Antimicrobial activities of four plant species from the Southern Overberg region of South Africa

Four plant species used for medicinal purposes in the Bredasdorp/Elim (Southern Overberg) region of the Western Cape Province in South Africa, were screened for their antimicrobial activity. Theantimicrobial activity of aqueous, methanol, ethanol and ethyl-acetate leaf extracts of Bulbine lagopus (Asphodelaceae), Chironia baccifera (Gentianaceae), Conyza scabrida (Asteraceae) and Dodonaeaviscosa var. angustifolia (Sapindaceae), were tested against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans and Mycobacterium smegmatis. In the disc-diffusion assay, 20 out of the 80 extracts showed activity. Better activity was observed in the liquid dilution assay with all extracts showing a degree of activity. The best activity was observed in the ethanol extract of B. lagopus and themethanol extract of C. scabrida both having an MIC value of 0.3125 mg/ml. In the bioautography, M. smegmatis was chosen as the test organism along with the ethanol, ethyl-acetate and methanolextracts of C. scabrida and D. viscosa var. angustifolia. All six extracts showed at least two zones of inhibition on the TLC plates overlaid with M. smegmatis

Effect of <it>Alpinia zerumbet</it> components on antioxidant and skin diseases-related enzymes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The skin is chronically exposed to endogenous and environmental pro-oxidant agents, leading to the harmful generation of reactive oxygen species. Antioxidant is vital substances which possess the ability to protect the body from damage cause by free radicals induce oxidative stress. <it>Alpinia zerumbet</it>, a traditionally important economic plant in Okinawa, contains several interesting bioactive constituents and possesses health promoting properties. In this regard, we carried out to test the inhibitory effect of crude extracts and isolated compounds from <it>A. zerumbet</it> on antioxidant and skin diseases-related enzymes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The antioxidant activities were examined by DPPH, ABTS and PMS-NADH radical scavenging. Collagenase, elastase, hyaluronidase and tyrosinase were designed for enzymatic activities to investigate the inhibitory properties of test samples using a continuous spectrophotometric assay. The inhibitory capacity of test samples was presented at half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The results showed that aqueous extract of the rhizome was found to have greater inhibitory effects than the others on both of antioxidant and skin diseases-related enzymes. Furthermore, 5,6-dehydrokawain (DK), dihydro-5,6-dehydrokawain (DDK) and 8(17),12-labdadiene-15,16-dial (labdadiene), isolated from rhizome, were tested for antioxidant and enzyme inhibitions. We found that DK showed higher inhibitory activities on DPPH, ABTS and PMS-NADH scavenging (IC₅₀ = 122.14 ± 1.40, 110.08 ± 3.34 and 127.78 ± 4.75 μg/ml, respectively). It also had stronger inhibitory activities against collagenase, elastase, hyaluronidase and tyrosinase (IC₅₀ = 24.93 ± 0.97, 19.41 ± 0.61, 19.48 ± 0.24 and 76.67 ± 0.50 μg/ml, respectively) than DDK and labdadiene.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results indicate that the rhizome aqueous extract proved to be the source of bioactive compounds against enzymes responsible for causing skin diseases. Moreover, DK could be used as a potent inhibitor and be further exploited to be used in anti-skin disease formulations.</p

A homeopathic remedy from arnica, marigold, St. John's wort and comfrey accelerates in vitro wound scratch closure of NIH 3T3 fibroblasts

Background Drugs of plant origin such as Arnica montana, Calendula officinalis or Hypericum perforatum have been frequently used to promote wound healing. While their effect on wound healing using preparations at pharmacological concentrations was supported by several in vitro and clinical studies, investigations of herbal homeopathic remedies on wound healing process are rare. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of a commercial low potency homeopathic remedy Similasan® Arnica plus Spray on wound closure in a controlled, blind trial in vitro. Methods We investigated the effect of an ethanolic preparation composed of equal parts of Arnica montana 4x, Calendula officinalis 4x, Hypericum perforatum 4x and Symphytum officinale 6x (0712–2), its succussed hydroalcoholic solvent (0712–1) and unsuccussed solvent (0712–3) on NIH 3T3 fibroblasts. Cell viability was determined by WST-1 assay, cell growth using BrdU uptake, cell migration by chemotaxis assay and wound closure by CytoSelect ™Wound Healing Assay Kit which generated a defined “wound field”. All assays were performed in three independent controlled experiments. Results None of the three substances affected cell viability and none showed a stimulating effect on cell proliferation. Preparation (0712–2) exerted a stimulating effect on fibroblast migration (31.9%) vs 14.7% with succussed solvent (0712–1) at 1:100 dilutions (p  0.05). Preparation (0712–2) at a dilution of 1:100 promoted in vitro wound closure by 59.5% and differed significantly (p < 0.001) from succussed solvent (0712–1), which caused 22.1% wound closure. Conclusion Results of this study showed that the low potency homeopathic remedy (0712–2) exerted in vitro wound closure potential in NIH 3T3 fibroblasts. This effect resulted from stimulation of fibroblasts motility rather than of their mitosis