A review of therapeutic potentials of Clinacanthus nutans as source for alternative medicines

Clinacanthus nutans, also known as Sabah Snake Grass, is an ethno-medicinal plant species belonging to the family Acanthaceae and has been widely used as a traditional remedy in Malaysia and Thailand to treat various diseases. The species contains massive amount of phytochemical compounds useful to human health. Various studies have reported that among the compounds found in the species are those with anti-venom properties reported to be rarely present in other medicinal plants. A number of pharmacological research studies have also documented that extracts of C. nutans contain high antioxidants, as well as compounds with anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and anti-viral properties. Isolation and identification of these phytochemical compounds have gained global attention due to their well-known beneficial values. The present review article is a compilation of previous pharmacological studies on C. nutans with a view of gaining further interest in exploring alternative sources of medicine

Non enzymatic and enzymatic antioxidant activities in aqueous extract of different Ficus deltoidea accessions

Ficus deltoidea was used in this study due to its reputation in reducing risk of cancer, diabetes and heart diseases. In this study 13 accessions of F. deltoidea were selected and they were divided into two groups, generally named as, female and male plants based on leaf sizes and the spots present. The signature of F. deltoidea is that this plant has black spots representing the female leaf while red spots for the male leaf. For non enzymatic antioxidants, several methods were used, they were 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazil (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay for total antioxidant content. In addition, total polyphenol, flavonoid, phenolic acid and vitamin C content were also analyzed. Enzymatic antioxidants of F. deltoidea leaf extracts were assayed; ascorbate oxidase, peroxidase, catalase and ascorbate peroxidase. For DPPH assay, F1 has 99.87% of inhibition while the lowest is in M10 (32.86 %). F13 has the highest total percentage of antioxidant for FRAP method and the lowest is in M4. Total polyphenol content showed F13 has the highest (1.30 mg/g FW) and M10 the lowest (0.49 mg/g FW). Similar trend was observed for total phenolic acid and flavonoid content. For both assays, F1 has the highest content while M10 is the lowest. For total vitamin C content, F8 and F7 have the highest and lowest content with 6.78 and 0.61 mg/g FW, respectively. Ascorbate oxidase, peroxidase, catalase and ascorbate peroxidase were calculated using respective coefficient extinction and expressed as mg/g FW protein content. This study suggested that the extracts of the female leaves are better than male leaves in most of the assays. This is the first documented report on the antioxidants of F. deltoidea

Antioxidative properties of leaf extracts of a popular Malaysian herb, Labisia pumila.

A study was undertaken to examine the presence of antioxidative activities of two varieties of Labisia pumila; L. pumila var. Alata and L. pumila var. Pumila using DPPH, FRAP and β-carotene bleaching methods. In addition, ascorbic acid, β-carotene, anthocyanin, total flavonoid and total phenolic content were also analyzed. In eight methods studied, six of them showed high activities of antioxidant in L. pumila var. Alata compared to that of L. pumila var. Pumila. The results obtained showed that L. pumila var. Alata contained higher antioxidative activities in all three methods applied compared to var. Pumila. In DPPH, FRAP and β-carotene bleaching methods, L. pumila var. Alata had high antioxidant activities with 299.84 µM trolox/g db, 164.16 µM trolox/g db and 89.22%,respectively. The same pattern of antioxidant activities also can be observed in ascorbic acid, β-carotene and anthocyanin in L. pumila var. Alata compared to var. Pumila with 0.022, 3.175 and 0.328 mg/g FW, respectively. L. pumila var. Pumila had higher total flavonoid content than L. pumila var. Alata with 1.281 mg/g FW. For total phenolic content, no significant different was observed because the amount of total phenolic content ranging from 2.53 to 2.55 mg/g FW. There is a positive correlation between antioxidant capacities and individual antioxidative compounds in the following order β-carotene>flavonoid>vitamin C>total anthocyanins >phenolics

In vitro responses of Stevia rebaudiana (Bert) to MS basal medium supplemented with 6-benzylaminopurine and indole-3-butyric acid

Propagation of S. rebaudiana Bertoni can be done by seed germination and stem cutting. Seed germination of this plant is not efficient due to low fertility and having heterogeneous population, thus producing unstable sweetening level. Therefore, micropropagation can overcome this problem by producing large number of plantlets within a short time. In this effort, the effect of different concentrations of plant growth regulators; auxin and cytokinin were observed to find out the multiplication responses of S. rebaudiana in vitro. The nodal segments were used as explant and inoculated onto full strength of Murashige and Skoog (MS) media. The medium was supplemented with different concentrations of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP); 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 mg L−1 and indole-3-butyric acid (IBA); 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 mg L−1. After six weeks of culture, the data regarding number and length of shoots, number and length of roots and callus percentage were recorded. The results showed that among the treatment combinations, 3.0 mg L−1 BAP produced the highest number of shoots per explant and application of 1.5 mg L−1 IBA showed the best performance for rooting

Health benefits of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni as zero calorie natural sweetener: a review

Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni is a perennial herbal species with a number of therapeutic properties. The leaves of S. rebaudiana are the most important part of the plant as they contain high level of sweetener compounds known as steviol glycosides; which are known to possess antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antifungal activities. Among the steviol glycosides, stevioside and rebaudioside A are the most abundant sweetening compounds of interest, documented to be 30 - 250 folds sweeter than sucrose or refined sugar. The therapeutic properties of the species make it more interesting as they play important roles as anti hyperglycaemic agent to lower glucose levels in the blood, thus commonly used in the treatment of diabetes mellitus and obesity. Known to have sweet tasting leaves, its extract which contains antioxidant compounds have been used to treat cancer, reduce inflammatory, and hypertension. S. rebaudiana has drawn the attention of health-conscious fitness lovers all over the world as non-caloric sweetener, and has been widely cultivated for being the most suitable sweetening substitution

In vitro responses of plant growth factors on growth, yield, phenolics content and antioxidant activities of Clinacanthus nutans (Sabah snake grass)

Clinacanthus nutans, commonly known as Sabah snake grass, is one of the more important medicinal plants in Malaysia’s herbal industry. C. nutans has gained the attention of medical practitioners due to its wide range of bioactive compounds responsible for various biological activities, such as anti-cancer, anti-venom and anti-viral activities. Due to its high pharmacological properties, the species has been overexploited to meet the demands of the pharmaceutical industry. The present study was conducted to establish a suitable in vitro culture procedure for the mass propagation of C. nutans. Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium, supplemented with different types of cytokinins, auxins, basal medium strength and sucrose concentrations, were tested. Based on the results, a full-strength MS basal medium supplemented with 12 µM 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and 30 g/L sucrose was recorded as the best outcome for all the parameters measured including the regeneration percentage, number of shoots, length of shoots, number of leaves and fresh weight of leaves. In the analysis of the phenolics content and antioxidant activities, tissue-cultured leaf extracts assayed at 100 °C exhibited the highest phenolic content and antioxidant activities. The propagation of C. nutans via a plant tissue culture technique was recorded to be able to produce high phenolic contents as well as exhibit high antioxidant activities

Determination of experimental domain factors of polyphenols, phenolic acids and flavonoids of lemon (Citrus limon) peel using two-level factorial design

This study aimed to evaluate the significant extraction factors in achieving higher recovery yield of total polyphenols, phenolic acids and flavonoids content from Citrus limon peel using two-level factorial design. The effect of five independent factors including drying temperature (40–60 °C), methanol concentration (20–60%), extraction temperature (28–60 °C), extraction time (30–60 min) and storage duration (0–14 days) were evaluated. Among all the examined factors, results showed that drying temperature, storage duration and extraction temperature were the most significant and contributing factors affecting the total polyphenols, phenolic acids and flavonoids content of lemon peel at P < 0.05. On the contrary, methanol concentration and extraction time exhibited the least significant and contribution at P greater than 0.05. In conclusion, the experimental domain factors were successfully obtained from this experiment, Therefore, further study on optimization of the obtained factors will be conducted in the future study using response surface methodology

Effects of auxin and cytokinin on callus induction in Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don

The study was conducted to observe the effect of different concentration and combination of auxin and cytokinin towards the callus induction of C. roseus. Explants comprising of basal leaf with petioles of Catharanthus roseus were cultured onto MS media supplemented with different types and concentrations of auxins (naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic (2,4- D)) and cytokinins (benzyl amino purine (BAP), and kinetin). Calli produced from explants showed differences in response in each of the treatment combinations. Treatments with kinetin and NAA, BAP with 2,4-D (Experiment B) did not differ significantly. Treatment with 3.0 mg L−1 BAP + 3.0 mg L−1 NAA (Experiment C) gave the highest dry weight (2.776 g) suggesting an optimum level of combination for callus induction

Shoot multiplication and callus induction of Labisia pumila var. alata as influenced by different plant growth regulators treatments and its polyphenolic activities compared with the wild plant

This study aims to investigate whether the in vitro-cultured L. pumila var. alata has higher antioxidant activity than its wild plant. An 8-week-old L. pumila var. alata nodal segment and leaf explants were cultured onto Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with various cytokinins (zeatin, kinetin, and 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP)) for shoot multiplication and auxins (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and picloram) for callus induction, respectively. The results showed that 2 mg/L zeatin produced the optimal results for shoot and leaf development, and 0.5 mg/L 2,4-D produced the highest callus induction results (60%). After this, 0.5 mg/L 2,4-D was combined with 0.25 mg/L cytokinins and supplemented to the MS medium. The optimal results for callus induction (100%) with yellowish to greenish and compact texture were obtained using 0.5 mg/L 2,4-D combined with 0.25 mg/L zeatin. Leaves obtained from in vitro plantlets and wild plants as well as callus were extracted and analyzed for their antioxidant activities (DPPH and FRAP methods) and polyphenolic properties (total flavonoid and total phenolic content). When compared with leaf extracts of in vitro plantlets and wild plants of L. pumila var. alata, the callus extract displayed significantly higher antioxidant activities and total phenolic and flavonoid content. Hence, callus culture potentially can be adapted for antioxidant and polyphenolic production to satisfy pharmaceutical and nutraceutical needs while conserving wild L. pumila var. alata

Estimation of total phenolic acids, flavonoid compounds and antioxidant activity of Ficus deltoideavarieties and their HPLC profiles with different solvents

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of methanol and ethanol extraction on antioxidant activities, total polyphenol, phenolic acid and flavonoid content of different Ficus deltoideavarieties. Our findings revealed that fresh leaves of F. deltoideavar. kunstleri; FDK1 had the highest total polyphenol, phenolic acid, flavonoid and antioxidant activities compared to that of other varieties. Ethanol extraction of FDK1 showed the highest activity in total antioxidant (DPPH) (4.48 mg TE/g FW), polyphenol (1.13 mg GAE/g FW) and flavonoid content (6.81 mg RE/g FW) while methanol extraction showed the highest activity in total antioxidant (FRAP) (2.43 mg TE/g FW) and phenolic acid content (4.54 mg GAE/g FW). HPLC quantification in dried leaves of FDK1 found out rutin exhibited higher than naringin. The highest rutin and naringin was found in FDK1 and FDT2 (12.83 and 3.04 μg/g DW). These results demonstrate that extraction solvent and F. deltoideavariety influence the activity of total antioxidant, polyphenol, phenolic acid and flavonoid content