Acute toxicity of Aristolochia longa L. of aqueous extract in mice

Aristolochia longa L. (Aristolochiaceae) is widely used to treat breast cancer in Algerian traditional medicine. The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of ingestion of aqueous extracts of different parts of the plant on liver and kidney functions in wistar albinos mice. Acute oral toxicity was performed to determine DL50, this toxicity was carried out by the oral administration in single doses of 0–12 g/kg for tubers aqueous extracts and 2 g/kg and 5 g/kg for aerial and fruit aqueous extract respectively.  General behavior, adverse effects and mortality were determined for up to 14 days. The animals were sacrificed and biochemical study was done. The acute oral toxicity result revealed that LD50 of the tubers and fruit aqueous extracts was respectively more than 12 g/kg and 5 g/kg, but DL50 of the aerial aqueous extract was at 5 g/kg. The result revealed also that liver and kidney function of different groups receiving high doses was affected as ASAT, ALAT, Urea, creatinine was significantly increased as compared to control group. Histological examination showed alterations of the renal parenchyma and the liver which is greater in animals treated with high dose. Thus, caution should be exercised with its usage. Keywords: Acute toxicity, Biochemical parameters, Histological examination Aristolochia longa L

Ethnobotanical Study, Anatomical Study and Phytochemical Screening of Aristolochia longa L.

Aristolochia longa L. (Aristolochiaceae) is used in Algerian traditional medicine. The ethnobotanical study conducted in the region of Setif (East Algeria) has as an objective of evaluating the potential of the region of Aristolochia longa L. used in the treatment of different diseases. A questionnaire was used which consisted of the diseases treated by this plant, the part of the plant used in the treatment and how to use this plant. The survey targeted 100 people from the local population. We also evaluated the phytochemical composition of the aerial parts (stems and leaves), fruits and tubers. Our results showed that A. longa is widely used to treat several ailments such as cancer (43%), diabetes (17%), and treatment of wounds in cattle (12%), and intestinal and stomach diseases (9 and 7%), the most used part is tubers by 70%.Crushed tubers are commonly mixed with honey(44%), milk(24%), water (8%). Results of the phytochemical screening revealed that A. longa contained various bioactive compounds, including polyphenols, flavonoids, saponins, terpenoids, and Alkaloids. In addition, there is very little information concerning the anatomical and morphological structure of this species of Setif region (Algeria), a preliminary study on anatomy of this plant is therefore reported in this paper. These preliminary results could be used to justify the traditional use of this plant and their bioactive substances could be exploited for therapeutic purposes such as antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory, and may be considered as a promising source of new drugs for treating cancer. Keywords: Aristolochia longa L., ethnobotany Setif(Algeria), anatomical study of plant, phytochemical screening

In Vitro Antimicrobial, Antiviral and Cytotoxicity Activities of Aspergillus oryzae Isolated From El-Baida Marsh in Algeria

This work covers the study of antimicrobial and antiviral activities of the Aspergillus oryzae strain isolated from saline soil (El-Baida marsh in Algeria). The crude extract obtained with ethyl acetate displayed antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and the yeast Candida albicans with a mean of 16.69 mm of inhibition zone and a minimal inhibitory concentrations MICs between 7.28 and 21.85 μgmL-1. We also assessed the antiviral activity against Herpes simplex-2 Virus (HSV-2), in which no inhibitory effect was exhibited. In addition, cytotoxicity activity was tested in Caco-2 and RAW 264, a human epithelial and a murine macrophage cell line, respectively, revealing a no-toxic effect of the extract. The studied isolate extract possesses an antimicrobial property and its non-toxicity to the host cells becomes very important, and can be exploited for the production of new pharmacological and biotechnological agents.        Keywords: Aspergillus oryzae, antimicrobial activity, antiviral activity, cytotoxicity, fungal extraction

Antifungal activity of the endophytic Aspergillus against Candida albicans

Medicinal plants remain a reliable source of bioactive compound principles known for their proven therapeutic abilities against various infectious diseases. Endophytes, microorganisms residing within plant tissues, hold promise for producing novel metabolites with potential medical applications. This study analyzes the antagonism of endophytic fungi Aspergillus sp., isolated from medicinal plants, and their extract against Candida albicans, and their effectiveness was compared with that of a medical treatment, Phanazol 1% ointment. After isolating, purifying, and identifying endophytic fungi from the medicinal plants Lavandula officinalis, Rosmarinus officinalis, Eucalyptus bicolor and Mentha piprita, a total of ten endophytic fungi were obtained. These included two yeasts (yeast and Rhodotorula sp.), as well as eight moulds (Aspergillus sp., Aspergillus niger, Nigrospora sp., Curvularia sp., Alternaria sp., Penicillium sp.), and sterile mycelium. All these fungi were tested for their antagonism against C. albicans; using the cross-streak and disk diffusion methods for yeasts and moulds respectively, with the measurement of the diameter of the growth inhibition zone of the culture. Only the strain Aspergillus sp. and its ethyl acetate extract exhibited good activity against C. albicans, with inhibition zone widths of 27.5 and 20.3 mm, respectively. Its effectiveness is comparable to that of Phanazol 1% ointment. The use of gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) unveiled the metabolite profiles of Aspergillus sp., enabling the recognition of 10 bioactive compounds, with butanedioic acid, kojic acid, and Cyclo L-prolyl-L-valine being the major ones, constituting 45.1%, 23.1%, and 5.1% of the total, respectively. These compounds serve as valuable platform chemicals that can be transformed into various other useful chemicals with various applications in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, food, cosmetics, and the healthcare industry. In addition to refining the active substances within this extract, it has the potential to open doors for creating novel bio-sourced medications aimed at addressing resistant opportunistic fungal or bacterial infections

Isofraxisecoside, a new coumarin-secoiridoid from the stem bark of <i>Fraxinus xanthoxyloides</i>

<p>A new coumarin-secoiridoid diglucoside, named Isofraxisecoside, was isolated from the stem bark of <i>Fraxinus xanthoxyloides</i> (G. Don) Wall. ex A. DC. along with nine known compounds. The structure of new compound has been determined on the basis of ¹H, ¹³C, 2D NMR and HRMS methods.</p