HEALTH NEWS

Study Title:

Chasteberry (Vitex) Reduces Inflammation

Study Abstract

Several secondary metabolites, artemetin (1), casticin (2), 3,3'-dihydroxy-5,6,7,4'-tetramethoxy flavon (3), penduletin (4), methyl 4-hydroxybenzoate (5), p-hydroxybenzoic acid (6), methyl 3,4-dihydroxybenzoate (7), 5-hydroxy-2-methoxybenzoic acid (8), vanillic acid (9) and 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (10) were isolated from a folkloric medicinal plant, Vitex agnus-castus. The structures of compounds 1-10 were identified with the help of spectroscopic techniques. Compounds 3-10 were isolated for the first time from this plant. These compounds were screened for their antiinflammatory and lipoxygenase inhibitory activities. Compounds 6, 7 and 10 were found to have significant antiinflammatory activity in a cell-based contemporary assay, whereas compounds 1 and 2 exhibited a potent lipoxygenase inhibition.

Study Information

Choudhary MI; Azizuddin, Jalil S, Nawaz SA, Khan KM, Tareen RB; Atta-ur-Rahman.
Antiinflammatory and lipoxygenase inhibitory compounds from Vitex agnus-castus.
Phytother Res.
2009 September
H.E.J. Research Institute of Chemistry, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi-75270, Pakistan