Abstract:
Alpinia zerumbet (Pers.) B.L. Burrt & R.M.Sm. Family Zingiberaceae is commonly known as shell ginger. It is used in folk medicine for its anti-inflammatory, bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties. It is also used for treatment of cardiovascular hypertension and as an antispasmodic agent. The preliminary phytochemical screening of rhizomes and leaves revealed the presence of volatile oil and flavonoids. The essential oil of the fresh leaves and rhizomes was obtained by hydro-distillation. GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of many compounds qualitatively. 1,8-cineole and terpinen-4-ol were identified as major compounds in the essential oil of leaves and rhizomes respectively. In vitro monolayer of rat hepatocytes revealed that the LC50 of the aqueous extract of dried rhizome powder was more than 1000 µg/ml and that of the total methanolic extract of dried rhizome was 500 – 750 µg/ml in concentration compared to the control cells. At the same time the hepatoprotective activity on monolayer hepatocytes for aqueous extract was100 µg/ml and for the methanolic extract was 25 – 50 µg/ml in concentration. On the other hand the in in vitro cytotoxicity study showed that the aqueous extract exerted toxicity on U937 cells at a concentration of 100 µg/ml while it was safe on PBMC cells. For the cytotoxicity of the methanolic extract, it was safe on both U937 and PBMC cells till 100 µg/ml in concentration. References: [1] Egyptian Pharmacopoeia, English text, 3rd Ed., University Press, Cairo, (1984). [2] Finar, I. L.; "Organic Chemistry", 6th Ed., Longman group Ltd., England, 445 (1973). [3] Adams, R. P.; "Identification of Essential Oil Components by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectroscopy", Allured Publishing Corp., Carol Stream, Illinois, U.S.A., (1995).
