Research on liver protection products from wild pineapple

Currently, the most common liver diseases in Vietnam are liver dysfunction, increased liver enzymes, hepatitis, liver abscess, cirrhosis and liver cancer. Some liver protection drugs imported into Vietnam such as silymarin, biphenyldimethyl dicarboxylate have relatively good effects, but the high price is not suitable for the economic conditions of most patients when they have to take medicine for a long time. Meanwhile, products of herbal origin help protect the liver in the early stages, treat liver diseases promptly, can be used regularly because they are safe, with few side effects.

Some Vietnamese medicinal plants contain many active ingredients that have been confirmed to have the ability to protect the liver and are used in traditional medicine to treat liver diseases, including wild pineapple plants that grow naturally in some northern mountainous provinces. In oriental medicine, leaves, young shoots, and roots of wild pineapple are often used as diuretics, to treat urinary tract infections, blood pressure, etc. In addition, wild pineapple fruits and roots can be used in combination with other herbs to treat hepatitis and cirrhosis.

However, up to now, there has been no scientific work in Vietnam or in the world published on the chemical composition as well as the pharmacological effects of the wild pineapple fruit of the North. Therefore, the group of authors from the University of Natural Sciences - Vietnam National University, Hanoi has carried out the topic "Research on the process of extracting the total extract with anti-inflammatory and liver-protecting effects from wild pineapple fruit (Pandanus tonkinensis Mart. ex B Stone)".

Specifically, the group of authors isolated and determined the chemical composition of 14 compounds in wild pineapple. The isolated compounds belong to the groups of lignans (4 substances), neolignans (2 substances), flavan (1 substance), lignan glycosides (4 substances), phenylpropanoic glycosides (2 substances) and megastigmane glycosides (1 substance). These are groups of substances with biological activities that have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and liver-protective effects.

In addition, the group extracted and purified two main compounds, Pinoresinol 4-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside and Vladinol F, as reference substances for testing medicinal herbs and preparations.

The group also developed a process for preparing the total extract from wild pineapple. Accordingly, dried wild pineapple powder is refluxed with 40% EtOH solvent for 4 hours and 30 minutes at 40oC. The resulting extract is further evaporated by vacuum to a liquid extract, then steamed to a concentrated wild pineapple extract.

The results of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Drug Control showed that the quality indicators and content of Pinoresinol 4-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside and Vladinol F in the extract were 1 mg/gr, meeting the basic standards.

In the test on the model of mice with cirrhosis, the extract was safe, did not show acute toxicity and when taken continuously for 90 days. The extract had the effect of improving liver function in experimental mice.

According to Prof. Dr. Pham Hung Viet, Project Manager, to move towards commercialized products, it is necessary to continue research on the formulation of appropriate preparations for use on the basis of high-quality raw materials or standardized medicinal herbs.

The group of authors' topic has been accepted by the Department of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City with satisfactory results.

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