Effect of Fagonia Arabica (Dhamasa) on in vitro thrombolysis

BACKGROUND Atherothrombotic diseases such as myocardial or cerebral infarction are serious consequences of the thrombus formed in blood vessels. Thrombolytic agents are used to dissolve the already formed clots in the blood vessels; however, these drugs have certain limitations which cause serious and sometimes fatal consequences. Herbal preparations have been used since ancient times for the treatment of several diseases. Herbs and their components possessing antithrombotic activity have been reported before; however, herbs that could be used for thrombolysis has not been reported so far. This study's aim was to investigate whether herbal preparations (aqueous extract) possess thrombolytic activity or not. METHODS An in vitro thrombolytic model was used to check the clot lysis effect of six aqueous herbal extracts viz., Tinospora cordifolia, Rubia cordifolia, Hemidesmus indicus, Glycyrrhiza glabra Linn, Fagonia Arabica and Bacopa monnieri Linn along with Streptokinase as a positive control and water as a negative control. RESULTS Using an in vitro thrombolytic model, Tinospora cordifolia, Rubia cordifolia, Hemidesmus indicus, Glycyrrhiza glabra Linn, Fagonia Arabica and Bacopa monnieri Linn showed 19.3%, 14.5%, 20.3%, 17.8%, 75.6% and 41.8% clot lysis respectively . Among the herbs studied Fagonia arabica showed significant % of clot lysis (75.6%) with reference to Streptokinase (86.2%). CONCLUSION Through our study it was found that Dhamasa possesses thrombolytic properties that could lyse blood clots in vitro; however, in vivo clot dissolving properties and active component(s) of Dhamasa for clot lysis are yet to be discovered. Once found Dhamasa could be incorporated as a thrombolytic agent for the improvement of patients suffering from Atherothrombotic diseases.