Evaluations of Hemostatic Activity of Ethanol Extract of Euonymus fortunei Aerial Parts

Aim: To investigate the hemostatic effect of ethanol extracts of Euonymus fortunei and their different polar fractions, and to analyze the changes in intracellular calcium ion concentration in platelet cells.

Methodology: Bleeding time and clotting time was assessed by the slide method and the tail-breaking method, respectively. Four coagulation indexes, including prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, thrombin time, and the content of fibrinogen, as well as platelet aggregation effect were also determined. The concentration of calcium ions in platelet cells treated by n-butanol fraction with good active hemostatic activity was also examined.

Results: Compared with the control group, the n-butanol fraction of E. fortunei can not only significantly shorten the bleeding time and coagulation time, but also obviously shorten activated partial thromboplastin time. However, no significant difference was found on the content of fibrinogen. Platelet aggregation experiments show that the n-butanol fraction can increase the intracellular Ca2+ concentration of platelet cells, which may be related to the activation of downstream signals through the platelet membrane G protein-coupled receptor.

Conclusion: Ethanol extract of E. fortunei has excellent hemostatic activity, which may be related to the increase of intracellular Ca2+ concentration caused by G protein-coupled receptor on the platelet membrane surface. E. fortunei could be a potential medicinal plant used for hemostatic treatment.