ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Investigating the antioxidant activities of water and ethanol extracts of natural Cordyceps sinensis and Cordyceps militaris and their fermentation preparations. METHOD: The samples were tested through 6 assays: inhibition ability of linoleic acid oxidation; scavenging activity of DPPH, hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radical and superoxide anion; and metal chelating activity. RESULT: Samples showed different antioxidant ability, and there was not an extract that exhibited high activity in all assays; however, water extract of natural C. militaris could be regarded as the most powerful antioxidant among 8 samples. It had high activity in inhibition of linoleic acid oxidation, chelating metal ions, and scavenging DPPH and hydroxyl radical. The research also indicated that the contents of phenolic compounds in water and ethanol extracts of natural and cultured Cordyceps sp. had huge difference. CONCLUSION: Natural Cordyceps sp. and its fermentation preparations could be used as potential natural antioxidants. The fermented process affected the antioxidant ability of cultured Cordyceps sp., and the antioxidant activity of both natural and cultured Cordyceps sp. did not significantly related with the quantity of phenolics.
Subject(s)
Antioxidants/pharmacology , Cordyceps/chemistry , Free Radical Scavengers/pharmacology , Materia Medica/pharmacology , Antioxidants/isolation & purification , Chelating Agents/isolation & purification , Chelating Agents/pharmacology , Cordyceps/growth & development , Cordyceps/metabolism , Ethanol , Fermentation , Flavonoids/analysis , Flavonoids/metabolism , Free Radical Scavengers/isolation & purification , Linoleic Acid/metabolism , Materia Medica/isolation & purification , Oxidation-Reduction/drug effects , Phenols/analysis , Phenols/metabolism , PolyphenolsABSTRACT
Quality of homoeopathic mother tinctures is assured by the definition of the starting material, the manufacturing process and the analytical characteristics described in the monograph. Traditionally analytical characterisation of the mother tincture comprises appearance, odour, identity, density and dry residue. According to annex I of directive 2001/83/EC an assay is only performed in case of a health hazard due to toxic compounds. The concept of marker substances as usually used in phytotherapy cannot be transferred to mother tinctures without research effort. For example the marker substances echinacoside, apigenin-7-glucoside and rosmarinic acid found in dried underground parts of Echinacea pallida Nutt., dried flower heads of Matricaria recutita L. and dried herb of Pulmonaria officinalis L. cannot be found in homoeopathic mother tinctures prepared from fresh material thereof.
Subject(s)
Materia Medica/analysis , Chromatography, Liquid , Chromatography, Thin Layer , Echinacea/chemistry , Flavonoids/analysis , Germany , Homeopathy/standards , Matricaria/chemistry , Pharmaceutical Solutions , Pharmacopoeias, Homeopathic as Topic , Phenols/analysis , Plant Preparations/analysis , Polyphenols , Pulmonaria/chemistry , Reference Standards , SolutionsABSTRACT
Quantitative determination of markers may improve quality control of herbal homoeopathic mother tinctures. Since the activity of homoeopathic medicinal products does not depend on the specific content of such markers, appropriate substances can be selected according to analytical aspects only. We tested carbohydrates, amino acids, total polyphenols and flavonols in different mother tinctures. The results obtained with the latter two groups of substances imply that corresponding tests might be useful for inclusion into pharmacopoeial monographs.