Preliminary study on thrombolytic property of thirty six different extracts of eight Bangladeshi medicinal plants with folkloric relevance

Traditional medicinal practitioners or Kavirajes use a variety of medicinal plants for treatment of thrombus ailments-cardiovascular problems. In this study, thrombolytic activity of 36 extracts of different solvents of eight Bangladeshi medicinal plants traditionally used in cardiovascular problems were evaluated to justify their use in folklore medicinal practitice. Extraction was conceded using methanol. Five grams of the concentrated methanol extract of each crude extract were then fractionated to provide n-hexane and carbon tetrachloride fractions. Phytochemically important groups like reducing sugars, tannins, saponins, steroids, gums, flavonoids and alkaloids were tested using standard chromogenic reagents. In vitro thrombolytic potential of extracts was assayed for analyzing the clot lyses by adding the extracts to the pre-clotted blood. The results were compared with the results obtained from streptokinase as standard and water as a negative control. Thrombolytic effect of the extracts ranged from 0.73 ± 2.44 % to 45.81 ± 0.34 % clot lysis whereas the standard streptokinase showed 65.13 ± 0.96 % and the negative control water showed 2.50 ± 0.67 % clot lysis. The highest thrombolytic effect was shown by the crude extract of Melastoma malabathricum leaves and the lowest by the CCl4 fractionate of Litsea glutinosa leaves. Most of the results were found relevant to the traditional use of the plants. Plants traditionally used in thrombus ailments may be an interesting source for further drug development.