Scientists at IASST discover cardioprotective potential of Borthekera fruit

Administration of the dried pulp of the ripe fruit of the medicinal plant reduced cardiac hypertrophy indicators, oxidative stress and heart inflammation

Scientists of Guwahati-based Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), are exploring the medicinal plant- Borthekera’s potential to prevent heart diseases.

Garcinia pedunculata, a medicinal plant commonly called ‘Borthekera’ in the Assamese language, traditionally forbidden for raw consumption, has been found to protect from heart diseases.

The sun-dried slices of the ripe fruit are used for culinary and medicinal purposes and are known to have therapeutic properties like anti-inflammatory, anthelmintic, antibacterial, antifungal, antidiabetic, hypolipidemic, nephroprotective, and even neuroprotective activity. With scientific interventions seeking proof of these claims, multiple studies have been reported that G. pedunculata is a rich source of antioxidants. However, the cardioprotective potential has not been explored earlier.

A double dosage of bioactive chloroform fraction (GC) of the herb was fed to Wistar rats at 24-hour intervals (85mg/kg body weight (BW) for 28 days. The chemical characterisation of the chloroform fraction revealed the presence of active phytocompounds like hydroxycitric acid, hydroxycitric acid lactone, and parvifoliquinone along with compounds like GB-1a, Garcinone A, 9-Hydroxycalabaxanthone, Chlorogenic acid, and Garcinol as well. The therapeutic effects reported in this study are likely due to the presence of all these compounds. All these results strongly infer the good cardioprotective potential of G. pedunculata fruit abundantly available in Northeast India.

Image credit- wikipedia

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