Evidence for an in vitro anticoagulant and antithrombotic activity in Tulbaghia violacea

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro antithrombotic and anticoagulant properties in Tulbaghia violacea . The bulb and leaf extracts of T. violacea and garlic showed that T. violacea exhibited antithrombotic activities which were higher than those found in garlic. The IC200 values for the leaf and the bulb extract were 0.4 and 0.3 mg/ml, respectively for the TT assay. The IC50 value was 1.73 mg/ml for the bulb extract of the T. violacea. No IC50 was obtained for the leaf extract of T. violacea. IC200 and IC50 values could not be determined for the garlic extract. Seasonal studies were also conducted and indicated that the activity obtained for the aqueous extract was lost during the winter season. Throughout the course of this study it was observed that T. violacea exhibited biological activities which were comparable to garlic. These results indicate that T. violacea can be used as an alternative to garlic and that it may contribute to pharmaceutical applications and informal health services.