Warin Wonok1, Tawatchai Tanee2, Runglawan Sudmoon3, Kittiya Silawong4, Sakda Daduang5, Sanit Kaewdaungdee1, Shiou Yih Lee6,7, Unchaleeporn Ameamsri1*, Arunrat Chaveerach1*
1Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Khon Kaen University, Thailand
2Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies, Mahasarakham University, Thailand
3Faculty of Law, Khon Kaen University, Thailand
4Department in Biology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Bansomdejchaopraya Rajabhat University, Thailand
5Division of Pharmacognosy and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Khon Kaen University, Thailand
6Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, INTI International University, Nilai, 71800 Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
7Faculty of Health Sciences, Shinawatra University, Pathum Thani 12160, Thailand
*Corresponding author’s email: raccha@kku.ac.th; ameamsri@gmail.com
Received: 15 July 2025 / Accepted: 22 September 2025 / Published Online: 10 October 2025
Abstract
Thunbergia grandiflora and T. laurifolia, an ornamental and traditional plants, closely related were investigated. Phytochemical analysis revealed that oleamide and phytol were present in high relative percentages. The respective amounts and concentrations by GC-FID of these two compounds were 0.031 mg/g and 0.016 mg/mL for T. laurifolia and 0.030 mg/g and 0.015 mg/mL for T. grandiflora. Toxicity tests, including MTT and comet assays at cyto-and genotoxicity, indicated the safety of the plant extracts for consumption, as supported by their LD50 values. The detoxification properties of T. grandiflora and its combination with T. laurifolia showed more potential than T. laurifolia alone. The MTT results indicated a slight increase in cell viability for the combination (85-91%), T. grandiflora (83-90%), and T. laurifolia (81-82%), compared to the poisoned control cells. Additionally, the comet assay demonstrated increased activity in healing poison-exposed cells, with shorter DNA tails (OTM values) observed in the single plant extracts and the combination compared to the controls. These findings suggest that T. grandiflora and the two-plant combination are a more effective choice for detoxification than T. laurifolia alone. Regarding cytokine gene expression, both IL-10 and TGF-β gene expression with a PHA stimulant were slightly higher in each individual plant species than in the combination. The study suggests this may be beneficial for anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory purposes due to the observed decrease in cytokine expression. Overall, these results support the use of the two plants both individually and in combination.
Keywords: Thunbergia grandiflora, Thunbergia laurifolia, Interleukin-10 (IL-10), Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)
