COX-1 inhibitory effect of medicinal plants of Ghana

Plants used to treat inflammatory ailments, pain, fever and infections in Ghana, were tested for COX-1 inhibitory activity. Ethanolic extracts of 17 species were tested in a COX-1 assay. The extracts of Gardenia ternifolia, Thonningia sanguinea, Triumfetta rhomboidea, and the root of Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides showed an inhibitory effect over 90% in the final concentration 0.1 μg/μL. The HPLC profiles indicated that the extracts of the four active species did not contain tannins. The observed in vitro activities support the use of some of the plant species in the traditional medicine system in Ghana.