ABSTRACT
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Ixora coccinea is widely used in Ayurveda and traditional medicinal practices in Sri Lanka and in Asia for acute bronchitis, reddened eyes and eruptions and dermatological disorders. The aim of this study was to determine the underling mechanism of anti-inflammatory activity of Ixora coccinea with respect to its inhibitory activity on human neutrophils. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Freeze-dried products of aqueous and methanolic leaf extracts (ALE and MLE) prepared from mature fresh leaves of Ixora coccinea and total human leukocytes purified by Dextran sedimentation were used in this study. Three in vitro functional assays were developed and used to assess the inhibitory effects of ALE and MLE on human neutrophils, (i) assay for change-in-shape (CIS) for inhibitory effects on neutrophil polarization, (ii) yeast phagocytosis assay to investigate phagocytic activity of neutrophils and (iii) an optimized quantitative NBT assay to detect the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). RESULTS: Both ALE and MLE demonstrated maximum inhibition at 500 µg/ml for CIS (75% and 79% respectively; IC50 values 44.5 and 24.0 µg/ml respectively), yeast phagocytosis (100%; IC50 values 18.0 and 30.0 µg/ml respectively) and ROS production (47% and 67% respectively; IC50 values 248 and 360 µg/ml respectively). All three inhibitory effects of both ALE and MLE were dose-dependent (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: This study has shown that both ALE and MLE of Ixora coccinea exhibit potent anti-neutrophil activity that inhibits its intracellular killing which was demonstrated by the significant inhibition of neutrophil activation, phagocytosis, and production of ROS. MLE showed more potent anti-neutrophil activity compared to ALE reflecting a higher anti-inflammatory activity.
