THE IMPACT OF THYME AND CAMOMILE FLOWER EXTRACTS ON TRYPSIN CATALYTIC ACTIVITY
The development of pathological processes in humans and animals is accompanied by an imbalance of regulatory mechanisms, in particular, proteinase enzymes and their regulators. Endogenous regulators, inhibitors and activators often fail to maintain the balance in the system “enzyme-substrate-inhibitor (activator)", which leads to destructive inflammatory, immune reactions, and dyscrasia. Therefore, the search for unknown proteinase regulators is an important step towards the creation of new drugs to treat the diseases associated with changes in proteolysis processes. In this regard, we propose a hypothesis about the regulatory role of medicinal herbs that are widely used in both traditional and folk medicine. According to our assumption, the chemical compounds contained in medicinal herbs can both activate and inhibit proteolysis in cells. The aim of the research was to study the effects of the inflammatory process, the influence of the regulatory activity of aqueous thyme and chamomile extracts on the trypsin activity in the model experiments. Materials and Methods. In the studies the authors used crystalline trypsin, thyme, and chamomile flowers. They determined trypsin activity using the Anson method. Results. New information was obtained on the effect of an aqueous extract of medicinal herbs, in particular, thyme and chamomile flowers, on the activity of the proteolytic enzyme trypsin. This information can improve the herbs efficacy in the treatment of inflammatory processes. Conclusion. Thyme and chamomile flower extracts have an activating trypsin effect. The level of trypsin activation is proportional to the amount of extracts introduced into the incubation medium. Thyme extract has a more pronounced effect on trypsin activity.