Characterization of GMG-ITC isolated from aerial parts of moringa oleifera tree

Isothicyanate is a major bioactive compound in Moringa oleifera Lam. There are numerous literatures that report the therapeutic effects of isothiocyanates. It is for this reason that the local consumption of the plant is increasing. In the current study, we devised a rapid protocol for the extraction of ITC from the aerial parts of M. oleifera and also determined the plant part with the highest yield. The purity of the ITCs was confirmed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography analysis. Our findings revealed that the seeds contain the highest proportion of isothiocyanate. This implies that the seeds of M. oleifera could serve as invaluable feedstock for large scale extraction of the ITCs for pharmaceutical and food industries

Gum exudates of Acacia senegal linn is an alternative binding agent in Drosophila melanogaster culture for laboratory maintenance of stocks

The gum exudates of Acacia senegal Linn was utilized as a single agent or in combination with agar-agar in the formulation of Drosophila diet. Eight (8) corn-meal diets were formulated in two sets consisting of 15 – 40 % (w/w) A. senegal as a single binding agent or a mixture of A. senegal in the ratios of 1:5, 1:2, 1:1 and 2:1 to agar-agar per 100 g corn-meal diet. Biochemical markers of toxicity were analyzed spectrophotometrically. Standard methods of AOAC were employed to determine the physicochemical and proximate compositions of the formulated corn-meal diets. The results from this study showed high level of safety of the gum on adult Drosophila melanogaster (Harwich strain) of both sexes and of the same lineage. LC50 > 100 mg/g with insignificant mortality in all groups at varying concentration (1 – 100 mg/g) of the gum exudate was observed after 7 days of treatment. Significant increases in eclosion in the A. senegal – exposed flies at concentrations of 2, 4 and 5 mg/g diet was also observed after the treatment. A normal trend in locomotor activity was observed in all groups when flies were subjected to negative geotaxic assay, however, at concentrations of 50 mg/g there was an impairment in locomotion. The formulated A. Senegal containing diets have shown varying differences in physicochemical properties, even though no significant changes in the biochemical parameters including SOD1, Catalase and GST in all groups were seen. The collective findings of the present study revealed that the gum exudates of A. senegal L. may be a cost-effective alternative of agar-agar in corn-meal diet for laboratory maintenance of Drosophila melanogaster stocks

The chemopreventive properties of isothiocyanate isolated from the seeds of moringa oleifera lam

Isothiocyanates (ITCs) are a group of plant phytochemicals believed to have numerous therapeutic properties. In the current study, Glucomoringin Isothiocyanate (GMG-ITC) was isolated and purified from the seeds of Moringa oleifera Lam. and used to treat Diethylnitrosamine-Induced Liver Cancer in rats. We observed that GMG-ITC treatment attenuated liver damage and significantly prevented the release of liver enzymes into blood plasma. In addition, the treatment significantly increased total antioxidant capacity of liver cancer induced rats that could have decreased the level of alanine amino transferase (ALT) and aspartate amino transferase (AST) in the blood. Thus, we postulate that pure isothiocyanate from the seeds of M. oleifera has potential anti-Liver Cancer activity