Preliminary Study of Chemical Profiles and Anti-inflammatory Activity of Interchangeable Herb Comparing between Angelica sinensis(Oliv.) Diels. and Zingiber cassumunar Roxb.according to Thai Traditional Medicine Theory.

Abstract

The theory of Thai traditional medicine indicates that medicinal plants possessing similar indications can be used interchangeably as ingredients in traditional recipes. Thus, Angelica sinensis has been recommended to be replaced by Zingiber cassumunar because Angelica sinensis is an imported raw material and is more expensive. This study aimed to investigate and evaluate the possibility of interchanging Angelica sinensis with Zingiber cassumunar. The chemical profiles and anti-inflammatory activity of the two herbs were identified using thin layer chromatography technique and lipoxygenase inhibition assay, respectively. The results indicated that: 1) The methanolic extracts of Zingiber cassumunar and Angelica sinensis presented similar retention factor (Rf) values of 0.34 and 0.64, respectively. The Rf values of ethyl acetate extracts were 0.64, 0.68, and 0.77, respectively. The Rf values of the hexane extracts were 0.22, 0.30, and 0.60 respectively, 2) Methanolic, ethyl acetate, and hexane extracts of the herbs at 0.1 mg/mL and 1 mg/mL also showed insignificant anti-inflammatory activity. Our findings that Angelica sinensis and Zingiber cassumunar extracts have similar chemical profiles and patterns of anti-inflammatory activity suggest that those herbs might be used interchangeably as ingredients in traditional recipes. However, further clinical study comparing the two herbs is necessary to confirm their interchangeability.