Ethnobotanical Documentation of a Few Medicinal Plants in the Agasthiayamalai Region of Tirunelveli District, India

An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Agasthiayamalai region of Tirunelveli district was done by collecting information from the experienced medicinal practitioners of Kani tribes. Ten plants were collected, authenticated and information on their medicinal uses along with the parts used and mode of administration is enumerated. The phytochemical constituents present in their extracted materials were identified. Antibacterial activity of the extracts was analysed and zone of inhibition for different bacterial strains is reported

Anti-Diabetic Activity Of Aqueous Extract Of Pithecellobium Dulce Benth Fruit Peel On Streptozotocin Induced Diabetic Rats

The decoction of the Pithecellobium dulce fruit peel has been used for the control of diabetes mellitus in the traditional method adopted by the local people of northwest region of Tamil Nadu, India. The present study was carried out to investigate the anti-diabetic potential of aqueous extract of Pithecellobium dulce fruit peel by its oral administration (200 mg/kg) to streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. The levels of blood glucose, urine sugar, glycosylated hemoglobin, glucose-6-phosphatase, fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, total cholesterol, triglycerides, aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, alkaline phosphatase and reduced  glutathione were increased significantly whereas the levels of plasma insulin, hexokinase, protein, liver glycogen, reduced glutathione, superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase were decreased in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats and it was normalized after treatment of aqueous extract. Glibenclamide was used as the standard drug. These outcomes suggest that the aqueous extract possesses anti-diabetic activity and supports the traditional use of the Pithecellobium dulce fruit peel decoction as hypoglycemic agent

ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF SELECTED MEDICINAL PLANT IN TRADITIONAL TREATMENT OF WOUND INFECTION IN SOUTHEAST INDIA

Objective: The wound healing potential of fruit peel of Pithecellobium dulce Benth, a plant traditionally used for wound treatment against wound- infecting bacteria, was assessed using disc diffusion and microtitre plate methods. Methods: P. dulce fruit peel was extracted using ethyl acetate, methanol and water and tested for their antimicrobial activities against bacterial isolates from wound infection using disc diffusion and microtitre plate methods. Results: All the three extracts had antimicrobial activities, among which methanol extract had higher activities against all the tested organisms compared to the ethyl acetate and aqueous extracts. The most susceptible organism to all the extracts was K. pneumonia and S. aureus while the most resistant were P. mirabilis and P. vulgaris. Conclusion: The potential antibacterial activity of P. dulce plant against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria justifies the use of the plant as the wound healing agent. The isolation of active principle of this plant may serve as source and lead for the synthesis of drugs in pharmaceutical industries

Antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory response by two formulations of Jatyadithailam in healing diabetic foot ulcers

Jatyadithailam is a polyherbal formulation used by Ayurvedic practitioners and clinically reportedfor the treatment of inflammation related ailment specifically in non-healing chronic foot ulcers. The study is focused to validate and compare the Ayurvedic Formulary of India (AFI) and Yogagrantha (YG) formulations of Jatyadithailam in vitro, for its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory potential. Antimicrobial activity of thailam was determined by broth microdilution method for its minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and microbicidal activity (MBC/MFC). In vitro anti-inflammatory activity of varying concentrations was determined by assaying albumin denaturation inhibition, membrane stabilization (hypotonicity-induced hemolysis), heat induced hemolysis and antiproteinase activities for both the formulations. Highest bactericidal and fungicidal activity was recorded by AFI formulation of Jatyadithailam showing low MIC values compared to YG formulation. Of all the tested bacterial strains, both the formulations showed great bactericidal effect against Staphylococcus aureus. Both the formulations exhibited significant dose dependent anti-denaturation and anti-proteinase effectively. The thailam also showed marked stabilization of human red blood cell (HRBC) membrane against thermal hemolysis. Our study confirmed AFI formulation of Jatyadithailam possessed better antimicrobial and significant (p<0.05) anti-inflammatory effect. AFI Jatyadithailam was more effective than YG formulation in terms of dose-dependence activity against infection causing microbes and toxic inflammatory mediators. The outcome of the study emphasizes the positive therapeutic potential of Jatyadithailam to combat infectious and inflammatory conditions

ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF SECONDARY METABOLITES FROM PITHECELLOBIUM DULCE BENTH FRUIT PEEL

Objective: The present study describes the isolation and characterization of valuable secondary metabolites from the fruit peel of Pithecellobium dulce. Methods: Solvent extraction of the plant material using methanol followed by column chromatographic separation of the extract with solvents (Petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and methanol) of increasing polarity using silica gel yields four compounds (1-4). Results: The structures of the compounds stigmasterol (1), β-sitosterol (2), quercetin (3) and pinitol (4) were established on the basis of FTIR, 1H and 13C NMR; and mass spectra and in comparison with their literature values. Conclusion: Two sterols namely stigmasterol (1) and β-sitosterol (2), along with a flavonoid quercetin (3) and a cyclitol pinitol (4) have been isolated from the methanol extract of fruit peel of Pithecellobium dulce for the first time. Â

Towards the development of natural product based anti-inflammatory therapy: Computational investigations to identify selective inhibitors

Background: Jasminum grandiflorum is a medical plant widely used in Ayurvedic herbal medicines in India. This plant is host to very novel medicinal potential molecules such as iridoids. Flavonoids and other small molecules are also elaborated by this plant. The present study was aimed to understand the computational inhibition of phytochemicals of Jasminum grandiflorum against anti-inflammatory molecular targets. Methods: The iridoids, flavonoids and all small molecules of Jasminum grandiflorum were categorized and subjected to molecular docking using Glide (Schrödinger Software suite) to assess the in silico anti-inflammatory potential of the compounds with molecular targets like COX1, COX2 and Prostaglandin E synthase (mPGES-1). Results: Among the tested compounds, the iridoids namely 10-hydroxy- ligstroside and 8-dehydroxy shanzhiside, the flavonoid butin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside and small molecules oleacein and 2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)ethanol are predicted to exhibit  high anti-inflammatory properties due to their low binding energy and high docking score. The bioactive compounds of Jasminum grandiflorum have good binding interaction with targeted protein.&nbsp

GC-MS Analysis of Non-Polar Fractions of Leaves, Stems and Roots of Pisonia grandis R.Br.

The present investigation was designed to explore the secondary metabolites present in the petroleum ether extract of leaves, stems and roots of Pisonia grandis R.Br. using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Known quantity of shade dried and pulverized parts of Pisonia grandis were extracted with pet-ether at reflux temperature for 6 h. The extracts were concentrated under vacuum and the concentrated extracts designated as PGSP, PGRP and PGLP were subjected to GC-MS analysis. The GC-MS analysis revealed the most prevailing phytoconstituents as n-hexadecanoic acid (palmitic acid), 6-octadecenoic acid (petroselenic acid), 9-octadecenoic acid (oleic acid), 2,3-bis-[(9E)-9-octadecenoyloxy]propyl (9E)-9-octadecenoate (9-octadecenoic acid 1,2,3-propanetriyl ester) and phytol in the extracts. The presence of various therapeutically important metabolites justifies the use of the plant for various ailments by tribals and traditional healers

Antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory response by two formulations of Jatyadi thailam in healing diabetic foot ulcers

489-498Jatyadi thailam is a polyherbal formulation used by Ayurvedic practitioners and clinically reported for the treatment of inflammation related ailment specifically in non-healing chronic foot ulcers. The study is focused to validate and compare the Ayurvedic Formulary of India (AFI) and Yogagrantha (YG) formulations of Jatyadi thailam in vitro, for its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory potential. Antimicrobial activity of thailam was determined by broth microdilution method for its minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and microbicidal activity (MBC/MFC). In vitro anti-inflammatory activity of varying concentrations of Jatyadi thailam were determined by assaying albumin denaturation inhibition, membrane stabilization (hypotonicity-induced hemolysis), heat induced hemolysis and antiproteinase activities. Highest bactericidal and fungicidal activity was recorded by AFI formulation of Jatyadi thailam showing low MIC values compared to YG formulation. Of all the tested bacterial strains, both the formulations showed great bactericidal effect against Staphylococcus aureus. Both the formulations exhibited significant dose dependent anti-denaturation and anti-proteinase activities. The thailam also showed marked stabilization of human red blood cell (HRBC) membrane against thermal hemolysis. Our study confirmed AFI formulation of Jatyadi thailam possessed better antimicrobial and significant (p<0.05) anti-inflammatory effect. AFI Jatyadi thailam was more effective than YG formulation in terms of dose-dependence activity against infection causing microbes and toxic inflammatory mediators. The outcome of the study emphasizes the positive therapeutic potential of Jatyadi thailam to combat infectious and inflammatory conditions