Inhibition of lipid peroxidation, cyclooxygenase enzyme and human tumor cell proliferation by compounds in herbal water.

A powdered mixture of dried herbs, "Panamrutham", is sold in India for the preparation of "herbal drinking water". The hot water extract of this herbal mixture gave lipid peroxidation (LPO), cyclo-oxygenase (COX-1 and -2) enzyme and human tumor cell proliferation inhibitory activities between 25 and 250 microg/mL. The bioassay-guided purification of the water extract afforded a novel compound (1), along with phenolics (2, 4, 6, and 7) and sesquiterpenoids (3 and 5).