Abstract

Introduction: Acanthus ebracteatus (AE), Curcuma longa (CL) (rhizome), (leaf and stem), and Quercus infectoria (QI) (gall) (ACQ03 recipe) have long been used to treat skin and inflammatory conditions. In addition, it has been used in traditional Thai medicine hospitals to treat acne. This study is aimed to evaluate the antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects of ACQ03 recipe. Materials and methods: ACQ03 recipe was evaluated antibacterial using broth microdilution, a time-kill assay and nitric oxide inhibitory effects and cytotoxicity activities. The ingredients that make up the ethanol extract in the ACQ03 formulation were identified by LC-QTOF-MS method. Results and discussion: Antibacterial activity of ACQ03 against C. acnes DMST14916 had good results, with MIC/MBC values of 64/128 (µg/mL); for C. acnes NPRC021, with MIC/MBC values of 128/256 (µg/mL); against 20 strains of S. aureus, MICs ranging from 62.5 to > 1,000 and MBC values > 1,000 (µg/mL); of S. epidermidis had MIC values ranging from 125 to > 1,000 and MBC values ranging from 500 to > 1,000 µg/mL. NO release in LPS-treated RAW264.7 cells was strongly suppressed by the ACQ03 recipe ethanol extract at concentrations ranging from 1.95 to 16.25 µg/mL, with inhibition values ranging from 43.54 to 93.14 % without cytotoxicity to RAW264.7 cells or L929 cells. Conclusion: ACQ03 recipe could reduce antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effect. It might be suggested that this ACQ03 recipe could be useful for the treatment of acne.