Anti-Helicobacter pylori, Anti-Inflammatory, Cytotoxic, and Antioxidant Activities of Mace Extracts from Myristica fragrans

The aril (mace) of Myristica fragrans, known as Dok-Chan, is a spice that has long been used for treating stomach discomfort, peptic ulcer, and nausea. It is an ingredient in many remedies in Thai traditional medicine, e.g., Ya-Hom-Thep-Bha-Jit, Ya-Hom-Nao-Wa-Kot, and Ya-That-Bun-Job, which are used to treat dyspepsia and other gastrointestinal tract symptoms. The aqueous and ethanolic extracts of mace were used for all tests. Anti-H. pylori activities were determined by the disc diffusion method and agar dilution. Anti-inflammatory activity was determined by the LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO) inhibition in a RAW264.7 cell line, and cytotoxicity was determined against gastric cancer cell lines (Kato III) using the sulphorhodamine B (SRB) assay. The DPPH radical scavenging and ABTS radical cation decolorization assays were used to determine the antioxidant activities. The result found that the ethanolic extract of mace exhibited antimicrobial activity against H. pylori ATCC 43504 and six clinical strains with MIC values of 125–250 μg/ml. The aqueous extract MICs against H. pylori ATCC reference strain and six clinical strains were 500 μg/ml compared with 0.5 μg/ml for the positive control, clarithromycin. The inhibitory effect of LPS-induced NO release and cytotoxic activity of the ethanolic extract had IC50 values of 82.19 μg/ml and 26.06 μg/ml, respectively, and the EC50 values for the DPPH and ABTS antioxidant assays were 13.41 μg/ml and 12.44 μg/ml, respectively. The mace extract also had anticancer properties. In conclusion, the ethanolic mace extract had anti-H. pylori, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer activities. These data support further preclinical and clinical investigation to see if the mace extract could have a role in treating patients with dyspepsia, peptic ulcers, and possibly gastric cancer.