PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF TROPICAL AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE

Waist tonics are commonly used as a traditional remedy for pain relief, energy enhancement, and overall health improvement. Ecolite® Waist Tonic (EWT) extract contains the traditional herbal ingredients used in waist tonic. With reported over 500,000 cases of low back pain worldwide in 2020, with a projection of 843 million by 2050, the demand for effective medication is urgent. The use of COX-2 inhibitors is essential in managing inflammation, particularly in conditions like back pain. Therefore, this study sought to evaluate the in vitro COX-2 inhibitory activity together with antioxidant and antibacterial activities of EWT extract to understand the scientific basis for its traditional use in managing pain and inflammation. COX-2 inhibitory activity exhibited EWT extract was evaluated using an enzyme-based assay. Additionally, FRAP, DPPH and ABTS assays were used to assess the antioxidant activity of EWT extract, whereas antimicrobial activity was tested against two pathogenic bacteria and two fungi. Although the moderate antioxidant activity and weak antimicrobial properties exhibited by EWT extract, a strong COX-2 inhibition of 72% was found in EWT extract, which is comparable with 77% inhibition of celecoxib as a positive control. These results support its potential use in managing and controlling inflammation.