Evaluation of inhibitory effect of Benjakul on lipopolysaccharid- stimulated prostaglandin E2 production during accelerated storage condition

Abstract

Inflammation of muscles is a common symptom of all ages caused by various reasons, which could occur in specific areas or spread extensively. Muscle relaxants and non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) are commonly used to relieve pain and symptom. However, both have several side effects. Therefore, drugs for external use are often used together with oral drugs to relieve symptoms. Benjakul, a Thai herbal remedy, is commonly used in Thai traditional medicine. It consist of five hot herbs, namely Piper chaba Hunt., Piper sarmentosum Roxb., Piper interuptum Opiz., Plumbago indica Linn., (Plumbago rosea Linn), and Zingiber officinale Roscoe. The anti-inflammatory effects of Benjakul have been recorded since ancient times. A recent study has found that Benjakul has effect to inhibit PGE2 production but the stability of the activity has not been reported. However, in view of developing an anti-inflammatory product, the stability of this activity has to be evaluated. The objective of this study was to evaluate the inhibitory effect of Benjakul on lipopolysaccharid (LPS)-stimulated prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) [1] production during accelerated storage conditions. The 95% ethanol extract of Benjakul was used. It was kept at 40 degree Celsius with 75% humidity condition, which was called accelerated condition [2], then collected every 30 day for 6 months and tested for inhibition of PGE2 production. The study found that there was no statistically significant difference in inhibition of PGE2 production activity among samples collected from different periods of time. From the result, it can refer to the abilities that the inhibitory effect of Benjakul extract is stable to inhibit PGE2 production activity for 2 years. These results suggest that Benjakul extract may potentially be developed as phytopharmaceutical product to treat muscle inflammation.