Medicinal plant Tali kuning (Tinospora dissitiflora Diels) and its future perspective for developing anti-malarial phytomedicine or other phytomedicinal herbal products

Abstract

Tali kuning (Tinospora dissitiflora Diels) is climbing plant with yellow sap or stem belonging to family Menispermaceae. This plant is traditionally used for medicinal plant in alleviating malaria diseases or symptoms. Berberine, a famous yellowish alkaloid having structural formula of C20H18CNO4, has been isolated from the medicinal plant of Tali kuning (T. dissitiflora Diels) collected from North Manokwari, West Papua. This bioactive compound was isolated from the chloroform fraction of methanol extract of stem wood powder of this medicinal plant. Column chromatography (CC) and preparative thin layer chromatography (PLC) eluted with benzene:chloroform: ethyl acetate, 5:4:1, and 5:4:2, respectively, were used for separation and isolation. Further CC was employed to purify an isolated compound and eluted with benzene and methanol (5:3). Concentration of berberine from the methanol extract of stem wood powder was also conducted with 1H-NMR in single measurement. Then, a comparison of berberine concentration to the well-known berberine producer, Phellodendron amurense Rupr, was also made. Concentration of berberine in methanol extract of Tali kuning was higher (12.04% based on air dried wood meals), than that in well known producer of berberine of Phellodendron amurense Rupr (8.06 %). Literature studies indicated that berberine has widely biological and pharmacological activities, but its anti-malarial activity against Plasmodium falcifarum either in vitro or in vivo was reported inconsistently. The synergisms among bioactive compounds in Tali kuning probably play key roles on its anti-malarial activities. It is because malarial diseases and symptoms are very complex. Therefore, in future utilization of Tali kuning, developments of anti-malarial phytomedicines from this promising medicinal plant are needed further investigations and studied. Also, productions of phytomedicinal herbal products for other purposes of this medicinal plant are soundly feasible. However, to support this further utilization, several biological and pharmacological assessments should be conducted firstly, before those herbal products are taking place for commercialization or massive productions.