민속식물의 알도즈 환원효소 억제작용

Abstract

Abstract : To search for the aldose reductase (AR) inhibitors from Korean folk plants, the inhibition of rat lens AR in vitro using the methanol (MeOH) extracts from Korean folk plants was investigated. Among fifty four Korean folk plants tested, the MeOH extract of Cedrela sinensis showed highest inhibition of AR (IC 50 value, 2.52 μg/ml). The plant C. sinensis has a possibility of new natural resources for the development of AR inhibitor for the prevention of diabetic complications. Key words : Aldose reductase inhibition, Cedrela sinensis , Diabetic complications, Folk plant *Corresponding author: Tel: +82-31-670-4688E-mail address: slee@cau.ac.kr I. Introduction Folk plants are traditional plants widely known among the people in daily life for food, disease remedy, and personal preference for a long time. The use of tradi-tional medicine has been expanded globally and gaining popularity during last decade. It has been estimated that about 20,000 plant species are used for medicinal purposes throughout the world. According to World Health Organization (WHO) report (2002), 70% of the world population use medicinal plants for curing diseases through their traditional practitioners. In sub-continent, plant oriented drugs are used extensively and from a very long time. According to a survey conducted by WHO, traditional healers treat 65% patients in Srilanka, 60% in Indonesia, 75% in Nepal, 85% in Myanmar, 80% in India, and 90% in Bangladesh. In Pakistan, 60% of the population, especially in villages is getting health care by traditional practitioners, who prescribe herbal preparations (Hamayun et al., 2006). Developed countries are turning to the use of traditional medicinal systems that involve the use of herbal drugs and remedies. About 1,400 herbal preparations are used widely, according to a recent survey in Member States of the European Union. Herbal preparations are popular and are of significance in primary healthcare in Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Such popularity of healthcare plant-derived products has been traced to their increasing acceptance and use in the cosmetic industry as well as to increasing public costs in the daily maintenance of personal health and well-being (Hoareau and da Silva, 1999). Like the preceding, herbal medicines for disease remedy are an important