Antimicrobial activity of selected Malaysian plants

Methanolic extracts of seventeen Malaysian plants were screened against fungi, including yeast and candida, as well as gram negative and gram positive bacteria. Antimicrobial activities were present in extracts prepared from Borreria latifolia, B. selidens, Hedyotis diffusa, H. nudicaulis, Morinda elliptica, M. umbellata (Rubiaceae), Sida rhombifolia (malvaceae) and Vitex ovata (Verbenaceae). Extracts from S. rhombifolia and B. latifolia showed exreptionally high activity against Candida albicans, Ca. intermedia, Aspergillus ochraceous, Cunninghamella clegans and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. However, only moderate activity was observed against Bacillus cereus, Ba. megaterium and Ca. Iipolyuca. Extracts from Calophyllum inophyllum (Guttiferae), Entada sp. (Leguminosae), Eclipta alba (Compositae), Dendrotrophe umbellata (Santalaceae), Cardiospermum halicacabum (Sapindaceae), Glochidion lutcscens and Euphorbia prunifolia (Euphorbiaceae) gave negative results

Antiviral and cytotoxic activities of some plants used in Malaysian indigenous medicine

Ethanolic extracts of 61 medicinal plants used in Malaysia were screened for antiviral and cytotoxic activities. Antiviral activity was tested against the herpes simplex type-1 (HSV-1) and vesicular stomatitis (VSV) viruses, and cytotoxicity was assayed using the HeLa cell line. Antiviral activity against both viruses was present in the extracts from Calotropis gigantea, Costus speciosus, Eugenia michelii, Hedyotis auricularia, Mentha arvensis, Orthosiphon aristatus, Polygonum minus and Ricinus communis (MIG: 0.002-0.1 mg/ml). The extracts from Alternanthera sessilis, Blumea chinensis, Eleusine indica, Euphorbia hirta, Freycinetia malaccensis, Leea indica and Solanum americanum were active in selectively inhibiting HSV-1 (0.001-0.1 mg/ml). Selective activity against VSV was shown by the extracts from Acalypha indica, Bertholletia excelsa, Cerbera manghas, Codiaeum variegatum, Plectranthus amboinicus, Centella asiatica, Mirabilis jalapa, Morinda elliptica, Oenanthe javanica, Piper sarmentosum and Premna odorata (MIG: 0.005-0.1 mg/ml). Gytotoxic activity was present in the extracts from Acalypha indica, Andrographis paniculata, Cerbera manghas, Codiaeum variegatum, Cosmos caudatus, Elephantopus scaber, Etlingera elatior, Eugenia michelii, Freycinetia malaccensis, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis,Cen~ella asiati~a, Lecythis ollaria, Mentha arvensis, Mirabilis jalapa, Morinda elliptica, Ocimum tenUlflorum, PIper sarmentosum and Polygonum minus (CD50: 0.001-0.1 mgjml).Co-existing antiviral and cytotoxic activities were shown by Eugenia michelii, Mentha arvensis and Polygonum minus

Cytotoxicity and immunomodulatory effects of damnacanthal and nordamnacanthal isolated from roots of morinda elliptica.

Morinda elliptica has been used traditionally as a medicine to treat various diseases in Malaysia and Southeast Asia. In this present study, the cytotoxicity and immunomodulatory effects of damnacanthal and nordamnacanthal isolated from the roots of Morinda elliptica were studied. Cytotoxic study was performed on human leukemia cell lines (HL-60) and mouse myelomonocyte leukemia (Wehi-3B) cell line, whereas immunomodulatory effect was evaluated by using lymphocytes proliferation assay on mice thymocytes and human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). The production of extracellular human interleukin-2 (IL-2) and human interleukin-12 (IL-12) were also assessed by using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results indicated that both damnacanthal and nordamnacanthal inhibited the proliferation of HL-60 cells with the IC50 of 4.0 µg/mL and 20 µg/mL, respectively, and were able to activate mice thymocytes and human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) at low concentration (0.47 µg/mL). Moreover, the production of extracellular human interleukin-2 (IL-2) and human interleukin-12 (IL-12) from both compounds-activated PBMC were prominently upregulated after 24 hours and the concentration remained almost constant up to 72 hours. Based on the results, both damnacanthal and nordamnacanthal can be cytotoxic and immunomodulatory agents which have the potential in cancer treatment