Phytochemical Screening and in vitro Antimicrobial Activity of Lawsonia Inermis Barks

Plants have been used as medicine since time immemorial (Ushimaru et al., 2007). Medicinal plants are essential sources of easily accessible remedies used by traditional healers. Henna leaves are used to cure jaundice, skin diseases, dysentery, arthritis (Sharma et al., 2018). Lawsonia inermis is widely used by Rwandan as cosmetic products and in treatment of different ailments. This study was aimed to investigate the phytochemical screening and in vitro antimicrobial activities of different extracts of L. inermis barks collected from Huye District in Southern Province of Rwanda. The dried and powdered barks were extracted with methanol and cyclohexane by maceration giving 1.627g (10.83%), 0.173.g (1.15%) respectively. The extracts were concentrated for further phytochemical tests and evaluated for antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus using disk diffusion method.The results from phytochemical screening revealed the presence of terpenoids, phenolic compounds, tannins, flavonoids, proteins and saponins. Lawsonia inermis barks displayed antimicrobial activity against both gram negative and gram positive bacterial strains used in the present study. The findings of antimicrobial assay showed that the methanol extract of lawsonia inermis barks with the concentration of 10-1 has an antibacterial activity against gram negative bacteria Escherichia coli with zone of inhibition of 10 mm which is same as, the positive control, penicillin inhibition zone (10 mm) with the same concentration. The antibacterial activity of cyclohexane extract against E. coli showed a smaller inhibition zone of 9 mm for diluted inoculum (10-1). For the same concentrations of extracts and inoculums, the methanol extract inhibited Staphylococcus aureus (gram positive) growth with zone of inhibition of 9 mm, while the antibacterial activity of cyclohexane extract against the same bacteria was 4 mm, which are smaller than penicillin inhibition zone (18 mm). Key words: lawsonia inermis, phytochemical screening, anti-microbial activity, E. coli, S. aureus

A pharmacological study on Stixis suaveolens (Roxb.) using experimental animal model

The présent study was aimed to screen crude methanol fruit extract of S. suaveolens for biological activity in mice model. The central analgesic activity was assessed using the ‘tail flick’ method. Whereas the peripheral analgesic activity was determined by acetyl salicylic acid induced writhing method. The anti-hyperglycemic potential was evaluated by the ability of the crude extract in reducing blood glucose level after oral glucose administration. The CNS stimulating activity was evaluated by the well-known phenobarbitone induced sleep bioassay. In ‘tail flick’ bioassay, the oral dose of crude extract resulted in 238% delay (P<0.001) in response time, comparable to the effect of standard morphine but its effect lasted till 90 min after administration, whereas morphine had a greater duration of action. The crude extract at 400 mg/kg showed significant (P<0.001) inhibition of writhing similar to the standard diclofenac (50 mg/kg). Maximum reduction of glucose level (39.6%) was observed 120 min after oral intake of the extract while the result was lower compared to the 46.83% reduction by the standard glibenclamide. Significant (p<0.01) reduction in time for onset of sleeping as well as the total sleeping time was recorded in mice receiving the crude extract. The extract resulted in delayed sleeping intervals by 156.4 min (91.6 min in control group) and the duration of sleep was reduced to 83.6 min while 148.4 min was recorded in the control. The in vivo bioassays confirms that the extract from the fruit of S. suaveolens possess significant analgesic (acting both centrally and peripherally), glucose lowering and CNS stimulating ability which has been the reason behind its popularity as a traditional medicine.Â

Phytochemical, antioxidant and antibacterial activities of the aqueous and ethanol extracts of Pinus halepensis

The present study was designed to evaluate the phytochemical screening of different extracts (Aqueous and ethanol) of the needles of Pinus halepensis; to explore their antioxidant activities with the different tests and to determine their antibacterial proprieties. Our results revealed that these extracts contain polyphenols, flavonoids and tannins. Then, the same extracts(Aqueous and ethanol)present the highest content of total phenol and tannins which were of order respectively(735.41 ± 0.09 µgGAE/ mg of extract and 49.60 ± 0.012 µg CE /mg of extract compared with other extracts. The results showed alsothat the different extracts had an important antioxidant andantibacterial activity. Overall, the richness of the different extract of Pinus halepensis with total polyphenols, flavonoids and tannins explained the biologic propriety of this plant.Keywords: Antibacterial activity, Antioxidant activity,Pinus halepensis, phytochemical study

A study on Litsea monopetala for evaluating its pharmacological properties

Aims: To assess the cytotoxicity, thrombolytic, anthelmintic and antioxidant activity of mehanol extract of Litsea monopetala (Family: Lauraceae) leaves in laboratory using in vitro methods.Methods: Cytotoxicity test was done by brine shrimp lethality bioassay where the extract concentration was 400, 200, 100, 50, 25, 12.5, 6.25, 3.125, 1.5625, 0.78125 (µg/ml). In vitro thrombolytic activity of Litsea monopetala was performed by clot lysis method using extract concentration 2.5, 5, 10 and 20 (mg/mL) in saline water. Anthelmintic activity test was done by using adult earthworms where 10, 20, 40, 60, 80 (mg/ml) extract concentration were used. Finally antioxidant activity was determined by total phenolic content determination using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent.Result: The Litsea monopetala extract showed cytotoxic activity against brine shrimp nauplii and LC50 value was 41.05(µg/ml) and the investigated thrombolytic activity in our research was 9.52, 9.49, 13.64 and 17.50 %   respectively as % of clot lysis. The paralysis time were at 76.75 min, 60 min, 51.75 min, 44.5 min and 64.5 min and death were at 90.50min, 63.75min, 55.50min, 44.75min and 71min. respectively. The Litsea monopetala extract displayed significant antioxidant activity which was 20.75 (mg of GAE / gm) of extracts.Conclusions: The activities observed could be attributed to presence of some of the phytochemicals which have been related with cytotoxic, thrombolytic, anthelmintic and antioxidant property

EDXRF and GC Characterization of Curcuma longa L. (Zingiberaceae) Rhizome from Madagascar

Curcuma longa is mostly distributed in Asia and is the most common traditional drug of Indian and Chinese medicines used as anti-inflammatory, wound healing, antibacterial, anticancer and antioxidant agents. The present study was designed to characterize Curcuma longa L. from Madagascar by the determination of heavy metals and mineral elements of 3 samples of Curcuma longa L. rhizomes powder from 3 local companies by X fluorescence method and the essential oil chemical composition from 2 regions of Madagascar: Anivorano and Manjakandriana by gas chromatography (GC). The major compounds were Ar-Turmerone    (42,19-47,32%), β-Turmerone    (07,26-09,63%) and α-Turmerone    (16,78-17,59%). The major mineral elements Curcuma longa L. rhizome powder was Magnesium (28000,0 ± 280,0), Calcium (1236,5 ± 111,3 mg/kg) and Iron (1102,0 ± 110,2) from Manjakandriana. It is thus desirable that the chemical composition of Malagasy turmeric from vrarious place in Madagascar would be compared to those from African continent

Hepatoprotective Molecules and Extracts Profile from Calotropis procera R. Br.

Plants have a great value as the source of medicine. They are most utilized in ayurveda medicine of system for the treatment of various ailments without and/or less adverse effect.Calotropisprocera is shrubby medicinal plant that evenly grows in the various parts of India as well as in other countries. Leaves, flower, stem, bark, root and latex of Calotropisprocerais used traditionally as bitter, laxative, anthelmintic, appetizer, stomachic, anti-sialagogue and strengthening. Scientist explored the various parts of Calotropisprocera for different pharmacological activities like anthelmintic, antidiarrhoeal, hepatoprotective,schizonticidal, wound healing and jaundice. The plant is explored up to the chemical level and various chemicals are isolated from the different parts of the plants such as calotropagenin, lupeol, α-amyrin, β-sitosterol, quercetin and rutin etc. This review was attempted to explore the hepatoprotective potential of extracts and chemical moiety obtained from the different parts of Calotropisprocera.Â

Chemical constituents from the leaves of Styrax argentifolius H.L. Li and their antioxidative activity

Searching for bioactive agents from medicinal plants, the phytochemical investigation on the EtOAc extract of the Vietnamese Styrax argentifolius leaves has resulted in the isolation and structural determination of five compounds, including one nor-neolignan egonoic acid (1), one lignan (+)-pinoresinol (2), one sterol (20R)-3β-hydroxysitgmasta-5,22-dien-7-one (3), and two triterpenoids lupeol (4), and 2α,3α,24-trihydroxy-urs-12-en-28-oic acid (5). The chemical structures of these secondary metabolites were elucidated by NMR and MS spectral data. All isolated compounds were first observed in S. argentifolius species. Sterol 3 and triterpenoid 5 were detected in genus Styrax for the first time. With the IC50 value of 19.10 µg/mL, compound 2 possessed the strong activity in DPPH radical scavenging assay

Anticancer Potential of Calotropis procera: An Overview

Medicinal plants have incredible importance because of the presence of many types of components present in it, and they become the source for the synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API). Calotropis procera is a xerophytic shrub, with soft, tall; numerous shrubs with small flowering branches or small trees belonging to the family of Asclepiadaceae, distributed globally over the tropical and subtropical region of Asia and Africa. It is well known in traditional medicine to have cleansing and anti-ageing properties as well as used in the mitigation of various ailments as antiulcer, anti-leprotic, cytotoxic, anti-emetic, anti-coagulant and anticancer activities. It contains various chemical constituents like cardiac glycoside, triterpens, flavanoids, steroids and other phenolic components in various parts of plant was well known for its diverse pharmacological and biological activities. Different extracts of plant and parts of plants possess significant in-vitro and in-vivo cytotoxic, anti-tumour and anti-proliferative activity in various cell lines and tumor cells which indicate the considerable potential of Calotropis procera for anticancer adjutants. The objective of the presentr eview is to provide systematic information about the phytochemical and various extracts of Calotropis procera as potential candidate for cancer treatment.Â

Detection of Secondary Metabolites Using HPTLC and GC-MS Analysis and Assessment of Pharmacological Activities of Phoenix loureiroi Kunth (Arecaceae) Ethanolic Leaves Extract in the Management of Pyrexia, Pain and Inflammation

The present research work was carried out the High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis and assessment of pharmacological activities of Phoenix loureiroi Kunth (Arecaceae) ethanolic leaves extract at doses of 200, 400 and 600 mg/kg, body weight, per os. Preliminary phytochemical screening, HPTLC and GC-MS studies were carried out according to the standard methods. The acute toxicity studies were conducted on Swiss albino mice as per Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) guidelines 420. For the screening of analgesic activity, writhing test was conducted for peripheral analgesic activity whereas tail immersion test was conducted for central analgesic activity. Antipyretic activity was performed by using the yeast induced hyperpyrexia method and for the screening of anti-inflammatory activity carrageenan-induced rat paw edema method was used. Preliminary phytochemical screening of the ethanol extract of Phoenix loureiroi leaves (EEPLL) contains sterols, flavonoids, saponins, proteins, reducing sugar, tannins, and phenolic compounds. The HPTLC analysis method employed in this work resulted in good peak shape and enabled good resolution of quercetin present in the extract and GC-MS analysis showed a total of 25 peaks and led to the identification of 22 different phytoconstituents in the ethanolic extract. Lethal Dose 50 (LD50) was above 2,000 mg/kg and no death was recorded. The prevailing study demonstrated that EEPLL possesses widespread analgesic, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory effects in dose dependent manner. It can be concluded that the ethanolic extract from Phoenix loureiroi leaves possesses promising analgesic, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory activities

Exploring the role of phytochemicals as biopharmaceuticals targeting Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) virus: an Overview

ALI (Acute lung injury) and its more fatal form ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome) together represent a broad spectrum of lung diseases, which are characterized by the abrupt onset of pulmonary inflammation with fluid filled alveoli resulting in hypoxia. With the advancement of several diagnostic tools, especially discovery of multiplex RT-PCR, increased the chance to investigate the involvement of different respiratory viruses in causing ARDS. There are several different viruses responsible for ARDS and among them few are capable of causing pandemic. Influenza viruses such as H5N1 and H1N1 causing pandemic in 2009. Also among different corona viruses, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and most recently a novel betacoronavirus strain, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have been identified. Till date, the therapy against virus induced ARDS has not been optimized. Naturally existing phytochemicals and plant biotechnology could offer prospective solutions for the treatment against virus induced ARDS by developing inhibitors, low-cost vaccines and antibodies, which could not only be useful for treatment but could also be used for diagnosis. In this present COVID-19 pandemic, use of plant based therapeutic approach has already been adopted by several pharma companies to treat ARDS and there are several molecules currently under clinical trials with encouraging results. This review provides detailed outlook on ARDS pandemic causing viruses, pathophysiology of viruses and role of phytochemicals and plantibodies as anti-viral agent. Further, it summarizes list of phytochemicals and their mode of action in these pathogenic viruses