Numerous nutraceutical products containing the powdered or extracted parts of Labisia pumila (Myrsinaceae) have been widely available for years in Malaysia, aimed at women of reproductive age. However, there is scarce of information concerning the effects of this plant on the reproductive function of nulliparous females prior to the present study. The toxicity potential of Labisia pumila var. alata (LPA) on oestrous cycle and reproductive parameters was evaluated in groups of 40 virgin rats. They were administered with LPA at the doses of 0 (control), 20, 200 or 1000 mg/kg/day for duration of three weeks. The results obtained indicated that the administration of LPA at all dose levels did not cause mortality nor show noticeably any treatment-related signs of toxicity on the physical appearance, behaviour and body weight of all the rats studied. The pattern and length of oestrous cyclicity as well as the changes in reproductive hormones were statistically comparable among groups. No indications of abnormalities in the histology of uterus and vagina were observed. However, the presence of ovarian follicular cysts has raised apprehension that requires further investigation. The current findings suggested that oral treatment of LPA were associated with toxicity concerns
Propolis is a resinous material collected by honey bees from various plant sources. The chemical constituents differ depending on the source of vegetation area. To date, no study of the chemical constituents of Apis mellifera propolis from Malaysia has been reported. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the chemical constituents of Malaysian Apis mellifera propolis. Raw propolis samples were collected from Acacia mangium apiary from northern and southern regions of Peninsular Malaysia and were extracted using 70% ethanol. Then, the ethanolic extracts were evaporated and were lyophilized to dryness. The silylated compounds were identified by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry analysis (GC-MS). The compounds were characterised by comparison with NIST02 and Wiley275 libraries. Twenty-six individual compounds were identified and β-panasinsene was identified for the first time in propolis. The main compounds identified from both southern and northern regions of Peninsular Malaysia were terpenoids. Terpenoids belong to an important class in the propolis compounds due to its valuable biological properties. The amount of terpenoids ranged from 7.19 to 11.46% indicating that although the main plant source for both regions was Acacia mangium, other shrubs and fruit orchards surrounding the two apiaries may differ which may contribute to the variations.