Evaluation of the bioactivity of triterpene mixture isolated from Carmona retusa (Vahl.) Masam leaves.

The major constituent of Carmona retusa (Vahl.) Masam. leaves is an intractable mixture of triterpenes, namely alpha-amyrin (43.7%), beta-amyrin (24.9%), and baurenol (31.4%). At a dosage of 100mg/kg mouse, the triterpene mixture exhibited 51% analgesic activity but only showed 20% anti-inflammatory activity. Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance by ranks showed that the triterpene mixture is as active as mefenamic acid, a commercially available analgesic, at alpha = 0.01. The charcoal tracing test showed a 29% anti-diarrheal activity for the triterpene mixture, which increased to 55% at a dosage of 250 mg/kg mouse. At the higher dosage, the triterpene mixture differed significantly from its solvent control at alpha = 0.01. Results of the micronucleus test showed that the triterpene mixture did not exhibit mutagenic nor anti-mutagenic activity at alpha = 0.001. There was no significant decrease in blood glucose levels (bgl) in alloxan-induced diabetic mice after administration of the triterpene mixture. The triterpene mixture was inactive against Escherichia coli and possessed moderate activities against Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans, and Trichophyton mentagrophytes. Copyright 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.