Platelet-activating factor (PAF) receptor-binding antagonist activity of Malaysian medicinal plants

Forty-nine methanol extracts of 37 species of Malaysian medicinal plants were investigated for their inhibitory effects on platelet-activating factor (PAF) binding to rabbit platelets, using H-3-PAF as a ligand. Among them, the extracts of six Zingiberaceae species (Alpinia galanga Swartz., Boesenbergia pandurata Roxb., Curcuma ochorrhiza Val., C. aeruginosa Roxb., Zingiber officinale Rose. and Z. zerumbet Koenig.), two Cinnamomum species (C. altissimum Kosterm. and C. pubescens Kochummen.), Goniothalamus malayanus Hook. f. Momordica charantia Linn. and Piper aduncum L. are potential sources of new PAF antagonists, as they showed significant inhibitory effects with IC50 values ranging from 1.2 to 18.4 mug ml(-1). (C) 2004 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.