Antifungal activity of Myrtus communis and Zygophyllum album extracts against human pathogenic fungi

Fungal infections have been increasing in recent years due to a growing number of high-risk patients, particularly immunocompromised hosts. Currently, medicinal plants are known for their properties due to their essential oils and phenolic compounds. They have been empirically used as antimicrobial agents. So the composition of the phenolic extracts and essential oils of Myrtus communis and Zygophyllum album and their antifungal activity on Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus fungal strains were studied. In this fact, essential oils from the aerial parts of the plant were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC and GC-MS, for the phenolic extracts, several extraction methods with a preliminary phytochemical study were applied. The oils showed high contents of α-pinene and cineol for M. communis and verbenone and caryophyllene for the Z. album. The MIC and minimal lethal concentration were used to evaluate the antifungal activity against Candida and Aspergillus strains. Results showed that M. communis and Z. album essential oil and phenolic extracts exhibited a significant activity against clinically relevant fungi, a significant antifungal activity of the two extracts studied (MCA and ZAM) was observed on C. albicans of these, two extracts, MCA was found to be most active with an MFC value of 25 mg/ml versus 100 mg/ml for ZAM. Nevertheless, the essential oils exhibited stronger antifungal activity than the phenolic extracts. The present study indicates that the two medicinal plants have considerable antifungal activity, deserving further investigation for clinical applications. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.375120

Effects of extraction solvents on polyphenols content and biological activity of Ajuga iva extracts

Different solvent systems have been used for the extraction of polyphenols from plant material, however, the appropriate solvent system is more effective for extracting the total phenolic of any plant extract and evaluating the antibacterial activity is not determined yet. Thus, the objective of this research was to determine the most effective solvent for extraction and characterization of polyphenols as well as antibacterial activity of the aerial parts Ajuga iva extracts. The Soxhlet method was devised to extract polyphenols from aerials parts of Ajuga iva powders, for this matter, three different solvents were used In order to analyze and quantify the result an in vitro evaluation of the antibacterial activity of the various plant extracts was carried out. The preliminary evaluation of the chemical composition made it possible to highlight the presence of some chemical groups. The quantitative determination of polyphenols is twofold, first the dichloromethanic extract contains the highest levels of polyphenols (3.38 mg GAE/g), second the ethanolic extract contains the highest levels of flavonoids (6.59 mg CE/g DW) and tannins (14.58 mg CE/g DW). On other hand, a remarkable antibacterial activity of some tested extracts was detected. The results showed that solvents with different polarities significantly affected polyphenol content and antibacterial activity. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.640208

Chemical composition and anti-arthritic activity of Anacyclus valentinus extract on adjuvant-induced arthritis in rats

Anacyclus valentinus L. is a common annual plant in Algeria, known for her various therapeutic effects. In addition, the plant is used as a food condiment. We reported our investigations on the chemical compositions and the antiarthritic activity of methanolic extract of A. valentinus (MEAV). The polyphenol extraction by maceration with methanol (80%) gave yields of 17.82%. The identification by LC-MS and colorimetric assays revealed the wealth of methanolic extracts on phenolic compounds including flavonoids (52.15 mg Equ/g) and lactones. Acute oral toxicity of extract was performed in line with OECD guidelines and the lethal dose 50 was assessed greater than 2500 mg/Kg. Regarding the anti-arthritic power, rheumatoid arthritis was induced by Freund\u27s adjuvant in rats. The methanolic extract of A. valentinus presented a largest effect with weight gain, an arthritic score, thymus indices; spleen and serum parameters close to those of the control. The extract also inhibited edema and restored cartilage structure

Antifungal activity of Myrtus communis and Zygophyllum album extracts against human pathogenic fungi

Fungal infections have been increasing in recent years due to a growing number of high-risk patients, particularly immunocompromised hosts. Currently, medicinal plants are known for their properties due to their essential oils and phenolic compounds. They have been empirically used as antimicrobial agents. So the composition of the phenolic extracts and essential oils of Myrtus communis and Zygophyllum album and their antifungal activity on Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus fungal strains were studied. In this fact, essential oils from the aerial parts of the plant were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC and GC-MS, for the phenolic extracts, several extraction methods with a preliminary phytochemical study were applied. The oils showed high contents of α-pinene and cineol for M. communis and verbenone and caryophyllene for the Z. album. The MIC and minimal lethal concentration were used to evaluate the antifungal activity against Candida and Aspergillus strains. Results showed that M. communis and Z. album essential oil and phenolic extracts exhibited a significant activity against clinically relevant fungi, a significant antifungal activity of the two extracts studied (MCA and ZAM) was observed on C. albicans of these, two extracts, MCA was found to be most active with an MFC value of 25 mg/ml versus 100 mg/ml for ZAM. Nevertheless, the essential oils exhibited stronger antifungal activity than the phenolic extracts. The present study indicates that the two medicinal plants have considerable antifungal activity, deserving further investigation for clinical applications. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.375120