Biological activities and nutritional value of Tapinanthus bangwensis leaves

The cytotoxic and antioxidant properties of the ethanolic extract and fractions of the leaves of Tapinanthus bangwensis were evaluated. The investigation of their total phenol and flavonoid contents, proximate analysis and their mineral composition were also carried out. In the brine shrimp lethality assay, the ethyl acetate and dichloromethane fractions showed cytotoxic activity with LD50 values of 11.22 and 15.84 μg/ml, respectively. The ethyl acetate and dichloromethane fractions exhibited significant cytotoxic effects towards HeLa cells with IC50 values of 24.25 and 24.43 μg/ml respectively. In the DPPH assay, the ethyl acetate fraction showed the highest activity while the butanol fraction showed the highest activity in the metal chelating and the lipid peroxidation assays. The quantitative analysis gave the total phenol and flavonoid contents in the range of 13.38 to 668.65 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g and 0.53 to 34.52 mg quercetin equivalent (QE)/g, respectively. For the proximate analysis, the crude fibre, carbohydrate, protein, total ash and moisture content values were 58.03, 17.80, 7.79, 13.70 and 0.60%, respectively while iron occurred in the highest amount and sodium in the least in the mineral composition analysis. These results demonstrate the cytotoxic and antioxidant activities of T. bangwensis leaves and support the traditional use of the plant in cancer treatment.Keywords: Tapinanthus bangwensis, brineshrimp, HeLa, antioxidan

Evaluation of Antibacterial Activity and Phenolic Contents of Four Nigerian Medicinal Plants

In this study, phenolic compounds and antimicrobial properties of four medicinal plants from Nigeria was investigated. The antibacterial properties and minimum inhibition concentration of Microdesmis puberula, Hypoestis verticillaris, Icacina tricantha, and Enterolobium cyclocarpum against 21 different bacteria was carried out using the disc diffusion assay. These plant extract were subjected to phytochemical screening by reverse phase HPLC (high pressure liquid chromatography) coupled with diode array detection and GC-MS (gas chromatography- mass spectrum). H. verticillaris had the most significant activity and showed inhibitory activity against most of the Gram-positive bacteria. However, M. puberula was only effective against the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Enterobacter sakkai with inhibition zone of 8 mm. Furthermore, both I. tricantha and E. cyclocarpum only had antimicrobial effect on S. warneri with the inhibition zone of 12 and 13 mm, respectively. The results showed that M. puberula mostly contained 0.46 mg100 g-1 dry sample quarcetin and H. verticillaris contained approximately 0.7 mg 100 g-1 dry sample mangiferin and quarcetin. Moreover, both I. tricantha and E. cyclocarpum contain mostly quarcetin and rutin. According to GC-MS results, M. puberula contained thymol and methyl cinnamic acid and H. verticillaris contained methyl cinnamic acid and gallic acid. These plant extracts can be considered to be used in the cosmetic and food industries or even as a safe alternative to synthetic antimicrobial drugs

Studies on the anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive properties of Blepharis maderaspatensis leaves

Blepharis maderaspatensis(L.) B. Heyne ex Roth, Acanthaceae, is a procumbent or scrambling perennial herb used traditionally for treatment of snakebites, wounds, edema and gout. The anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive properties of the ethanol extract of the whole plant of B. maderaspatensis was investigated using carrageenan-induced paw edema in rats, xyleneinduced edema in mice, mouse writhing and tail clip tests respectively. The effect of the extract on inflammatory mediators, serotonin and histamine, using the most active dose (75 mg/kg) was also carried out. The results showed that the extract of B. maderaspatensis in carrageenan-induced test caused a significant inhibition (84.5%, 90 min) of paw edema at a dose of 75 mg/kg while the xylene-induced test caused a significant inhibition (62.65%) at 50 mg/kg. The histamine-induced test showed significant inhibition (90.9%, 90 min) while serotonin-induced test showed moderate inhibition (54.10%, 180 min). In the mouse writhing and tail clip tests, the extract produced a significant inhibition of 66.21% and 15.81% at 75 mg/kg, respectively. These results collectively demonstrate that the ethanol extract of B. maderaspatensis possesses anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive properties, and this supports the ethnopharmacological use of the plant in the treatment of inflammation

Musanga cecropioides leaf extract exhibits anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive activities in animal models

ABSTRACTExtract obtained from the leaves of Musanga cecropioides R. Br. ex Tedlie, Urticaceae, a tree growing in Africa, is used traditionally in the treatment of edema and rheumatism. The anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive properties of ethanol extract were studied using the carrageenan, histamine, serotonin and xylene-induced edema tests as well as the formalin, mouse writhing and tail clip tests. Significant dose dependent inhibition was observed in the carrageenan model with peak inhibition at 150 mg/kg (71.43%, 90 min, p < 0.001). In the histamine and serotonin models, the extract caused significant inhibition of 83.33% (p < 0.05) and 45% (p < 0.01) at 120 min respectively. For the xylene model, the extract showed maximum inhibition (59.25%) at 200 mg/kg. Also, M. cecropioides produced significant anti-nociceptive activity in the mouse writhing (55.12%, p < 0.01), formalin (81.88%, p < 0.01) and tail clip (11.78%, p< 0.001) tests at 200 mg/kg respectively. The results obtained in this study demonstrated that the ethanolic leaf extract of M. cecropioidespossesses anti-inflammatory effect possibly mediated via histaminergic and serotonergic inhibition and anti-nociceptive effect mediated via peripheral mechanism with mild central involvement