Traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics and toxicology of the fruit of Tetradium ruticarpum: A review

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

The fruit of Tetradium ruticarpum (FTR) known as Tetradii fructus or Evodiae fructus (Wu-Zhu-Yu in Chinese) is a versatile herbal medicine which has been prescribed in Chinese herbal formulas and recognized in Japanese Kampo. FTR has been clinically used to treat various diseases such as headache, vomit, diarrhea, abdominal pain, dysmenorrhea and pelvic inflammation for thousands of years.

AIM OF THE REVIEW

The present paper aimed to provide comprehensive information on the ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, drug interaction and toxicology of FTR in order to build up a foundation on the mechanism of ethnopharmacological uses as well as to explore the trends and perspectives for further studies.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This review collected the literatures published prior to July 2020 on the phytochemistry, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics and toxicity of FTR. All relevant information on FTR was gathered from worldwide accepted scientific search engines and databases, including Web of Science, PubMed, Elsevier, ACS, ResearchGate, Google Scholar, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). Information was also obtained from local books, PhD. and MSc. Dissertations as well as from Pharmacopeias.

RESULTS

FTR has been used as an herbal medicine for centuries in East Asia. A total of 165 chemical compounds have been isolated so far and the main chemical compounds of FTR include alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, phenolic acids, steroids, and phenylpropanoids. Crude extracts, processed products (medicinal slices) and pure components of FTR exhibit a wide range of pharmacological activities such as antitumor, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-obesity, antioxidant, insecticide, regulating central nervous system (CNS) homeostasis, cardiovascular protection. Furthermore, bioactive components isolated from FTR can induce drug interaction and hepatic injury.

CONCLUSIONS

Therapeutic potential of FTR has been demonstrated with the pharmacological effects on cancer, inflammation, cardiovascular diseases, CNS, bacterial infection and obesity. Pharmacological and pharmacokinetic studies of FTR mostly focus on its main active alkaloids. Further in-depth studies on combined medication and processing approaches mechanisms, pharmacological and toxic effects not limited to the alkaloids, and toxic components of FTR should be designed.

[Study on efficacy and accompanying toxic and side effects of volatile oil of Evodia Fructus based on stomach cold syndrome model]

OBJECTIVE

To preliminarily study the effective dosage range and mechanism of the abirritation of volatile oil of Evodia Fructus on the stomach cold syndrome model in mice, and discuss the correlation between its accompanying toxicity and oxidative damage mechanism, in order to provide the experimental basis for explaining the efficacy-syndrome-toxicity correlation.

METHOD

The stomach cold-syndrome model in mice was induced by the classic hot plate test by orally administrating with different doses of volatile oil of Evodia Fructus, in order to observe its abirritation and companying toxic and side effects and detect serum ALT, AST, PGE2, NO, NOS, MDA, SOD, GSH, GSH-Px, BUN, CR and hepatic ALT, AST. The companying toxic symptoms in mice were recorded in toxic reaction integral table.

RESULT

Volatile oil of Evodia Fructus had an obvious analgesic effect at 30 min after the oral administration and reached the peak effect at 60 min, with certain "dose-effect" and "time-effect" relations, rises in serum and hepatic ALT and AST levels, serum PGE2, MDA, NO and NOS and hepatic indexes, decreases in SOD, GSH and GSH-Px and no notable change in BUN, CR levels and kidney weight/body ratio. Conclusion: The abirritation mechanism of volatile oil of Evodia Fructus was related to the inhibition of pain transmitter release, peroxidative damage and NO damage, which is accompanied by certain hepatotoxicity, mainly mainly oxidative damage, with a concurrent "dose-time-toxicity" relationship.

[Study on efficacy accompanied by side effects of water extraction components of Evodiae Fructus based on syndrome model]

The range of effective dose and mechanism of abirritation about water extraction components of Evodiae Fructus on the stomach cold syndrome model in mice were preliminary studied. The method of stomach cold-syndrome model in mice was built, which were administrated with different doses water extraction components of Evodiae Fructus, observing abirritation and toxicity by the classical hot plate method, detecting the level of ALT, AST, PGE2, NO, NOS, MDA, SOD, GSH, GSH-Px, BUN, CR in serum and ALT, AST in hepatic tissue, and recording toxicity symptoms in mice according to the list of relevant toxicity reaction. The water extraction component of Evodiae Fructus has obvious analgesic action after administration 30 min, arriving peak effect after administration 60 min, showing certain "dose-time-toxicity" relationship. ALT and AST levels in mice serum and liver tissue enhanced; PGE2, MDA, NO, NOS enhanced in mice serum; SOD, GSH, GSH-Px reduced; the BUN, CR levels was no significant alteration; liver weight/ body weight enhanced; kidney weight/body weight was no significant alteration. The a irritation mechanism of volatile oil of Evodiae Fructus was connected with suppressing pain transmitters release, per oxidative damage mechanism and NO damage, which also induced hepatotoxicity and the mechanism of hepatotoxicity is main lyoxidative damage, showing certain "dose-time-toxicity" relationship in accordance to hepato-toxicity injury.

[Toxicological assessment on safety of water and 70% ethanolic extracts of nearly ripe fruit of Evodia rutaecarpa]

OBJECTIVE

To study the acute toxicity and mutagenic risk of the water extracts (ERWE) and 70% ethanol extracts (EREE) from the nearly ripe fruit of Evodia rutaecarpa, and provide experimental basis for safety evaluation of ones.

METHOD

The ERWE and EREE were prepared from the nearly ripe fruit of E. rutaecarpa by reflux extraction with H2O and 70% ethanol aqueous solution for three times, respectively. According to the terms from "technical standards for test & toxicological assessment of health food" issued by Healthy Ministry of PRC, acute toxicity, and Ames, mouse marrow cell micronucleus and mouse sperm aberration test were performed. Acute toxicity test of ERWE and EREE in mice was studied by the method of Horn to give the median lethal dose (LD50). Forty healthy Kunming strain male and female mice were used and their body weights ranged from 17-22 g. All of them were distributed randomly to 4 different dose groups which each had 10 mice. The ERWE or EREE was administered at the doses of 1.00, 2.15, 4.64 and 10.00 g x kg(-1), respectively, via intragastrical route. The number of animals poisoned and died in each group were noted daily for 7 consecutive days. The Ames test was carried out using the Salmonella typhimurium strain TA97, TA98, TA100 and TA102. In the sperm abnormalities test, 25 healthy adult male Kunming strain mice with a body weights ranged from 25-35 g were distributed randomly to 5 different groups (1 positive control, 1 negative control and 3 treated groups) which each had 5 mice. A single dose of 60 g x kg(-1) of cyclophosphamide was intragastrically administered to mice in a positive control group, and the mice in the negative control group were administered with the same volume of distilled water. In the treated groups, the ERWE or EREE was intragastrically administered at the doses of 1.25, 250 and 5.00 g x kg(-1), respectively, via the same route with the positive control group. The administration was carried out once daily for 5 consecutive days. The sperm suspension was prepared from caudal epididymis of male mice at 35th day after treatment with different doses of the extract. The suspension was stained with Eosin-Y and air-dried smears were prepared. One thousand sperms per animal were analysed for abnormal shapes and the rates of sperm aberration was calculated. In the mouse bone marrow micronucleus assay, 50 healthy adult male and female Kunming mice, weighing 25 to 30 g, were randomly assigned to five groups (1 positive control, 1 negative control and 3 treated groups) which each had 10 mice, five males and five females. The mice were intragastrically administered twice at intervals of 24 h with the ERWE or EREE at doses of 1.25, 2.50 and 5.00 g x kg(-1) in the positive control group. A single dose of 60 g x kg(-1) of cyclophosphamide in a positive control group and the same volume of distilled water in a negative control groups were intragastrically administered, respectively. Mouse bone marrow was obtained from 10 animals for each group at 6 h after the last dose administration. Smears were stained with Giemsa and analysed for the presence of mouse bone marrow micronucleus from 1 000 cells.

RESULT

The oral acute toxicity study in mice revealed that the LD50 of the both ERWE and EREE was more than 10.0 g x kg(-1). The mice with both the poisoned sign or died had not been observed after intragastrical administration of ERWE or EREE at the doses of 1.00, 2.15, 4.64 and 10.00 g x kg(-1). The results of genotoxicity tests were all negative, including Ames, mouse marrow cell micronucleus and mouse sperm aberration test. In the all assay in vivo, the mice showed a normally progressive increase in body weight from the start to the end of the experiment.

CONCLUSION

The oral LD50 of the ERWE and EREE in mice was more than 10.0 g x kg(-1) belonging to non-toxicity on the acute toxicity rating criteria. The both ERWE and EREE showed no genotoxicity in the experimental condition.