CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE BIOCTIVE FRACTIONS OF THE LEAVES OF SCAEVOLA TACCADA (GAERTN.) ROXB

Objective: Scaevola taccada. (Gaertn.) Roxb. is widely dispersed all along the coasts of Africa. It is used in folk medicine for diversity of ailments. This study aims to investigate the major phytoconstituents and biological activities of the leaves of S. taccada (Gaertn.) Roxb. Methods: In vitro biological examination viz. antimicrobial, cytotoxic and antioxidant activities of the ethanol extract of the leaves (EE) and its fractions; (petroleum ether (PE), methylene chloride (MC), ethyl acetate (EA) and n-butanol(BuOH)) were carried out. Estimation of the phytochemicals of biologically active fractions was done. Results: n-butanol fraction displayed remarkable antimycobacterium activity. Petroleum ether as well as n-butanol fractions evidenced a cytotoxic effect on breast carcinoma cell line (MCF7) and colon carcinoma cell line (HCT) with IC50 11.7 and 15.04 µg/ml respectively. Moreover, ethyl acetate fraction exhibits an antioxidant effect with EC50 476.7±0.57 µg/ml. n-tetradecane 1, α-amyrin palmitate 2, α-amyrin acetate 3, α-amyrin 4, stigmasterol 5, luteolin-7-O-β-glucoside 6, rutin 7 and alidyjosioside 8 were identified in S. taccada (Gaertn.) Roxb. leaves. Conclusion: Petroleum ether fraction is a cytotoxic candidate, especially against (MCF-7). It exhibited a moderate antifungal and antibacterial against certain Gram-positive bacteria. Ethyl acetate showed an antioxidant effect along with moderate antifungal activity. n-butanol fraction exerted potential antimycobacterial, significant cytotoxic activity against (HCT), good antifungal and antibacterial against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Stigmasterol, luteolin-7-O-β-glucoside, rutin and alidyjosioside were isolated for the first time from S. taccada (Gaertn.) Roxb. Leaves

Novel Neuroprotective Potential of Bunchosia armeniaca (Cav.) DC against Lipopolysaccharide Induced Alzheimer’s Disease in Mice

Bunchosia armeniaca (Cav.) DC (Malpighiaceae) is one of the well-known traditionally used remedies worldwide. This study aims to explore the leaves’ metabolome via Quadrupole-Time-of-Flight-Liquid-Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry and to investigate the neuroprotective effect of leaves using lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced Alzheimer’s disease model. Mice were administered LPS (0.25 mg/kg/day; intraperitoneal) as well as methanolic extract (BME), dichloromethane (BDMF), and butanol (BBF) fractions (each 200 mg/kg/day; oral) for one week. BME and BBF improved behavioral activity on the Y maze test, decreased brain content of inflammatory markers such as nuclear factor kappa B and interleukin 1 beta, and prevented the elevation of cytochrome P450 2E1, and glial fibrillary acidic protein compared to the LPS-administered group. Histopathological examination of several brain parts confirmed the neuroprotective effect of the tested extracts. In addition, BBF exhibited higher activity in all tested in vitro antioxidant and acetylcholinesterase inhibition assays. Metabolic profiling offered tentative identification of 88 metabolites, including mainly flavonoids, phenolic acids, and coumarins. Several detected metabolites, such as quercetin, apigenin, baicalin, vitexin, and resveratrol, had previously known neuroprotective effects. The current study highlighted the possible novel potential of B. armeniaca in preventing memory impairment, possibly through its antioxidant effect and inhibition of acetylcholinesterase, inflammatory and oxidative stress mediators