Characterization of Adulteration of "Espinheira Santa" ( Maytenus ilicifolia and Maytenus aquifolium, Celastraceae) Hydroalcoholic Extracts with Sorocea bomplandii ( Moraceae) by High-Performance Thin Layer Chromatography

A HPTLC procedure for the characterization of adulteration of " espinheira santa ( Maytenus sp) with Sorocea bomplandii by monitoring their flavonoid content with the aid of diphenylboric reagent, is presented. HPTLC data showed the predominance of higly glycosated quercetin and kaempferol derivatives. The derivated flavonoids were shown to be best markers for distinguishing between authentic and adulterated drug samples, with several advantages over triterpene analysi

In vitro and in vivo antimalarial and cytotoxic activity of five plants used in Congolese traditional medicine.

peer reviewedAIM OF THE STUDY: The in vitro antiplasmodial activity and cytotoxicity of methanolic and dichloromethane extracts from five Congolese plants were evaluated. The plants were selected following an ethnobotanical survey conducted in D.R. Congo and focusing on plants used traditionally to treat malaria. The in vivo antimalarial activity of aqueous and methanolic extracts active in vitro was also determined in mice infected by Plasmodium berghei berghei. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The growth inhibition of Plasmodium falciparum strains was evaluated using the measurement of lactate dehydrogenase activity. The extracts (aqueous, CH(3)OH, EtOH and CH(2)Cl(2)) were prepared by maceration and tested in vitro against the 3D7 (chloroquine sensitive) and W2 (chloroquine resistant) strains of Plasmodium falciparum and against the human normal fetal lung fibroblasts WI-38 to determine the selectivity index. Some extracts were also used at the dose of 300mg/kg to evaluate their activity in mice infected since 4 days by Plasmodium berghei. RESULTS: Two plants presented a very high activity (IC(50)10, Anisopappus chinensis). Anisopappus chinensis and Physalis angulata were also active in vivo

Louis-Ferdinand Céline, literary genius or national pariah? Defining moral parameters for influential cultural figures, post- Charlie Hebdo

In January 2011 the French Minister of Culture, Frédéric Mitterrand, withdrew Louis-Ferdinand Céline from a list of famous French authors specifically selected for a national celebration of culture. This bold decision polarized opinion: while many welcomed Mitterrand’s intervention, a number of prominent writers, some of them Jewish, opposed it on the grounds that Céline’s abhorrent political beliefs – expressed in three anti-Semitic pamphlets and his flirtation with Nazism- should in no way detract from his literary genius. In the light of this controversy, and of the rise in anti-Semitism following the Charlie Hebdo attacks of January 2015, this paper proposes Céline as a vital case study of the moral parameters a democratic nation should apply to a culturally important figure whose political views are deemed unacceptably reactionary

About Major Alkaloids of Strychnos Scheffleri from Zaire.

Leaves and stem barks of S. SCHEFFLERI G ILG afforded eight dihydroindole alkaloids. Four tertiary monomers (O-methyl Na-acetylstrychnosplendine, Na-acetylstrychnosplendine, strychnobrasiline and strychnofendlerine) have been isolated from leaf material while stem barks yielded one tertiary monomer (desacetylisoretuline), one tertiary symmetrical dimer (bis-nordihydrotoxiferine) and two quaternary monomers (mavacurine and fluorocurine)

The Isolation of Nb-Methyl-Antirhine, Malindine and Isomalindine from Strychnos Usambarensis

Three quaternary alkaloids have been isolated from root barks of STRYCHNOS USAMBARENSIS Gilg from Rwanda: malindine, isomalindine and Nb-methyl-antirhine. The structure elucidation and the stereochemistry of the new isomalindine has been proposed based on its spectral data and their comparison with those of malindine, its isomer

Criteria to differentiate Veronica officinalis from Veronica chamaedrys

peer reviewedWe have tried to establish some criteria to avoid the substitution of Veronica officinalis L; with anti-ulcer and anti-inflammatory activities with other species of the genus Veronica, especially Veronica chamaedrys L. widely spread and without therapeutic use. We have studied the different histological, anatomical and phytochemical characters for the two species. A rapid method for the identification of both species is the TLC for flavonoids and phenylpropanic compounds was described. Moreover HPLC is useful to detect the presence of acteoside only in Veronica chamaedrys, while Veronica officinalis contains isoacteoside

The Isolation and Structure Elucidation of Afrocurarine

The structure and the stereochemistry of afrocurarine (a new unsymmetrical bisindole alkaloid) previously isolated from S. USAMBARENSIS Gilg. are established especially from (1)H-NMR spectroscopic data. The separation of quaternary alkaloids has always been very tedious. Ion-pair reversed-phase column chromatography applied to the purification of afrocurarine is proved very useful and seems to be a suitable technique in quaternary alkaloid research

strychnoxanthine, a Monoterpene Alkaloid of a Novel Skeletal Type from Strychnos Gossweileri

Strychnoxanthine, an anhydronium base, was isolated from root barks of STRYCHNOS GOSSWEILERI, a few years ago. The structure of this new indole alkaloid is now established by spectral analysis, especially by (1)H NMR at 360 MHz