Flowering and fruiting:  March to August.

Plant collection and Preparation of the extract

 Plant material: The leaves of A. ilicifolius were collected from the sand mash region of Poondiyankuppam, Cuddalore district Tamil Nadu on the Northeast coast of India during November 2009. The research out of centre of advanced study in Marine Biology, Annamalai University, Parangipettai, Tamil Nadu.

Preparation of the extract: The air-dried leaves of A. ilicifolius (50 g) were powdered and then extracted with 400 mL of petroleum ether in a soxhlet apparatus to remove the lipids and other resinous matter from the leaves. Then, the residue obtained after the extraction with petroleum ether was further extracted with 500 mL of chloroform by using soxhlet apparatus. The crude ethanol and aqueous extract was filtered and evaporated under reduced pressure which was a viscous dark mass with a percentage yield of 5.20% (w/w). This crude extract was dissolved in ethanol solvent and used in different concentration like that 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 mg mL^-1 for the assessment of anti-oxidant activity.

Phytochemistry

 Two new cyclolignan glycosides, (+)-lyoniresinol 3a-O-b-D-galactopyranosyl-(1 → 6)-b-D-glucopyranoside and (+)-lyoniresinol 2a-O-b-D-galactopyranosyl-3a-O-b-D-glucopyranoside have been reported from aerial parts of A. ilicifolius (Zhang et al 2004). A phenylethanoid glycoside (ilicifolioside A) and an aliphatic alcohol glycoside (ilicifolioside B) have been isolated from the aerial parts (Kanchanapoom et al 2002). Two lignan glucosides, (+)-lyoniresinol 3a-[2-(3, 5-dimethoxy-4-hydroxy)-benzoyl]-O-beta-glucopyranoside, and dihydroxymethyl-bis (3, 5-dimethoxy-4-hydroxyphenyl) tetrahydrofuran-9(or 9')-O-beta-glucopyranoside have been isolated from the aerial parts (Kanchanapoom et al 2001). 11-epoxymegastigmane glucoside and megastigmane glucosides (roseoside) have been reported from a A. ilicifolius growing in China (Wu et al 2003).  2-benzoxazolinone and blepharin have been reported from plant growing in Vietnam (Nagao et al 2005). A new coumaric acid derivative acancifoliuside, acteoside, isoacteoside, acanthaminoside, (+)-lyoniresinol 3a-O-beta-glucopyranoside, (-)-lyoniresinol, and alpha-amyrin , have been isolated from the methanolic extract of the leaves of A. ilicifolius (Huo et al 2008).

 Uses:

whole plant: used as cordial and attenuant; useful in treatment of dyspepsia, paralysis, asthma, blood sugar and high cholesterol.

Leaves: as an antidote to snakebite; useful to treat neuralgia and rheumatism.

Root: used as expectorant to treat cough and asthma; boiled in milk used to treat  leucorrhoea and general debility.

Traditional medicinal uses:

The leaves of A. ilicifolius are used to treat rheumatism, neuralgia and poison arrow wounds. It is widely believed among mangrove dwellers that chewing the leaves will protect against snake bite. The pounded seeds of A. ebracteatus are used to treat boils, the juice of leaves to prevent hair loss and the leaves themselves to ward off evil. Both species are also used to treat kidney stones. The whole plant is boiled in fresh water, and the patient drinks the solution instead of water, half a glass at a time, until the signs and symptoms disappear. Water extracted from the bark is used to treat colds and skin allergies. Ground fresh bark is used as an antiseptic. Tea brewed from the leaves relieves pain and purifies the blood.

 Pharmacology

Anti-inflammatory

The methanolic fraction of A. ilicifolius leaf extract produced significant inhibition of rat paw oedema, when administered both prior to and after carrageenan administration, in a manner similar to BW755C a synthetic cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase inhibitor. The extract decreased protein exudation and leukocyte migration in the peritoneal fluid, thereby indicating its effectiveness towards inhibiting peritoneal inflammation. It also produced significant inhibition of cyclooxygenase (1 and 2) and lipoxygenase activity. Preincubation of the extract inhibited the production of proinflammatory cytokines in lipopolysaccharide stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

The methanolic fraction of the extract was also found to possess significant free radical scavenging activity. The extract on intraperitoneal administration augmented the endogenous antioxidant status, as evident from the significant increase of ferric reducing ability of plasma and total peroxyl radical trapping activity of plasma (Kumar et al).

Anti-osteoporotic activity

The effects of the compounds isolated from A. ilicifolius on the function of osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells were tested. Acteoside, isoacteoside, and (+)-lyoniresinol 3a-O-beta-glucopyranoside (30 microM) increased the growth and differentiation of osteoblasts significantly (P<0.05), indicating that A. ilicifolius leaves may help prevent osteoporosis (Van Kiem et al).

Hepatoprotective

The alcoholic extract of A. ilicifolius leaves inhibited the formation of oxygen derived free radicals in vitro with IC (50) of 550 microg/ml, 2750 microg/ml, 670 microg/ml and 600 microg/ml (Fe (2+)/ascorbate system), 980 microg/ml (Fe (3+)/ADP/ascorbate system) for superoxide radical production, hydroxyl radical generation, nitric oxide radical formation and lipid peroxide formation, respectively. The oral administration of the extract (250 and 500 mg/kg) significantly reduced CCl4 induced hepatotoxicity in rats, as judged from the serum and tissue activity of marker enzymes; glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase, glutamate pyruvate transaminase and alkaline phosphatase. The results were comparable with those obtained with curcumin {100 mg/kg, p.o.} (Babu et al).

Chemo preventive

A. To investigate the chemo preventive efficacy of A. ilicifolius in a transplantable Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC)-bearing murine model, male Swiss albino mice were divided into four groups: Group A was the untreated normal control; Group B was the Ehrlich ascites carcinoma control mice group that received serial, intraperitoneal (ip) inoculations of rapidly proliferating 2 x 10(5) viable Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells in 0.2 mL of sterile phosphate buffered saline; Group C was the plant extract-treated group that received the aqueous leaf extract of A. ilicifolius at a dose of 2.5 mg/kg body weight by single ip injections, once daily for 10, 20 and 30 consecutive days following tumour inoculation (aqueous leaf extract of A. ilicifolius); and Group D was the Ehrlich ascites carcinoma + aqueous leaf extract of A. ilicifolius treatment group (Chakraborty et al 2007).

      The chemopreventive potential of the aqueous leaf extract of A. ilicifolius was evaluated in a murine model by studying various biological parameters and genotoxic markers, such as tumour cell count, mean survival of the animals, haematological indices, hepatocellular histology, immuno-histochemical expression of liver metallothionein protein, sister-chromatid exchanges, and DNA alterations. Treatment of the Ehrlich ascites carcinoma -bearing mice with the aqueous leaf extract of A. ilicifolius significantly (P < 0.001) reduced viable tumour cell count by 68.34% (228.7 x 10(6) +/- 0.53) when compared to Ehrlich ascites carcinoma control mice (72.4 x 10(6) +/- 0.49), and restored body and organ weights almost to the normal values. Aqueous leaf extract of A. ilicifolius administration also increased (P < 0.001) mean survival of the hosts from 35 +/- 3.46 d in Ehrlich ascites carcinoma control mice to 83 +/- 2.69 d in Ehrlich ascites carcinoma + aqueous leaf extract of A. ilicifolius treated mice.

      B. Alcoholic extract of A. ilicifolius (250, 500 mg/kg b wt) was found to be effective against tumour progression and carcinogen induced skin papilloma formation in mice. The extract was found to be cytotoxic towards lung fibroblast (L-929) cells in 72 h MTT assay and the concentration required for 50% cell death was 18 μg/ml. Oral administration of the extract (500 mg/kg b wt) reduced the tumour volume and administration of the same concentration increased the life span by 75% in ascites tumour harbouring animals. The extract also significantly delayed the onset of dimethylbenzanthrazene/Croton oil induced skin papilloma in mice in a dose dependent manner (Babu, Shylesh and Padikkala,)