Interaction of herbal ingredients contained in the Trikatuk recipe: design of experiment (DOE) and chemical analysis point of view

Abstract

Trikatuk is an herbal recipe used in Thai traditional medicines since ancient times. However, there is no scientific support about the use of the Trikatuk with an equal weight ratio of its herbal mixture. This work sought to apply the design of experiment to determine the interaction between Zingiber officinale Roscoe rhizomes, Piper nigrum L. fruits, and Piper retrofractum Vahl. infructescences, which are found in the traditional Trikatuk recipe. The chemical markers 6-gingerol and piperine were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography. A response surface analysis was also conducted to describe the level of interaction among the three herbal plants. The analysis method was a linear response, specific, precise, and accurate. Estimation of interaction generated using computer software were both precise and reliable. The high extraction yield was achieved at a high Piper retrofractum ratio. The high 6-gingerol content was found at the high Zingiber officinale ratio. The high piperine content was found at the equal ratio of Piper nigrum and Piper retrofractum. According to the interaction, the traditional Trikatuk recipe exhibited at least 200% increase in active compounds yield as compared with the effects of any of the plants individually. Data from this work could be used to describe the interaction of Trikatuk extract. Moreover, they may support that the use of the Trikatuk with an equal weight ratio distribution of the three herbal plants is in fact already appropriate.