Background: This study aimed to investigate the antioxidat and antimicrobial activities of the methanol extract and its fractions prepared from the roots of Sanguisorba officinalis L. Methods and Results: The antioxidant activities were compared by evaluating the DPPH radical and nitric oxide (NO) scavenging ability. Measurement of DPPH radical scavenging ability showed that the SC50 values of the ethyl acetate fraction was 3.85 ㎍/㎖. The ethyl acetate fraction exhibited the most effective DPPH radical scavenging ability compared with the other samples. As for the NO scavenging ability, at all tested concentrations, the ethyl acetate fraction showed a higher scavenging activity than that of the extract and other fractions. These results are related to the total phenolic compound and flavonoid contents of the ethyl acetate fraction. Antimicrobial activity against foodborne pathogens was investigated using the disc diffusion assay. The ethyl acetate fraction showed the highest antimicrobial activity against gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus. However, the chloroform fraction had a higher antimicrobial activity against gram-negative Vibrio vulnificus than that of the extract and other fractions. Conclusions: The results show that the ethyl acetate fraction had a higher antioxidant as well as antimicrobial activity, than did the other samples. Therefore, the ethyl acetate fraction has potential application in the food industry.

Background: Sanguisorba officinalis has been used in traditional Asian medicine owing to its beneficial effects on various diseases. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of S. officinalis on the antioxidant system of Streptozotocin (STZ) and Alloxan (ALL) induced diabetic rats. Methods and Results: Triglyceride and Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol levels decreased in the STZ-induced diabetic groups treated with S. officinalis extract (SOE) compared to the corresponding levels in the control groups. Moreover, in the ALLinduced diabetic groups, SOE reduced triglyceride, LDL-cholesterol, and High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol levels. Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels decreased significantly in the STZ and ALL-induced groups treated with SOE compared to the corresponding levels in the control group. Further, Glutathione (GSH) levels increased but did not reach statistical significance. The levels of Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) and Glutathione-S-Transferase (GST) showed a tendency to recover with SOE treatment in the STZ and ALL-induced diabetic groups. In addition, Catalase (CAT) levels in the SOE treatment group decreased significantly compared to those in the control group. Conclusions: These results suggest that SOE might be an effective agent in attenuating oxidative stress in diabetic patients by improving blood lipid profiles and inducing the anti-oxidative enzyme systems.

Sanguisorbae radix (SR) from Sanguisorba officinalis L. (Losaceae) is widely used in Korea and China due to its various pharmacological activity. The present study aims to investigate the effect of the methanol extract of SR on amyloid β Protein(25-35) (Aβ (25-35)), a synthetic 25-35 amyloid peptide, -induced neurotoxicity using cultured rat cortical neurons. SR, over a concentration range of 10-50 μg/ml, inhibited the Aβ (25-35) (10 μM)-induced neuronal cell death, as assessed by a 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazole-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and the number of apoptotic nuclei, evidenced by Hoechst 33342 staining. Pretreatment of SR (50 μg/ml) inhibited 10 μM Aβ (25-35)-induced elevation of cytosolic calcium concentration ([Ca2+]c), which was measured by a fluorescent dye, fluo-4 AM. SR (10 and 50 μg/ml) inhibited glutamate release into medium induced by 10 μM Aβ(25-35), which was measured by HPLC, and generation of reactive oxygen species. These results suggest that SR prevents Aβ (25-35)-induced neuronal cell damage in vitro.