In-vitro antibacterial screening of methanol extracts of three combretum species against seven strains of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)

Background: Medicinal plants are valued as sources of natural compounds some of which are effective against several infectious diseases. Plants from the genus Combretum have been used traditionally in various African societies to treat variety of medical problems especially infectious diseases.Objective: In this study, we investigated the antibacterial activity of the methanol extracts from the leaves of three Combretum species namely Combretum hispidum, Combretum racemosum and Combretum platypterum against seven strains of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in vitro.Materials and methods: Methanol extract from bjected to agar diffusion assay and broth micro-dilution Combretum hispidum, Combretum racemosum and Combretum platypterum were subjected test for the determination of antibacterial activity and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), all the extracts were tested against eight different strain of MRSA. Imipenem and ciprofloxacin were used as control.Results: Extract from Combretum racemosum leaves showed significant anti-MRSA activity with zone of inhibition as high as 37 mm and MIC values ranging from 0.16 - 1.25 mg/mL on all tested strains of MRSA. Extracts from the two other species did not exhibit any activity on all tested strain.Conclusion: Methanol extract from C. racemosum is highly effective against MRSA and it could be a potential source of newer antimicrobial agent against MRSA infectionsKeywords: Combretum species, Methicillin resistance Staphylococcus aureus, Anti-bacteri

Antioxidant properties, macro and micro elements of selected edible vegetables

Background: Many green leafy vegetables (GLV) have been shown to have  significant antioxidant activity which may be an important property of medicinal plants associated with the treatment of several diseases. Trace element plays a crucial role in the medicinal value of a plant, in health and to cure disease. They play a nutritive, catalytic and balancing function in plants and animals, since animals  easily consume these minerals through food.Objective: The aim of this work is to quantify the macro and trace elements present in these vegetables in order to determine their contribution to the daily dietary  requirement and also determine those element that are present in excess of their maximum dietary allowance.Methodology: The elemental composition and antioxidant activities of ten common edible vegetables obtain from a market in Ibadan, Nigeria were analyzed using  atomic absorption spectroscopy and DPPH radical scavenging assay.Result: Three macro elements and seven trace elements were determined. The  vegetables samples were found to contain trace elements such as manganese, iron, copper, cobalt, chromium (Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Co, Cr). Telfaria occidentalis, one of the most widely eaten vegetables has the best profile for macro elements with a  concentration of 364.2±1.1 mg/g for Ca, 55.4±1.3 mg/g for Mn and 365.6±0.3 mg/g for K. It also had a concentration of 1185.0±0.8 mg/g for Fe.Conclusion: Only one of the vegetables was found to accumulate lead in excess of maximum daily intake. All vegetables were found to be rich in many of the essential elements and all vegetables exhibited varying degree of antioxidant capacity with Gnetum africanum (Gnetaceae) having the highest radical scavenging activity of 14.58 ± 1.8 μg/mL .Keywords: Macro elements, Trace elements, DPPH radical scavenging, Edible  vegetabl

Phytochemical and Antimicrobial studies of gynandropsis gynandra and buchholzia coriaceae extracts

Extracts of leaves and stems of Gynandropsis gynandra   L. (Briq.) and Buchholzia coriaceae   Engl. (A. Chev.) were screened phytochemically for the presence of secondary metabolites and for in vitro antibacterial and antifungal properties respectively. The main secondary metabolites indicated in both plants were alkaloids, cyanogenetic glycosides and steroidal nuclues. Anthraquinones were slightly indicated. Hexane and methanolic extracts of each of the plant materials of the two plants were screened for antimicrobial properties using eleven clinical strains of human pathogenic microorganisms. At a concentration of 200mg/ml, the extracts displayed various degrees of activity in both bioassays. Of the eight extracts investigated, B. coriaceae stem hexane extract displayed the highest activities in both assays in the agar cup diffussion technique. The microorganisms that were used included six bacteria and five fungi. Ampicillin and tioconazole were used as standard reference drugs while methanol was incuded as a solubilising agent as well as a negative control in the study. Diameters of zones of inhibition were in the range of 10-24mm for the extracts and drugs

Radical Scavenging Activity, Brine Shrimp Lethality Assay and HPLC Analysis of Methanol Extracts of Secamone afzelii

Background: Medicinal plants produce several phytochemicals with strong free radical scavenging activities. Objectives: To evaluate radical scavenging activity, brine shrimp toxicity and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of the methanol extracts of Secamone afzelii (SA) leaves and Ceiba pentandra (CP) stem-bark.Materials and methods: The leaves of SA and CP stem-bark were extracted with methanol and the total phenolic content (TPC) of the extracts was determined and expressed as gallic acid equivalents (GAE). The extracts were evaluated for their nitric oxide scavenging activity, antioxidant activity using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, toxicity using brine shrimp lethality assay (BSLA) and phytochemical constituents using HPLC. Results: The TPC in SA extract was 21.26±1.29 while that of CP extract was 95.31±8.71 mg GAE. The SA and CP extracts showed antioxidant activity by DPPH with IC50 of 97.60 and 22.35 μg/mL as compared to ascorbic acid (1.4±0.34) and gallic acid (2.8±0.78) Similarly, the extracts showed nitric oxide scavenging activity of 22.50±1.3 and 5.40±0.3 µg/mL respectively compared to gallic acid with IC50 value of 1.1±0.1 µg/mL. In BSLA, SA extract had LC50 value of >1000 μg/mL while CP extract and Cyclophosphamide (standard) had LC50 value of <1000 μg/mL. HPLC analysis suggested that 8-β-L-arabinofuranosyl-6-β-D-glucopyranosylapigenin, kaempferol-3-0-glucoside, kaempferol-3-O-(6''-malonyl-glucoside), kampferol-3-O-rhamnoglucoside and palitantin were the major components in SA extract while the major components in CP extract were lateritin/beauvericin, procyanidin B2, pavetannin, (-)-catechin and genistein-8-C-glucoside .Conclusion: The results demonstrate the free radical scavenging properties of SA and CP extracts which could be attributed to the presence of phenolic compounds

Plants used in treatment of five cancers in two Local Government Areas in southwest Nigerian ethnomedicine

An ethnomedicinal survey of plants used in the folkloric treatment and management of cancer was conducted in Southwest Nigeria in two local government areas (LGAs), namely: Adamasingba (North-West) and Ogbomoso (South) in Oyo State, Nigeria. Thirty-one respondents made up of traditional medical practitioners (TMP), herbalists, elders in the communities and herb sellers were interviewed orally through the use of semi-structured questionnaires. Demographic data collected on the respondents and ethnomedicinal information obtained on the plants included plant species, families, local names and plant parts used, forms of application and method of administration. The use-mentions index (UMi) was calculated for each plant. The information on the questionnaire revealed that the age of the respondents ranged between 21-65 years. Twenty-five were males (81 %), while six (19 %) were females. Eighty seven (87) plant species belonging to 57 families were mentioned as traditional remedies for the treatment of the five different cancers in the study areas. Caesalpiniaceae was the most dominant family with 7 species. This was followed by Meliaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Lamiaceae, Annonaceae, Mimosoideae and Moraceae with 4 species each. The most frequently mentioned plants in the recipies proffered by respondents were Aframmomum melegueta and Dysphania ambrosioides with an UMi of 0.129. The study provides an inventory of Southwest Nigerian plants that have anti-cancer potential and could be investigated as cancer chemotherapeutic agents.Keywords: Ethnomedicine, Anticancer plants, Southwest Nigeri

Phytochemical, antioxidant, cytotoxicity, antiproliferative and antimicrobial studies of Securinega virosa aerial parts extract

Cancer and infectious diseases are leading causes of death, globally. Securinega virosa is locally used for the manage ent of cancerous tumour and  infectious diseases. This study was designed to investigate the phytochemical consituents of the plant’s aerial parts and determine the antioxidant, antiproliferative and cytotoxic properties of theextract using standard laboratory procedures. The plant was collected and the aerial parts was extracted with methanol. The extract was found to contain alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, saponins and cardiac glycosides. It displayed potent antioxidant activity with an IC50 of 0.018±0.002 mg/mL compared to ascorbic acid (0.008±0.001 mg/mL) and was nontoxic to brine shrimp. The extract displayed potent antiproliferative activity with an IC50 value of 1.50±0.037 mg/mL compared to the value for cyclophosphamide, 0.55±0.043 mg/mL in Allium cepa root growth inhibitory assay. The extract displayed potent activities (IC50 = 11.31±0.18 and 7.23±0.01 μg/mL) on RD and Hep-2C cancer cells, respectively, compared to cyclophosphamide (IC50 = 0.32±0.18 and 2.56±0.13 μg/mL). The extract also displayed some antibacterial and anti-fungi activities with up to 10 and 14 mm zones of inhibition against Escherichia coli, Citrobacter ferundii at 0.625 mg/disc, respectively. Securinega virosa extract displayed antioxidant, antiproliferative, cytotoxic and antimicrobial activities and the plant maybe considered a viable candidate for discovery of chemotherapeutic agent(s). Keywords: Securinega virosa, Cancer cell lines, Antioxidant, Antiproliferative, Antimicrobia

Chemical constituents and mosquito larvicidal properties of leaf extracts and fractions of Quassia amara linn against Anopheles gambiae

This study evaluated the larvicidal efficacy of the crude methanol extract of the leaves of Quassia amara and the hexane, chloroform and ethyl acetate fractions partitioned based on their polarities, against the fourth instar larvae of Anopheles gambiae. Larvicidal studies were carried out on larvae collected from mosquito breeding sites, at concentrations ranging from 125 to 2000 μg/mL for the crude extract, 125 to 500 μg/mL for the partitioned fractions and 7.5 to 120 μg/mL for the sub-fractions. Larvae were exposed to extracts/fractions for 24 h. The percentage mortalities were calculated and the LC50 values were obtained using GraphPad Prism, a nonlinear regression analysis. The  structures of compounds present in the active fractions were elucidated using spectroscopic techniques. The crude methanol extract was toxic to the larvae displaying 100 % mortality at 2000 μg/mL and an LC50 of 640 μg/mL. Results were concentration dependent. The LC50 values for the hexane and chloroform soluble fractions were 37.38 and 283 μg/mL respectively. The ethyl acetate fraction had a percentage mortality of <50 % at the highest dose tested. Further bioactivity led chromatographic separation of the hexane soluble fraction (LC50= 17.84 μg/mL) obtained methyl gallate. Results obtained from this study suggest that Q. amara could serve as an alternative to synthetic larvicides. Keywords: Quassia amara, Anopheles gambiae, larvae, extracts, methyl gallate, toxicit

Radical scavenging and cytotoxicity evaluation of eight extracts of Citrus limon and Citrus aurantifolia

Cancer is a global cause of death characterized by uncontrolled proliferation and spread of abnormal cells. Eight extracts composed of the leaf, stem bark, seeds and juice of each of Citrus limon and C. aurantifolia were subjected to in vitro antioxidant assay using DPPH, brine shrimp lethality bioassay (BSL) and cytotoxicity MTT colorimetric assay using human cancer cell lines. Extracts of C. aurantifolia stem bark and leaf had IC50 of 28.2±0.11 and 47.2±0.39μg/mL, respectively and displayed better radical scavenging activity compared to the other extracts, Ascorbic acid, the reference drug, had an IC50 of 9.2±0.14 μg/mL. Citrus limon stem bark (LC50=10.0±0.33) and C. limon leaf (LC50= 5.0±0.74 μg/mL) extracts were observed to be strongly cytotoxic compared to cyclophosphamide (LC50=98.76±0.15 μg/mL), while the other extracts were either non, weakly, or moderately toxic in BSL assay. Citrus aurantifolia leaf extract (CC50=4.02±2.85 μg/mL, CC50=5.45±2.8 μg/mL) retained a comparable cytotoxicity to cyclophosphamide (CC50=2.23±0.14 μg/ mL, CC50=2.66±0.8 μg/mL) on Rd and Hep-2c human cancer cell lines, respectively. The other extracts exhibited varying degrees of cytotoxicity. This study demonstrated that the extracts of both Citrus species had weak DPPH radical scavenging activity. Citrus aurantifolia leaf extract displayed potent toxicity in BSL assay and on the two human cancer cell lines; Rd and Hep-2c used in the study and were selective to cancer cells than the normal cell, Vero.Keywords: Citrus limon, Citrus aurantifolia, DPPH Antioxidant, Brine Shrimp Lethality, Human cancer cell line

Ethnobotanical Survey of Plants used for Cancer Treatment in Akinyele Local Government of Ibadan, Nigeria and Preliminary Cytotoxic Activity of Selected Plants

Background: In Nigerian ethnomedicine, a few anticancer constituents of medicinal plant of natural products have been reported in the literature. Although several traditional medical practitioners (TMPs) have claimed to have managed this disease with plants that have been in existence from ancient times.Objective: This study aimed at the documentation and validation of plants that are commonly used in the treatment of cancer in Akinyele Local Government of Oyo State, Nigeria.Materials and methods: Focus-Group discussion and administration of semi-structured questionnaires were used to discover the practice of traditional medicine using plants. The methanol extracts of the commonly cited plants were then screened for cytotoxicity using the Brine shrimp lethality (BSL) and in vitro [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5- diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Two cancer (Rhabdomyosarcoma; RD and cervical; Hep-2C) and normal (Vero) cell lines were used for the screening of the extracts.Results: A total number of 45 Traditional Medical Practitioners and herb sellers were recruited for this study, 26 different plants were recorded with their local names and parts used for therapeutic preparation. Two plant extracts; Aframomum melegueta and Strophanthus hispidus were found to be active against the cancer cell lines and selective to normal cell line used.Conclusion: Some of the plants had cytotoxic properties on the cancer cell lines which supports the claims of the Traditional Medicinal Practitioners. However, the non-selectivity of some plants to normal cells could be a great threat to the cancer patients being treated

Antiplasmodial compounds from Cassia siamea stem bark extract.

noCassia siamea L. (Fabaceae) was identified from the southwest Nigerian ethnobotany as a remedy for febrile illness. This led to the bioassay-guided fractionation of stem bark of the plant extract, using the parasite lactate dehydrogenase assay and multi-resistant strain of Plasmodium falciparum (K1) for assessing the in vitro antimalarial activity. Emodin and lupeol were isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction by a combination of chromatographic techniques. The structures of the compounds were determined by spectroscopy, co-spotting with authentic samples and comparison with literature data. Both compounds were found to be the active principles responsible for the antiplasmodial property with IC50 values of 5 µg/mL, respectively