Speaker Biography

Mert Ilhan

Gazi University, Turkey

Title: A new approach to rheumatic diseases: Bryonia alba L.

Mert Ilhan
Biography:

Mert Ilhan received his B.S. Degree from Faculty of Pharmacy, Ankara University, Turkey, and he continues to PhD studies on the Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Gazi University, with Professor Esra Akkol. His research combines pharmacognosy, and pharmacological approaches to focus on endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, antidepressant and wound healing activities of different compounds isolated from plants used in folk medicine. He has 13 published articles in SCI indexed journals and 1 chapter in international book.

Abstract:

Bryonia alba L. (Cucurbitaceae) has been used to treat rheumatic pain in Turkish folk medicine. According to phytochemical investigations, it has been found to have cucurbitacins and some flavone C-glycosides. Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antinociceptive activities of B. alba were investigated in this study. n-hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts were prepared from B. alba roots, successively. For the evaluation of anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive activities of these extracts, carrageenan-induced hind paw edema, acetic acid-induced increased vascular permeability, p-benzoquinone induced writhing, tail flick tests were performed. DPPH, ABTS, non-site-specific hydroxyl radical scavenging activity and FRAP assays were used for the assessment of antioxidant activity for the extracts. According to the results, the ethyl acetate extract showed the potent anti-inflammatory activity on both anti-inflammatory mice models and also the same extract displayed statistically significant activity on p-benzoquinone induced writhing model. Furthermore, total phenolic and total flavonoid content assays were conducted on ethyl extract of B. alba roots which have the highest anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activity among tested extracts. As a result, ethyl acetate extract of B. alba roots could be used for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.