Diverse biological activities of moxa extract and smoke.

Diverse biological activities of moxa extracts and smoke (gas phase) were investigated. Moxa was extracted with hot water (Fr. I), or ethanol (Fr. II), or extracted with hot water after ethanol wash (Fr. III) and then lyophilized to obtain the dried powders. Moxa smoke (containing a lot of gaseous components obtained by burning Moxa) (Fr. IV) was collected into phosphate-buffered saline and quantified spectrophotometrically. These extracts and Moxa smoke showed comparable cytotoxic activity against human oral tumor cell lines (HSC-2, HSG). Human gingival fibroblasts (HGF) were more resistant to any Moxa fractions. Neither of the extracts showed anti-HIV activity. Pretreatment of mice with Fr. I significantly reduced the lethal effect of E. coli infection. All extracts produced radicals under alkaline condition, with a maximum intensity at pH 10.5, and enhanced the radical intensity of sodium ascorbate. It was unexpected that these extracts show significant O2- scavenging activities. These data suggest the medicinal efficacy of Moxa extracts and smoke.