Isoflavones from Calpurnia aurea subsp. Aurea and their Anticancer Activity

Background: Calpurnia aurea is an African medicinal plant used in many countries in Africa to treat a range of medical conditions or disorders.Extracts of the plant were shown to be active in antibacterial and  antioxidant assays as well as against lice, ticks and maggots. The aim of the study was to isolate the phytochemical constituents from the plant and to test them in appropriate bioassays dependent on the compounds isolated in order to provide a rationale for the use of the plant in ethno-medicine or to provide some information on its constituents.Materials and methods: The stem and bark of the plant was extracted with organic solvents of varying polarity and the extracts separated and purified using column chromatography. The isolated compounds were identified by NMR spectroscopy and the compounds were tested for their in vitro anticancer activity against breast (MCF7), renal (TK10) and melanoma  (UACC62) human cell lines using an in house method developed at the CSIR, South Africa.Results: The isoflavones, 4Œ,5,7-trihydroxyisoflavone (1), 7,3Œ-dihydroxy-5Œ-methoxyisoflavone (2), 7-hydroxy-4Œ,8- dimethoxyisoflavone (3), 7- acetoxy-4Œ,8-dimethoxyisoflavone (4) and 3',7-dihydroxy-4Œ,8-dimethoxyisoflavone (5), a pterocarpan (3-acetoxy-9-methoxypterocarpan) and a quinolizidine alkaloid (calpurnine) were isolated from the stem and bark of Calpurnia aurea. The tetrasubstituted isoflavone 5 was found to be the most active in the three cell lines amongst all the compounds tested. This was followed by trisubstituted isoflavone 2.Conclusion: The isoflavones showed moderate activity against the renal, melanoma and breast cancer cell lines tested against, with the isoflavones 2 and 5 showing the best activity of the compounds tested. These  isoflavones may have a synergistic effect with other anticancer drugs.Key words: Calpurnia aurea, Fabaceae, 5,6Œ-dihydroxy-2Œ,6-dimethoxyisoflavone, anti cancer

QSAR models and scaffold-based analysis of non-nucleoside HIV RT inhibitors

© 2015 Elsevier B.V. A selection of 289 pyrimidine derivatives with anti-HIV RT activities as non-nucleoside HIV RT inhibitors (NNRTI) were studied. The associative neural network (ASNN) method was applied to develop a quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) for anti-HIV RT activity. The calculated models were validated using the bagging approach. A consensus model with R2=0.87 and RMSE=0.5 was obtained from 10 individual models. Scaffold analysis and molecular docking of the compounds used in the QSAR model identified a potential chemical scaffold. The results showed that scaffold-based analysis of the QSAR model could be helpful in identifying potent scaffolds for further exploration than analyzing the overall model. Matched molecular pair analysis (MMPA) was applied in the QSAR model to characterize molecular transformations causing a significant change in the anti-HIV activity. The linear QSAR model was calculated to explore the structural features important for NNRTI activity. The results revealed that the activity of NNRT inhibitors is strongly dependent on their aromaticity and structural flexibility. The scaffold-based analysis of QSAR models with molecular docking and MMPA was found to be helpful in characterizing potential scaffolds for anti-HIV RT derivatives. The outcome of this study provides a deeper insight into the computer-aided scaffold-based design of novel molecules with HIV RT activities. It was also clearly shown that the consensus model's failure to correctly predict new chemical series could be due to the limitation of its applicability domain (AD). Redevelopment of models using new measurements can dramatically increase their AD and performance

IN VITRO ANTI-OXIDATIVE ACTIVITIES OF THE VARIOUS PARTS OF PARKIA BIGLOBOSA AND GC-MS ANALYSIS OF EXTRACTS WITH HIGH ACTIVITY

The anti-oxidative activities of sequentially extracted solvent fractions of different parts of P. biglobosa were evaluated in a series of in vitro assays. Our findings indicated that all extracts had electron donating and free radical scavenging activities. But the ethanol (EtOH) extracts from all the parts demonstrated more promising anti-oxidative effects in these experimental models. Apart from the aqueous extracts of the stem bark and leaves, all other extracts exhibited hydroxyl radical scavenging (HRS) activity but the ethyl acetate (EtOAc) extract of the stem bark and EtOH extracts of the root and leaves possessed more powerful HRS activity than other corresponding extracts in the parts. Further, nitric oxide (NO) inhibition activities were observed in all the extracts except the EtOAc extract of the stem bark which showed pro-oxidative activity. However, the EtOH extract of the stem bark and root as well as the EtOAc extract of the leaves displayed more potent anti-NO activity than other extracts in the parts. The GC-MS analysis of the EtOH extracts revealed that the most abundant phytochemicals are pyrogallol derivatives. Data from this study suggest that the EtOH extracts from different parts of P. biglobosa contained potent anti-oxidative agents and pyrogallol could be the main bioactive constituent

Evaluation of the antibacterial and anticancer activities of some South African medicinal plants

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Several herbs are traditionally used in the treatment of a variety of ailments particularly in the rural areas of South Africa where herbal medicine is mainly the source of health care system. Many of these herbs have not been assessed for safety or toxicity to tissue or organs of the mammalian recipients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study evaluated the cytotoxicity of some medicinal plants used, inter alia, in the treatment of diarrhoea, and stomach disorders. Six selected medicinal plants were assessed for their antibacterial activities against ampicillin-resistant and kanamycin-resistant strains of <it>Escherichia coli </it>by the broth micro-dilution methods. The cytotoxicities of methanol extracts and fractions of the six selected plants were determined using a modified tetrazolium-based colorimetric assay (3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol)-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The average minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of the plants extracts ranged from 0.027 mg/mℓ to 2.5 mg/mℓ after 24 h of incubation. <it>Eucomis autumnalis </it>and <it>Cyathula uncinulata </it>had the most significant biological activity with the least MIC values. The in vitro cytotoxicity assay on human hepatocarcinoma cell line (Huh-7) revealed that the methanol extract of <it>E. autumnalis </it>had the strongest cytotoxicity with IC₅₀of 7.8 μg/mℓ. Ethyl acetate and butanol fractions of <it>C. uncinulata, Hypoxis latifolia, E. autumnalis </it>and <it>Lantana camara </it>had lower cytotoxic effects on the cancer cell lines tested with IC₅₀values ranging from 24.8 to 44.1 μg/mℓ; while all the fractions of <it>Aloe arborescens </it>and <it>A. striatula </it>had insignificant or no cytotoxic effects after 72 h of treatment.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results indicate that the methanol fraction of <it>E. autumnalis </it>had a profound cytotoxic effect even though it possessed very significant antibacterial activity. This puts a query on its safety and hence a call for caution in its usage, thus a product being natural is not tantamount to being entirely safe. However, the antibacterial activities and non-cytotoxic effects of <it>A. arborescens </it>and <it>A. striatula </it>validates their continuous usage in ethnomedicine.</p

Data for: The Phytochemistry and Gastroprotective Activities of the Leaves of Ficus glumosa

NMR, IR, UV and Mass spectral data of compounds isolated from Ficus glumos

Data for: The Phytochemistry and Gastroprotective Activities of the Leaves of Ficus glumosa

NMR, IR, UV and Mass spectral data of compounds isolated from Ficus glumosaTHIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV

QSAR models and scaffold-based analysis of non-nucleoside HIV RT inhibitors

© 2015 Elsevier B.V. A selection of 289 pyrimidine derivatives with anti-HIV RT activities as non-nucleoside HIV RT inhibitors (NNRTI) were studied. The associative neural network (ASNN) method was applied to develop a quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) for anti-HIV RT activity. The calculated models were validated using the bagging approach. A consensus model with R2=0.87 and RMSE=0.5 was obtained from 10 individual models. Scaffold analysis and molecular docking of the compounds used in the QSAR model identified a potential chemical scaffold. The results showed that scaffold-based analysis of the QSAR model could be helpful in identifying potent scaffolds for further exploration than analyzing the overall model. Matched molecular pair analysis (MMPA) was applied in the QSAR model to characterize molecular transformations causing a significant change in the anti-HIV activity. The linear QSAR model was calculated to explore the structural features important for NNRTI activity. The results revealed that the activity of NNRT inhibitors is strongly dependent on their aromaticity and structural flexibility. The scaffold-based analysis of QSAR models with molecular docking and MMPA was found to be helpful in characterizing potential scaffolds for anti-HIV RT derivatives. The outcome of this study provides a deeper insight into the computer-aided scaffold-based design of novel molecules with HIV RT activities. It was also clearly shown that the consensus model's failure to correctly predict new chemical series could be due to the limitation of its applicability domain (AD). Redevelopment of models using new measurements can dramatically increase their AD and performance

QSAR models and scaffold-based analysis of non-nucleoside HIV RT inhibitors

© 2015 Elsevier B.V. A selection of 289 pyrimidine derivatives with anti-HIV RT activities as non-nucleoside HIV RT inhibitors (NNRTI) were studied. The associative neural network (ASNN) method was applied to develop a quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) for anti-HIV RT activity. The calculated models were validated using the bagging approach. A consensus model with R2=0.87 and RMSE=0.5 was obtained from 10 individual models. Scaffold analysis and molecular docking of the compounds used in the QSAR model identified a potential chemical scaffold. The results showed that scaffold-based analysis of the QSAR model could be helpful in identifying potent scaffolds for further exploration than analyzing the overall model. Matched molecular pair analysis (MMPA) was applied in the QSAR model to characterize molecular transformations causing a significant change in the anti-HIV activity. The linear QSAR model was calculated to explore the structural features important for NNRTI activity. The results revealed that the activity of NNRT inhibitors is strongly dependent on their aromaticity and structural flexibility. The scaffold-based analysis of QSAR models with molecular docking and MMPA was found to be helpful in characterizing potential scaffolds for anti-HIV RT derivatives. The outcome of this study provides a deeper insight into the computer-aided scaffold-based design of novel molecules with HIV RT activities. It was also clearly shown that the consensus model's failure to correctly predict new chemical series could be due to the limitation of its applicability domain (AD). Redevelopment of models using new measurements can dramatically increase their AD and performance

QSAR models and scaffold-based analysis of non-nucleoside HIV RT inhibitors

© 2015 Elsevier B.V. A selection of 289 pyrimidine derivatives with anti-HIV RT activities as non-nucleoside HIV RT inhibitors (NNRTI) were studied. The associative neural network (ASNN) method was applied to develop a quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) for anti-HIV RT activity. The calculated models were validated using the bagging approach. A consensus model with R2=0.87 and RMSE=0.5 was obtained from 10 individual models. Scaffold analysis and molecular docking of the compounds used in the QSAR model identified a potential chemical scaffold. The results showed that scaffold-based analysis of the QSAR model could be helpful in identifying potent scaffolds for further exploration than analyzing the overall model. Matched molecular pair analysis (MMPA) was applied in the QSAR model to characterize molecular transformations causing a significant change in the anti-HIV activity. The linear QSAR model was calculated to explore the structural features important for NNRTI activity. The results revealed that the activity of NNRT inhibitors is strongly dependent on their aromaticity and structural flexibility. The scaffold-based analysis of QSAR models with molecular docking and MMPA was found to be helpful in characterizing potential scaffolds for anti-HIV RT derivatives. The outcome of this study provides a deeper insight into the computer-aided scaffold-based design of novel molecules with HIV RT activities. It was also clearly shown that the consensus model's failure to correctly predict new chemical series could be due to the limitation of its applicability domain (AD). Redevelopment of models using new measurements can dramatically increase their AD and performance