Phyto-constituents, Pharmacological Properties and Biotechnological Approaches for Conservation of the Anti-diabetic Functional Food Medicinal Plant Salacia: A Review Note

Background and Objective: Genus Salacia L. (Celastraceae) is a woody climbing medicinal plant consisting of about 200 species with many endangered species located throughout the world’s tropical areas. Various parts of the plant as food, functional food additive and tea have been extensively used to treat a variety of ailments like diabetes and obesity as well as inflammatory and skin diseases. The present work reviews the phytochemical properties, pharmacological activities, biotechnological strategy for conservation and safety evaluation of this valuable genus.Results and Conclusion: More efforts are needed to isolate new phytoconstituents from this important medicinal plant. The  echanism of anti-diabetic action has not been done at molecular and cellular levels, thus the fundamental biological understanding is required for future applications. Though the safety of plant species has been well documented and has been confirmed by many toxicological studies, further toxicity research and clinical trials arerecommended. In order to sustain harvest and conservation, agronomic practices for cultivation have to be developed. Establishment of more efficient protocols for in vitro propagation is necessary too. Approaches like genetic manipulation, hairy root culture, media standardization, and use of inducers/precursors for elevation of secondary metabolite levels could also be attractive.Conflict of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest

Identification and genetic diversity analysis of Memecylon species using ISSR, RAPD and Gene-Based DNA barcoding tools

Background: Memecylon species are commonly used in Indian ethnomedical practices. The accurate identification is vital to enhance the drug's efficacy and biosafety. In the present study, PCR based techniques like RAPD, ISSR and DNA barcoding regions, such as 5s, psbA-trnH, rpoC1, ndh and atpF-atpH, were used to authenticate and analyze the diversity of five Memecylon species collected from Western Ghats of India. Results: Phylogenetic analysis clearly distinguished Memecylon malabaricum from Memecylon wightii and Memecylon umbellatum from Memecylon edule and clades formed are in accordance with morphological keys. In the RAPD and ISSR analyses, 27 accessions representing five Memecylon species were distinctly separated into three different clades. M. malabaricum and M. wightii grouped together and M. umbellatum, M. edule and Memecylon talbotianum grouped in the same clade with high Jaccard dissimilarity coefficient and bootstrap support between each node, indicating that these grouped species are phylogenetically similar. Conclusion: Data from the present study reveals that chloroplast psbA-trnH region could be used as a potential candidate region for identifying Memecylon species, and ISSR marker system could be used for estimating genetic diversity since it has high percent polymorphism compared to RAPD marker

COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF ANTIDIABETIC AND ANTIOXIDANT POTENCY OF DIFFERENT EXTRACTS OBTAINED FROM MEMECYLON SPECIES

Objective: Memecylon species is being extensively used in traditional medicine for the treatment of skin disorders and it is proved to possess antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory properties. The present investigation was to study the effect of different solvent extracts of five Memecylon species such as M. umbellatum, M. talbotianum, M. edule, M. malabaricum and M. wightii on antidiabetic and antioxidant effects. Methods: Plant extracts were prepared using soxhlet apparatus using different solvents such as hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol and water and obtained extracts were subjected to antidiabetic (α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition assays) and antioxidant (2, 2-Diphenyl-2-Picryl Hydrazyl hydrate (DPPH), 2,2-Azino-bis (3-ethyl benzothiazoline-6-Sulfonic acid)diammonium salt (ABTS), Superoxide radical scavenging assay (SRSA) and reducing power assays) evaluated at different doses. Results: Methanol extracts of all five Memecylon species exhibited effective antidiabetic and antioxidant properties among them methanol extracts of M. malabaricum and M. talbotianum have highest biological activity. For α-amylase IC50 value for both M. malabaricum and M. talbotianum was found to be 100 and 130 µg/reaction and IC50 value for α-glucosidase was found to be 6.1 and 7.8 µg/reaction respectively. For DPPH the IC50value was found to be 190 µg/reaction, for ABTS 31-39 µg/reaction, for SRSA 950-1200 µg/reaction and for reducing power assay 420-490 µg/reaction respectively. Conclusion: The results indicate that methanol extracts of M. malabaricum and M. talbotianum possess potent in vitro antidiabetic and antioxidant activities compared to other Memecylon species

Antibacterial metabolites fromBipolaris specifera, an endophytic fungus from the endemic medicinal plant,Zingiber nimmonii(J. Graham) Dalzell

Eleven fungal endophytes were isolated from the plant parts ofZ. nimmonii(J. Graham) Dalzell,an endemic species of the Western Ghats, India, a biodiversity hotspot area. The endophytic isolates were characterized by the sequencing of the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) regions and designated as strains by depositing ITS sequences in the Gen Bank sequence database. All the strains were cultured in Potato Dextrose broth (PDB, 500 mL) contained in Erlenmeyer flasks to obtain the secondary metabolites. The culture filtrate was extracted with ethyl-acetate (EA) three times and concentrated by flash evaporation to obtain EA crude dry extract. The strains were evaluated for the antibacterial potentials against six pathogenic bacterial strains viz.,Bacillus subtilis(MTCC 121),Staphylococcus aureus(MTCC 7443)Pseudomonas aeruginosa(MTCC 7093),Escherichia coli(MTCC 729),Enterobacter aerogenes(MTCC 111) andKlebsiella pneumoniae(MTCC 661). Nine endophytic fungal extracts exceptAlternaria consortialeandHypocrea lixishowed inhibitory activities against at least two of the six test bacterial strains.Bipolaris specifera(KM114290) exhibited the highest inhibition zones ranging from 15.1 +/- 0.3 to 26.7 +/- 1.1 mm (diameter), against all six test bacteria in the agar disk diffusion assay, and with Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MIC's) of 0.04-0.14 mg/mL, followed byAspergillus terreus.B.speciferaextract was therefore selected and characterized for the identification of antibacterial compounds by chromatographic techniques. Seven antibacterial compounds viz., (1) Bicyclo3.2.0]heptan-2-one, 6-hydroxy-5-methyl-6-vinyl; (2) Adipic acid divinyl ester; (3) 1,4-Naphthoquinone, 6-acetyl-2,5-dihydroxy; (4) Decanedioic acid, 3,7-dimethyl ester; (5) (Z)-4-Hexenoic acid 2-acetyl-2-methyl-ethyl ester and (6) Butanoic acid 2-acetyl-3-methyl-methyl ester and (7) Caffeic acid, were identified through liquid and gas chromatography. These compounds are mainly volatile esters of fatty acids, phenolics and adipic acid found rare in nature. This study envisages the possible drug discovery using endophytes from traditional and endemic medicinal species

Development and Evaluation of IgY Immunocapture PCR for Detection of Enteropathogenic E. coli Devoid of Protein A Interference

Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli, an important etiologic agent of diarrhea is a major public health problem in developing countries, particularly in children. Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli is a leading cause of infantile diarrhea. Although the frequency of these organisms has decreased, they continue to be an important cause of diarrhea. Therefore, in the present study, a sensitive and specific IgY mediated Immunocapture-PCR (IC-PCR) was developed for the detection of enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC). Due to an advantage of avian immunoglobulin (IgY) to have the least affinity towards staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SpA) responsible for false positives, we employed anti- outer-membrane protein (OMP) IgY generated in chicken for capture of bfpA gene and was incorporated with PCR amplification. In the present study, IgY mediated immunocapture of bfpA gene was free from false positives due to protein A, a common drawback in IgG mediated immunocapture techniques. Furthermore, spiking studies and analysis on natural samples emphasized the robustness as well as applicability of developed method. The developed assay could be reliable in the detection of EPEC as a routine investigation method. Further, the assay could be further applied for the detection of other pathotypes from food and clinical sources

Identification and genetic diversity analysis of Memecylon species using ISSR, RAPD and Gene-based DNA barcoding tools

Background: Memecylon species are commonly used in Indian ethnomedical practices. The accurate identification is vital to enhance the drug's efficacy and biosafety. In the present study, PCR based techniques like RAPD, ISSR and DNA barcoding regions, such as 5s, psbA-trnH, rpoC1, ndh and atpF-atpH, were used to authenticate and analyze the diversity of five Memecylon species collected from Western Ghats of India. Results: Phylogenetic analysis clearly distinguished Memecylon malabaricum from Memecylon wightii and Memecylon umbellatum from Memecylon edule and clades formed are in accordance with morphological keys. In the RAPD and ISSR analyses, 27 accessions representing five Memecylon species were distinctly separated into three different clades. M. malabaricum and M. wightii grouped together and M. umbellatum, M. edule and Memecylon talbotianum grouped in the same clade with high Jaccard dissimilarity coefficient and bootstrap support between each node, indicating that these grouped species are phylogenetically similar. Conclusion: Data from the present study reveals that chloroplast psbA-trnH region could be used as a potential candidate region for identifying Memecylon species, and ISSR marker system could be used for estimating genetic diversity since it has high percent polymorphism compared to RAPD marker