Evaluation of Anticoagulation and Antioxidant Activity of Five Common Spices of Bangladesh

Abstract

Pants and herbs have been used for the therapeutic purpose since time immemorial. Apart from boosting flavor, herbs and spices are also known for their preservative, antioxidant, antimicrobial and other medicinal properties. Spices are sources of wide variety of secondary metabolites which have been used for treatment of several human health disorders. Great pharmaceutical significance of bioactive metabolites with aspiring prospect has guided the present study to screen for anticoagulation activity, serine protease inhibitory assay and antioxidant activity of five common spices available in Bangladesh. Z. officinile, A. sativum, C. verum, C. longa., C sativum were extracted separately with ethanol and water for bioactivity analysis. Anticoagulation activity was assessed by prothrombin time assay. A. sativum could inhibit the blood plasma to make a thrombin clot at 25.13±0.9781 min (at 1000μg/ml concentration). C. verum exhibited the highest serine protease inhibitory activity (78% inhibition of protease at 400 μg/ml concentration) among the five spices. Antioxidant activity was assessed by using DPPH free radical scavenging assay, reducing power assay and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. C. verum extract demonstrated the highest free radical scavenging activity (IC50: 46.46 μg/ml) and FRAP value (375.28 μM Fe (II)/100μg dry weight of extract). Furthermore, total phenolic and flavonoid contents determined in the extracts of five spices where C. verum and Z. officinale demonstrated highest flavonoid (47.055+0.006 mg QE/g of extract) and phenolic content (153.33+0.012 mg GAE/g of extract) respectively. In conclusion among the five common spices of Bangladesh A. sativum, C. verum and Z. officinale were found to be potent anticoagulation and serine protease inhibitory activity which we postulate were exerted by phenolic and flavonoid molecules. The screens employed in this present study are preliminary and further study is required to ascertain whether the spices extracts could be utilized as source and template for the synthesis of potential drugs of anticoagulation and others.