In Vitro Activity of Some Medicinal Plants on Blood Coagulation.

Objectives: The concern for finding natural and curative agents without adverse side effects has prompted the interest in discovering hemostatic agents from plants. Therefore, in vitro activity of Aizoon hispanicum L. (Aizoaceae), Centaurea hyalolepis Boiss. (Asteraceae), Heliotropium maris-mortui Zohary. (Boraginaceae), Parietaria judaica L. (Urticaceae), Polygonum arenarium Waldst. & Kit. (Polygonaceae), and Verbascum sinuatum L. (Scrophulariaceae) on blood coagulation was estimated by two common tests, which are the prothrombin time test (PT) and the activated partial thromboplastin time test (aPTT).

Materials and methods: The extracted powders from the plants under this study were adjusted to be 50 mg/mL. Then, in vitro effect of these extracts on the platelet poor plasma samples was measured by an automated coagulation analyzer using PT and aPTT tests.

Results: Based on the obtained results, all plant extracts affected the coagulation cascade by rising either PT or aPTT or both, except for V. sinuatum extract, which reduced only aPTT value. Moreover, the recorded PT values showed that A. hispanicum, H. maris-mortui, and P. arenarium significantly prolonged the PT (p<0.05). Additionally, the results clearly showed that V. sinuatum acted as a coagulant agent based on aPTT values, while all other plants, in contrast, acted as strong anticoagulants. Among the plant species under study, A. hispanicum, H. maris-mortui, and P. arenarium extracts prolonged both PT and aPTT significantly (p<0.05). This could be referred to their additional effect on the common pathway. However, C. hyalolepis, P. judaica, and V. sinuatum showed no significant effect on PT values (p>0.05).

Conclusion: The positive recorded data from this research could serve as identification of new hemostatic remedies that could be used for the commercial economic purposes and for managing several cardiovascular diseases.