Antimicrobial Abietane-Type diterpenoids from Plectranthus punctatus

Abdissa Ayana N, Frese M, Sewald N. Antimicrobial Abietane-Type diterpenoids from Plectranthus punctatus. Molecules. 2017;22(11): 1919.Four new para-benzoquinone containing abietane-type diterpenoids (1–4) along with thirteen known diterpenoids (5–17) were isolated from the roots of Plectranthus punctatus. The structures of the compounds were established by detailed spectroscopic analyses and comparison with literature data. The compounds were tested for their antibacterial and cytotoxic activity and showed significant inhibitory activity against all bacterial strains used, with compounds 6, 8, 10, and 11 showing an inhibition zone for Staphylococcus warneri even greater than the reference drug, gentamycin

Cytotoxic Compounds from Aloe megalacantha

Abdissa Ayana N, Gohlke S, Frese M, Sewald N. Cytotoxic Compounds from Aloe megalacantha. Molecules. 2017;22(7): 1136.Phytochemical investigation of the ethyl acetate extract of the roots of Aloe megalacantha led to the isolation of four new natural products—1,8-dimethoxynepodinol (1), aloesaponarin III (2), 10-O-methylchrysalodin (3) and methyl-26-O-feruloyl-oxyhexacosanate (4)—along with ten known compounds. All purified metabolites were characterized by NMR, mass spectrometric analyses and comparison with literature data. The isolates were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against a human cervix carcinoma cell line KB-3-1 and some of them exhibited good activity, with aloesaponarin II (IC50 = 0.98 µM) being the most active compound

Anthraquinones from the Roots of Kniphofia insignis and Evaluation of Their Antimicrobial Activities

Sequential extraction using a cold maceration method and column chromatographic separation of the roots Kniphofia insignis headed to the isolation of three anthraquinones: one monomeric anthraquinone (1) and two dimeric anthraquinones (2 and 3). It was further purified by Sephadex LH-20 and recrystallized. The structures of these compounds were established based on the spectroscopic analyses including NMR (1H-NMR and 13C-NMR and infrared) and comparison with reported literatures. In an in vitro antimicrobial assay of the crude extracts, the isolated compounds were made against four bacterial strains (S. aureus ATCC 25923, B. subtilis ATCC 6633, E. coli ATCC 35218, and P. aeruginosa ATCC 27853) and Fusarium spp. fungal strain. In the crude extracts of chloroform, substantial antimicrobial activity was seen with the highest activity against B. subtilis (16 mm) and E. coli (22 mm). Meanwhile, compound 1 has a better zone of inhibition with 14 mm against P. aeruginosa, whereas compound 2 showed better activity (13 mm) against Fusarium spp. fungal strain

BIFLAVONOIDS FROM THE ROOTS OF RHUS RUSPOLII AND EVALUATIONS OF THEIR ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES

Deresa DA, Abdissa Z, Gurmessa GT, et al. BIFLAVONOIDS FROM THE ROOTS OF RHUS RUSPOLII AND EVALUATIONS OF THEIR ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES. Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Ethiopia . 2022;36(3):667-674.Biflavonoids are C-C or C-O-C linked flavonoid dimers with highly restricted presence in plant species. They are extensively reported to possess interesting pharmacological properties. The chromatographic fractionation and purification of CH2Cl2/MeOH (1:1) extract of the root of Rhus ruspolli led to the isolation of a new biflavonoid (1) along with four other known biflavonoids (2-5). The structure of the compounds were identified based on the analysis of NMR spectroscopic and mass spectrometric data and also in comparison with reported literature data. Compounds 2-5 were assayed for their antioxidant activity using DPPH and displayed potent in vitro antioxidant activities. The percentage radical scavenging activities were 78.32, 68.90, 93.22 and 92.00 for compounds 2-5, respectively. The highest activity was observed for compound 4 and 5 with IC50 values of 7.90 and 8.40, respectively, which are even greater than that of ascorbic acid (IC50 9.90). The high antioxidant activity of the compounds could be due to the presence of free hydroxyl groups in the flavonoids. The antioxidant activities of these compounds support the traditional uses of the plant in treatment of wound, ectoparasite and as antibacteria and indicates the potential use of these compounds as drug lead candidates

Cytotoxic compounds from the root bark of Securidac alongipedunculata

Wedajo F, Gure A, Meshesha M, et al. Cytotoxic compounds from the root bark of Securidac alongipedunculata . Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Ethiopia . 2022;36(2):417-422.Chromatographic separation of the ethyl acetate extract of the root bark of Securidaca longipedunculata led to the isolation of one new xanthone derivative (1) along with nine known compounds (2-10). The structure of the isolated compounds were identified by NMR, mass spectrometric analyses, and comparison with the reported literature data. The isolates were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity with compounds 5 (IC50 = 0.38 mu M) and 6 (IC50 = 52 mu M) showed significant inhibitory activities against the human cervical cancer KB-3-1 cell line. Compound 5 displayed superior activity, which is even better than one of the reference drugs (griseofulvin, IC50 = 17 mu M), whereas the rest showed little or none inhibitory activities