Age-related chemical profiles and osteoblast differentiation activity of 18-month old Cissus quadrangularis L.

Herbal product uniformity is a big challenge as constituents are affected by many factors. To produce high quality herbal products, the consistent supply of high quality herbal raw materials is necessary which will result in the development of the standard cultivation and harvesting process that controls the phytochemical-related factors for each plant [1]. This study defined those factors needed to achieve this outcome. Cissus quadrangularis L. (CQ) stems have been used in many Asian traditional preparations—e.g., for healing of bone fracture in Ayurvedic medicine [2]. The CQ harvesting time is highly varied from 6 months to 3 years and no study has indicated the cultivating factors that affect quality. Therefore, we study the activity-related chemical profiles of CQ stems during age change. CQ was cultivated separately in six rows in the same area in Prachinburi province, Thailand. The new-growth stems were labelled every month until 18 months old before collecting separately. TLC fingerprints of CQ hexane extracts—a bone-formation active extract [3],[4]—were established with two-mobile phase systems. The stem chemical profiles showed differences between young shoots (<3 months), mature (4–15 months) and old woody stems (16–18 months); moreover, differences between the stems, leaves and inflorescence were observed. The CQ extracts stimulated activities on osteoblast differentiation in vitro [3] and the activity-chemical profile relation was analyzed by multivariate analysis. The results will be discussed for further development of the standard production process of consistent high-quality CQ raw materials.

• References

• 1 World Health Organization. WHO guidelines on good agricultural and collection practices (GACP) for medicinal plants. Geneva: ; 2003
• 2 Williamson EM. Major herbs of Ayuraveda. London: Churchill Livingstone; 2002
• 3 Pathomwichaiwat T, Ochareon P, Soonthornchareonnon N, Ali Z, Khan IA, Prathanturarug S. Alkaline phosphatase activity-guided isolation of active compounds and new dammarane-type triterpenes from Cissus quadrangularis hexane extract. J Ethnopharmacol 2015; 160: 52-60
• 4 Pathomwichaiwat T, Suvitayavat W, Sailasuta A, Piyachaturawat P, Soonthornchareonnon N, Prathanturarug S. Antiosteoporotic effect of sequential extracts and freeze-dried juice of Cissus quadrangularis L. in ovariectomized mice. Asian Biomed 2012; 6: 377-384