In Vitro Activity of Some Medicinal Plants on Blood Coagulation

ObjectivesThe concern for finding natural and curative agents without adverse side effects has prompted the interest in discovering hemostatic agents from plants. Therefore, in vitro activity of Aizoon hispanicum L. (Aizoaceae), Centaurea hyalolepis Boiss. (Asteraceae), Heliotropium maris-mortui Zohary. (Boraginaceae), Parietaria judaica L. (Urticaceae), Polygonum arenarium Waldst. & Kit. (Polygonaceae), and Verbascum sinuatum L. (Scrophulariaceae) on blood coagulation was estimated by two common tests, which are the prothrombin time test (PT) and the activated partial thromboplastin time test (aPTT). Materials and MethodsThe extracted powders from the plants under this study were adjusted to be 50 mg/mL. Then, in vitro effect of these extracts on the platelet poor plasma samples was measured by an automated coagulation analyzer using PT and aPTT tests. ResultsBased on the obtained results, all plant extracts affected the coagulation cascade by rising either PT or aPTT or both, except for V. sinuatum extract, which reduced only aPTT value. Moreover, the recorded PT values showed that A. hispanicum, H. maris-mortui, and P. arenarium significantly prolonged the PT (p