Screening for Anti-lipase Properties of 37 Traditional Chinese Medicinal Herbs

TLDR: The results support the view that herbs represent a rich source of anti‐lipase compounds, and found that several monomeric chemicals in these herbs exhibited good or moderate activity against PPL.

Abstract: activity. Results: Extracts from 2 herbs, Prunella vulgaris L. (Labiatae) and Rheum palmatum L. (Polygonaceae), at a concentration of 200 μg/mL, significantly inhibited PPL—by 74.7% and 53.8%, respectively. Quercetin exhibited better activity (27.4%) than all the other phytochemicals at a final concentration of 25 μg/mL in the assay system, followed by luteolin, with an activity of 17.3%. Conclusion: The results support the view that herbs represent a rich source of anti-lipase compounds. The screening of the methanolic extracts of 37 Chinese medicinal plants in vitro led to the identification of several extracts with potential activity against PPL, in particular, P. vulgaris and R. palmatum. We also found that several monomeric chemicals in these herbs exhibited good or moderate activity against PPL. To the best of our knowledge, these traditional Chinese herbal medicines or phytochemicals have not been previously screened for their lipase inhibitory activity. [J Chin Med Assoc 2010;73(6):319–324]