Phytochemistry and Hepatoprotective Activity of Chloroform Extract of NKC Ingredient in Santalum album Against D-Galactosamine Induced Hepatotoxicity in Rats

Objective: Nilavembu Kudineer Chooranam is the combination of nine plant materials. The nine components are Nilavempu (Andrographis paniculata), Vettiver (Vetiveria zizanioides), Vilamiccamver (plectranthus vettiveroides), Santanam (Santalum album), Peyputtal (Trichosanthes dioica), Koraikkilanku (Cyperus rotandus), Cukku (Zingeber officinale), Milaku (Piper nigrum), Parpatakam (Mollugo cerviana). All these plants are used conventionally in the treatment of fever, inflammation, arthralgia, arthritis, gastric ulcer, jaundice, and general weaknes Methods: About 500gm of dried fine powder of Santalum album were soaked in the extractor and macerated for 30 hrs with petroleum ether. On the 22ndday after overnight fast the blood was collected from retro- orbital After the separation of serum from the blood assay of ALT, AST, ALP, γGT and bilirubin were done using standard methods and enzyme assay tests. Results: The preliminary phytochemical analysis of the Chloroform extract of Santalum album reveals the presence of alkaloid, flavonoid, phenol, coumarin, and tannin. The pretreatment of chloroform extract of Santalum album at a dose of 200mg and 400mg/kg (group IV and V) appeared to significantly prevent the galactosamine toxicity as revealed by the hepatic cells which were preserved in cytoplasms. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that chloroform extract of Santalum album at both doses possesses hepatoprotective and antioxidant activity, which is evidenced by lowered serum hepatic marker enzyme activities. Among the two dosages tested, 400 mg/kg/body weight showed more promising hepatoprotective and antioxidant activity, and is comparable to the standard drug Silymarin. Keywords: Nilavembu Kudineer Chooranam, Chloroform extract of Santalum album, preliminary phytochemical analysis, Hepatoprotective activity, D-Galactosamine induced hepatotoxicity in rats

Saccharothrix sp. PAL54, a new chloramphenicol-producing strain isolated from a Saharan soil

An actinomycete strain designated PAL54, producing an antibacterial substance, was isolated from a Saharan soil in Ghardaïa, Algeria. Morphological and chemical studies indicated that this strain belonged to the genus Saccharothrix. Analysis of the 16S rDNA sequence showed a similarity level ranging between 96.9 and 99.2% within Saccharothrix species, with S. longispora DSM 43749T, the most closely related. DNA–DNA hybridization confirmed that strain PAL54 belonged to Saccharothrix longispora. It showed very strong activity against pathogenic Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria responsible for nosocomial infections and resistant to multiple antibiotics. Strain PAL54 secreted the antibiotic optimally during mid-stationary and decline phases of growth. One antibacterial compound was isolated from the culture broth and purified by HPLC. The active compound was elucidated by uv-visible and NMR spectroscopy and by mass spectrometry. The results showed that this compound was a D(-)-threo chloramphenicol. This is the first report of chloramphenicol production by a Saccharothrix species

In vitro antimicrobial potential of organic solvent extracts of novel actinomycetes isolated from forest soil

In vitro screening of antibacterial and antifungal activities of hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, methanol and water extracts of selected promising actinomycetes strains were studied towards Gram-positive, Gram-negative bacteria, dermatophytes and opportunistic pathogens. Crude antimicrobial metabolites were extracted by liquid-liquid extraction and solid-liquid extraction method using hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol. The lowest minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the extracts was assessed by the broth micro dilution method. All the extracts obtained from eight strains showed promising activity against tested Gram-positive bacteria. The hexane extracts of strain ERI-1 exhibited activity against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis at a concentration of 5 mg/ml. Ethyl acetate extract of strain ERI-4 showed MIC of 5 mg/ml but S. epidermidis and S. aureus. B. subtilis exhibited activity at 2.5 mg/ml. However, ethyl acetate and lyophilized water extract of strain ERI-3 inhibited the growth of Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Trichophyton rubrum, Epidermophyton floccosum and Scropulariopsis sp at 10 mg/ml. Overall significant antibacterial and antifungal activities were noted in the ethyl acetate extract of ERI-1 and ERI-3. Methanol extract of ERI-26 exhibited good antibacterial and antifungal activities.Keywords: Actinomycetes, organic extracts, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), antimicrobial activityAfrican Journal of Biotechnology, Vol 13(18), 1891-189

Mechanochemical synthesis of chitosan submicron particles from the gladius of Todarodes pacificus

The present work focused on the synthesis of β-chitosan submicron particles (CSPs) from Todarodes pacificus using mechanochemical techniques. The gladius was submitted to a sequence of mechanical and chemical treatments to synthesize β-chitin (CT), which was further deacetylated to form spherical chitosan submicron particles with an average diameter of ⩽100 nm. The surface morphology of β-chitin and CSPs was observed using electron microscopy. The degree of deacetylation (DD%), evaluated from the absorbance peak of a Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrum, was 80 ± 2.5%. Physicochemical characterization exhibited good crystallinity, positive zeta potential and low molecular weight, as well as reduced ash content and high water-binding capacity. CSPs exhibit significant antimicrobial properties toward all tested pathogenic bacterial and fungal microorganisms. Antioxidant analysis revealed high reducing power and excellent scavenging and chelating ability. Hence, CSPs synthesized from gladius of Todarodes pacificus using mechanochemical techniques are promising candidates for biomedical applications