Planta Med 1994; 60(5): 421-424
DOI: 10.1055/s-2006-959523
Paper

© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

The Antipsoriatic Mahonia aquifolium and its Active Constituents; I. Pro- and Antioxidant Properties and Inhibition of 5-Lipoxygenase

K. Müller, K. Ziereis
  • Institut für Pharmazie, Universität Regensburg, Universitätsstr. 31, D-93040 Regensburg, Federal Republic of Germany
Further Information

Publication History

1993

1993

Publication Date:
04 January 2007 (online)

Abstract

The effects of the extract of the bark of Mahonia aquifolium and its main constituents (berberine, berbamine, oxyacanthine) on 5-lipoxygenase, lipid peroxidation in phospholipid liposomes induced by 2,2′-azo-(bis-2-amidinopropane), deoxyribose degradation, and their reactivities against the free radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl have been studied. The extract of M. aquifolium inhibits 5-LO with an IC50 value of 50 µM, whereas no appreciable effects were observed by its constituent alkaloids. Reactivity against DPPH increased in the following order: berberine < M. aquifolium < oxyacanthine, berbamine. Pro-oxidant effects by M. aquifolium or its constituents can be excluded, since deoxyribose degradation was not influenced as determined by the release of malondialdehyde. The most prominent feature of M. aquifolium is its efficacy in inhibition of lipid peroxidation (IC50 = 5 µM) which was not mediated by the alkaloids berberine, berbamine, and oxyacanthine.