Abstract
A number of medicinal plants have been traditionally used for treatment of various ailments, and it has been suggested that tannin may be the active agent of many of them. Among the major activities of tannins found are antioxidant and radical scavenging activities.1,2 These are the basic activities underlying the action of tannin-rich medicinal plants, which are effective in preventing and treating many diseases such as arteriosclerosis, heart dysfunction, and liver injury by inhibiting lipid-peroxidation.3,4 The inhibition of hepatotoxins5 and mutagens6 and the antitumor-promoter action of polyphenols7,8 are also correlated with their antioxidant activity. Most of these actions have been shown using comparatively low-molecular-weight tannins, including epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). On the other hand, hydrolyzable tannin monomers, oligomers, and galloylated condensed tannins inhibit the replication of herpes simplex virus9 and human immunodeficiency virus10,11 by blocking virus adsorption to the target cells and inhibition of reverse transcriptase activity of the virus. It is also known that many plants containing tannins are effective against cancer and tumors.12,15
Published Version
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