Homopterocarpin

Homopterocarpin contributes to the restoration of gastric homeostasis by Pterocarpus erinaceus following indomethacin intoxication in rats.[Pubmed:23375033]

Asian Pac J Trop Med. 2013 Mar;6(3):200-4.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the restorative effect of Pterocarpus erinaceus (P. erinaceus) and Homopterocarpin, an isoflavonoid isolated from it, on indomethacin-induced disruption in gastric homeostasis in rats. METHODS: Adult rats were divided into five groups and fasted for 48 h before treatment. Group 1 received olive oil (vehicle), group 2 received 25 mg/kg indomethacin while groups 3-5 received cimetidine (100 mg/kg), Homopterocarpin (25 mg/kg) and P. erinaceus ethanolic stem bark extract (100 mg/kg) respectively. After 1 h, all the groups except group 2 were administered 25 mg/kg of indomethacin. One hour later, the rats were sacrificed and the ulcer index and other gastroprotective indices were evaluated. RESULTS: Indomethacin caused significant injury to the stomach of the rats as reflected in the ulcer indices (9.0+/-1.4) as compared with that of control (2.0+/-0.0). Equally, there were significant increases in gastric acid concentration and malondialdehyde level in the stomachs of the ulcerated animals compared with the control. However mucus content, reduced gluthatione level and gastric pH were significantly reduced in the ulcerated animals compared with the control. Pretreatment with either Pterocarpus bark extract or Homopterocarpin reversed the effects of indomethacin on the evaluated parameters. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that both Homopterocarpin and Pterocarpus extract offered gastroprotection against indomethacin-induced ulcer by antioxidative mechanism and the modulation of gastric homeostasis. The results also suggest that Homopterocarpin might be responsible for, or contribute to the antiulcerogenic property of P. erinaceus.

Effect of homopterocarpin, an isoflavonoid from Pterocarpus erinaceus, on indices of liver injury and oxidative stress in acetaminophen-provoked hepatotoxicity.[Pubmed:25811665]

J Basic Clin Physiol Pharmacol. 2015 Nov;26(6):555-62.

BACKGROUND: Novel hepatoprotectives are needed to address the increasing cases of liver problems worldwide. Pterocarpus erinaceus Poir (Fabaceae) ethanol stem bark extract (PE) and its constituent flavonoid, Homopterocarpin (HP), were investigated for their protective property in acetaminophen-induced oxidative stress and liver damage. METHODS: Adult male albino rats were divided into nine groups. Seven groups were pretreated with PE (50-, 100-, and 150 mg/kg), HP (25-, 50-, and 75 mg/kg) or silymarin (25 mg/kg), respectively, once daily for 5 consecutive days and then administered acetaminophen (2 g/kg) on the 5th day. The control and acetaminophen-intoxicated groups received normal saline throughout the experimental period, with the latter group additionally receiving 2 g/kg acetaminophen on the 5th day. Administrations were performed po. RESULTS: In the acetaminophen-intoxicated group, there were significant increases (p<0.05) in serum activities of alanine aminotransferase (31.72+/-3.3 vs. 22.1+/-1.2 U/I), aspartate aminotransferase (185.1+/-10.1 vs. 103.83+/-13.3 U/I), bilirubin level and hepatic malondialdehyde (2.32+/-0.3 vs. 1.42+/-0.1 units/mg protein), accompanied with significant decreases (p<0.05) in hepatic reduced glutathione level (0.10+/-0.01 vs. 0.23+/-0.03 units/mg protein) and glutathione peroxidase activity (2.51+/-0.2 vs. 3.25+/-0.2 mumol H2O2 consumed/min/mg protein) compared with the control. CONCLUSIONS: PE and HP ameliorated most of the observed biochemical alterations with HP appearing to show more potency. The results suggest that the flavonoid, Homopterocarpin contributes to the hepatoprotective and antioxidant potentials of P. erinaceus extract.