Elsevier

Journal of Ethnopharmacology

Volume 139, Issue 2, 31 January 2012, Pages 649-656
Journal of Ethnopharmacology

Evaluation of the anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties of individual and combined extracts from Commiphora myrrha, and Boswellia carterii

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2011.12.013Get rights and content

Abstract

Aim of the study

The Chinese herbs of myrrh and frankincense are often combined for treating some inflammatory pain diseases with synergistic therapeutic effects. In this study, we investigated the effects of individual herbal extracts and combined extract on anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities in vivo and analyzed the potential bioactive components from the combination extract by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrum (UPLC–MS/MS).

Materials and methods

The anti-inflammatory activities were investigated by utilizing the paw edema mice induced by formalin and carrageenan. In addition, we determined the levels of PGE2 and nitrite in the edema paw. The analgesic activity was examined against oxytocin-induced dysmenorrhea in mice. The effects of the administration of dolantin or indomethacin were also studied for references. The components in combination extract (CWE) were analyzed by UPLC–MS/MS.

Results

The results showed that myrrh water extract (MWE) and the combined extract (CWE) at the 3.9 g/kg, and 5.2 g/kg showed inhibition of formalin-induced paw edema with inhibition rate of 30.44%, and 23.50%, respectively. The PGE2 production was inhibited significantly by all samples (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05). CWE showed stronger suppression on carrageenan-induced mice paw edema at 2 and 3 h after administration of drugs. The inhibitory effect of CWE on nitrite production was between that of MWE and water extract of frankincense (FWE) at 5.2 g/kg. The dysmenorrhea mice test showed MWE could remarkably reduce the writhing times (P < 0.05) and prolong the latency period, while FWE showed no obvious effects on the writhing times. CWE significantly reduced the writhing times and prolong the latency period (P < 0.01).

Conclusion

These results demonstrated MWE, FWE, and CWE exhibited significant anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities. The findings suggest that CWE may be therapeutically more useful for mitigating inflammatory pain than individual herbal extract. In addition, 12 potential active compounds were identified from CWE. These data may support the fact the traditional application of this combined extract in treating various diseases associated with inflammatory pain.

Introduction

Inflammation is the body's response against invading pathogens, which is typically characterized by redness, swelling, pain, and heat. It can also be viewed as a complex system and related to homeostatic perturbations which initiated from within the body (for example, in autoimmune disease) or from the outside (for example, in infections). Virtually all acute and chronic diseases are either driven or modulated by inflammation. Previous reports have provided evidence that inflammation is involved in the pathogenesis of many diseases, including aging (Finch, 2005), cancer (Caruso et al., 2004), atherosclerosis (Paoletti et al., 2004), cardiovascular disease (Rus and Niculescu, 1997), arthritis (Firestein, 2006), neurodegenerative disease (Klegeris et al., 2007), diabetes mellitus (Libby and Plutzky, 2007), obesity (Yan et al., 2008), and other life-threatening and debilitating diseases (Tsirpanlis, 2005). There is an increased recognition that the role of inflammation is more and more important in a wide spectrum of diseases (Nathan, 2002).

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as diclofenac, are prescribed worldwide for the management of pain, inflammation and fever, as well as cardiovascular protection. But their uses were limited because of the major fact with gastrointestinal damage (Wolfe et al., 1999, Scheiman, 2001), in spite of NSAIDs have provided effective management of pain and inflammation highly. Also kidney damage, increase in blood pressure and some other cardiovascular problems have been found with NSAIDs (Burke et al., 2006). Therefore, during the past decades many researchers have focused on medicinal plants with fewer side-effects for patients to develop anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs.

Myrrh, a traditional herbal medicine in China, is derived from Commiphora myrrha (Nees) Engl. (Burseraceae) and various other species of Commiphora. It has been used widely in clinic for treatment of fever, stomach complaints, diseases of gall bladder, skin infections, amenorrhea, ache, dysmenorrhea, tumors, chest ailments, and snake bites in India, China, Rome, and Greece (EI Ashry et al., 2003, Shen and Lou, 2008, Su et al., 2008a). Pharmacological studies also have showed that myrrh possesses multiple activities, including anti-inflammatory, cytotoxic, anesthetic, and antimicrobial effects (Massoud et al., 2004).

The chemical substances from myrrh are composed of about 3–8% essential oil, 30–60% water-soluble gum and 25–40% alcohol-soluble resins (Tucker, 1986). Phytochemical investigation previously showed that a series of metabolites including terpenoids, steroids, flavonoids, lignans, carbohydrates, and long chain aliphatic alcohol derivatives were isolated and identified from Commiphora species (EI Ashry et al., 2003, Shen and Lou, 2008, Su et al., 2008b). And it was reported that the furanosesquiterpenoids were rich in the myrrh essential oil and around 20 different compounds of this type have been identified (Zhu et al., 2003).

Ruxiang (Frankincense) is dried gum resin of Boswellia carterii or one of 43 species in the genus Boswellia of the family Burseraceae. It has been used to alleviate pain and inflammation, to invigorate the circulation of blood in China and as an antiarthritic in Ayuredic medicine in India for thousands of years (Safayhi et al., 1992). Previous studies in vitro have shown that the boswellic acids isolated from Frankincense exhibited potential immunomodulatory effects (Sharma et al., 1996, Ammon, 2010). Frankincense is commonly used in TCMs to reduce swelling and alleviate the pain of inflammatory diseases or tumors (Safayhi et al., 1992, Fan et al., 2005). Moreover, it is also used as dietary supplements for patients with arthritis or other inflammation and pain related disorders in USA (McGuffin et al., 1997).

In China, herbal formulae are commonly used and well documented in ancient and modern literatures for treatment of different disorders (Peng, 1998). According to Chinese herbal theory, these combinations are intended to obtain increased potency due to synergistic interactions between the individual herbs. So it was considered that the therapy of combinations is superior to individual herbal treatment and could neutralize potential toxicity and side effects of the individual herb (Bensky and Gamble, 1993).

Myrrh and Frankincense are often used for their combination on clinic in order to obtain a synergistic effect with relieving pain and activating blood circulation, and especially to treat blood stasis syndrome of gynecology diseases, for example dysmenorrhea. However, the scientific evaluation of its effects is lacking.

The objective of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities of myrrh and frankincense extract and the potential interactions of their combinations. The bioactive components also were analyzed by UPLC–MS/MS.

Section snippets

Materials

Myrrh and frankincense were purchased from commercial market in Nanjing City, China. The resin used in this study was collected from Guangdong, China, in April 2009 and traded in the market as medicinal resin. They were identified as resin derived from Commiphora myrrha (Nees) Engl. and Boswellia carterii Birdw., respectively, by Prof. Jin-ao Duan (Department of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China). The voucher specimens (nos. NJUTCM090210 and NJUTCM090606)

Effects of MWE, FWE, and CWE on formalin test

The results of formalin test have been summarized in Table 1. They showed that at the dose described before, the MWE, and CWE showed significantly inhibited formalin-induced paw edema in mice. The MWE showed more significant (inhibition rate of 30.44%) inhibitory activity on edema development than CWE, while FWE exhibited mild activities. In the formalin test, the data showed that the MWE, FWE would exhibit interaction of antagonistic action. In the other hand, the positive control meperidine

Discussion and conclusion

The resins of Commiphora myrrha and Boswellia carterii are traditional herbs, which have been used for treatment of some inflammatory and hurt diseases such as traumatic injury and inflammatory pain in China for a long time (Avlessi et al., 2005). Frankincense has been used in Asia for thousands of years to treat a variety of diseases and symptoms, including rheumatoid arthritis and related diseases (Bensky and Gamble, 1993). In recent years, herbs or herbal formulae have been received

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 30973885), Key Research Project in Basic Science of Jiangsu College and University (nos. 11KJA360002 and 06KJA36022).

This research was financially supported by the Construction Project for Jiangsu Key Laboratory for High Technology Research of TCM Formulae (BM2010576), Construction Project for Jiangsu Engineering Center of Innovative Drug from Blood-conditioning TCM Formulae, National Key Technology R&D Program (

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