In-vitro antibacterial,antioxidant potentials and cytotoxic activity of the leaves of Tridax procumbens

The present study explored the phytochemicals, antibacterial, antioxidant and cytotoxic effect of Tridax procumbens leaves. The leaves were dried and extracted with various organic solvents. The leaves contained the phytochemicals such as alkaloids, carbohydrates, polyphenols and tannins respectively. Antimicrobial potentials of the extracts were determined by performing the disc diffusion techniques. Results revealed that different organic solvents extracts namely methanol, ethanol and ethyl acetate extracts documented comparatively good activity against the studied microbial strains. The methanol extract of leaves of T. procumbens showed combatively better antioxidant potential. The tested plant leaf extract showed high activity against human lung cancer cells than breast cancer cell lines. 250 µg/ml plants extract showed 84 ± 2.8% toxicity against human lung cancer cells.     

Cytotoxic effects of stem bark extracts and pure compounds from Margaritaria discoidea on human ovarian cancer cell lines

Margaritaria discoidea (Baill.) G. L. Webster (Euphorbiaceae) is a well-known medicinal plant in Africa used for the treatment of various diseases. So far, no cytotoxic effects of plant extracts on cancer cell lines have been reported.Aim of the studyTo evaluate the cytotoxicity against human ovarian cancer cells of extracts of M. discoidea and characterize the major bioactive compounds.MethodsBoth organic and aqueous extracts of this plant were obtained by maceration. The sulforhodamine B cell proliferation assay was used for evaluation of their cytotoxic activities and the potential bioactive compounds were characterized by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry.ResultsThe organic extract of M. discoidea showed stronger cytotoxicity than the aqueous extract with IC₅₀ values of 14.4 ± 3.0, 14.2 ± 1.2 and 34.7 ± 0.5 µg/ml on OVCAR-8, A2780 and cisplatin-resistant A2780cis ovarian cancer cells, respectively. The organic extract was further subjected to bioassay-guided fractionation by partitioning with n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol in water. The ethyl acetate fraction was the most potent on the three ovarian cancer cell lines. A GC–MS analysis of trimethylsilyl derivatives of this fraction indicated the presence of phenolic compounds such as gallic acid and the alkaloid securinine. The IC₅₀ values of these two compounds were determined to be in the range of 3–16 µM, which indicated that they could contribute to the cytotoxic activity of the extract of M. discoidea.ConclusionsThis study has evaluated the cytotoxicity of stem bark extracts of M. discoidea against ovarian cancer cells and provided a basis of further development of this plant for the treatment of ovarian cancer.     

In vitro antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of polyherbal extracts from Vetiveria zizanioides,Trichosanthes cucumerina,and Mollugo cerviana on HeLa and MCF-7 cell lines

Various metabolites exist in the medicinal plants have lot of potential to cure various diseases and disorders. Plants such as, Vetiveria zizanioides, Trichosanthes cucumerina, and Mollugo cerviana were collected from Western Ghats, Tamilnadu, India. Phytochemicals were extracted from these plants using various organic solvents and tested against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The phytochemicals such as, carbohydrate, alkaloids, steroids, saponins, flavonoids and tannin were detected from these medicinal plants. Among the extracts, methanol showed potent activity and this solvent was used to extract polyherbal medicinal plants. Methanol extract of V. zizanioides was found to be highly active against E. coli (27 ± 2 mm), P. mirabilis (19 ± 3 mm) and B. subtilis (18 ± 2 mm). Ethyl acetate extract showed high activity against E. coli (24 ± 2 mm), P. mirabilis (22 ± 3 mm) and B. subtilis (20 ± 1 mm). These three plants were taken at 1:1:1 ratio and extracted with methanol at 1:10 ratio and synergistic activity was tested against bacterial pathogens. Synergistic activity of polyherbal extract was analyzed. The extracted crude herbal medicine was found to be effective against Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli, Enterbacter sp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis and Proteus mirabilis. The zone of inhibition was 33 ± 3 mm, 17 ± 2 mm, 22 ± 2 mm, 40 ± 2 mm, 33 ± 1 mm and 38 ± 2 mm zone of inhibition against E. coli, S. aureus, P. aeruginosa, P. mirabilis, B. subtilis and Enterobacter sp. Polyherbal extract was found to be highly effective against P. mirabilis and Enterobacter sp. MIC values of polyherbal extract ranged from 29 ± 2.5 µg/ml to 34 ± 2.5 µg/ml. MIC value was found to be less against P. mirabilis and was high against S. aureus. Antioxidant property varied between 49 ± 3% and 95.3 ± 2%. At 20 µg/ml antioxidant activity was reported as 49 ± 3% and it was increased at higher concentrations of polyherbal extract. Two cell lines (HeLa and MCF cell lines) were selected to analyze cytotoxic activity of polyherbal extract. The methanol extract of polyherbal fraction showed cytotoxicity against these two cell lines. The LC50 value was 467 ± 2.9 µg/ml against HeLa cell line and >800 µg/ml against MCF-7 cell lines. The polyherbal extract showed antibacterial, antioxidant and anticancer activities.     

Analysis of antibacterial and cytotoxic potential of medicinal plants from Cholistan desert,Pakistan

This study aimed to investigate the antibacterial and cytotoxic activity of 03 medicinal plants, Calligonum polygonides, Farsetia hamiltonii, and Pulcaria crispa, from Cholistan desert, Pakistan. The active constituents of plants species were extracted in 05 different solvents and the extracts were tested against various bacterial strains and brine shrimps. Although all Calligonum polygonides’s extracts except chloroform were active against Staphylococcus aureus the most active was the acetone extract (21 ± 0.00 mm at 200 μg/disc) and activity was better than Caricef (p-value 0.03). While its water extract was more potent (18 ± 1.45 mm at 200 μg/disc) than Augmentin and Caricef (p-value < 0.005). The methanol extract’s activity (15 ± 0.39 mm in 200 μg/disc) was comparable to Fucidin against Proteus vulgaris (p-value > 0.99) and activity of diethyl ether extract against Escherichia coli (10 ± 1.16 mm in 200 μg/disc) was same as of Urixin (p-value 0.91). Farsetia hamiltonii’s acetone extract against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (10 ± 0.15 mm in 1 μg/disc) was more active than Augmentin Caricef and Cefotax (p-value < 0.02) and against Staphylococcus aureus (15 ± 1.15 mm in 200 μg/disc) activity was higher than Caricef (p-value 0.03). All Pulicaria crispa’s extracts except water extract were found active against Staphylococcus aureus. However, the diethyl ether extract was most effective (25 + 0.00 mm at 150 μg /disc) and activity was more than Augmentin, Oxy-tetracycline, Fucidin, Urixin, Ceftriaxone (p-value < 0.05). Although all extracts were exhibited cytotoxic activity, the Calligonum polygonides’s acetone extract (100%), Farsetia hamiltonii’s diethyl ether extract (90%) and Pulicaria crispa’s methanol extract (100%) were most active at 1000 μg/ml concentration. This study validated the medicinal significance of the studied plants and thus opens the way for their therapeutic applications.     

In vivo antipyretic,antiemetic, in vitro membrane stabilization,antimicrobial, and cytotoxic activities of different extracts from Spilanthes paniculata leaves

Background

The study was conducted to evaluate the in vitro antimicrobial activity, cytotoxic, and membrane stabilization activities, and in vivo antiemetic and antipyretic potentials of ethanolic extract, n-hexane and ethyl acetate soluble fractions of Spilanthes paniculata leaves for the first time widely used in the traditional treatments in Bangladesh.

Results

In antipyretic activity assay, a significant reduction (P < 0.05) was observed in the temperature in the mice tested. At dose 400 mg/kg-body weight, the n-hexane soluble fraction showed the effect (36.7 ± 0.63°C ) as like as the standard (dose 150 mg/kg-body weight) after 5 h of administration. Extracts showed significant (P < 0.001) potential when tested for the antiemetic activity compared to the standard, metoclopramide. At dose 50 mg/kg-body weight, the standard showed 67.23% inhibition, whereas n-hexane and ethyl acetate soluble fractions showed 37.53% and 24.93% inhibition of emesis respectively at dose 400 mg/kg-body weight. In antimicrobial activity assay, the n-hexane soluble fraction (400 μg/disc) showed salient activity against the tested organisms. It exerts highest activity against Salmonella typhi (16.9 mm zone of inhibition); besides, crude, and ethyl acetate extracts showed resistance to Bacillus cereus and Bacillus subtilis, and Vibrio cholera respectively. All the extracts were tested for lysis of the erythrocytes. At the concentration of 1mg/ml, ethanol extract, and n-hexane and ethyl acetate soluble fractions significantly inhibited hypotonic solution induced lysis of the human red blood cell (HRBC) (27.406 ± 3.57, 46.034 ± 3.251, and 30.72 ± 5.679% respectively); where standard drug acetylsalicylic acid (concentration 0.1 mg/ml) showed 77.276 ± 0.321% inhibition. In case of heat induced HRBC hemolysis, the plant extracts also showed significant activity (34.21 ± 4.72, 21.81 ± 3.08, and 27.62 ± 8.79% inhibition respectively). In the brine shrimp lethality bioassay, the n-hexane fraction showed potent (LC₅₀ value 48.978 μg/ml) activity, whereas ethyl acetate fraction showed mild (LC₅₀ value 216.77 μg/ml) cytotoxic activity.

Conclusions

Our results showed that the n-hexane extract has better effects than the other in all trials. In the context, it can be said that the leaves of S. paniculata possess remarkable pharmacological effects, and justify its folkloric use as antimicrobial, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, and antiemetic agent. Therefore, further research may be suggested to find possible mode of action of the plant part.     

Cytotoxic,antimicrobial activities,AChE and BChE inhibitory effects of compounds from Tanacetum chiliophyllum (Fisch. & Mey.) Schultz Bip. var. oligocephalum (D.C.) Sosn. and T. chiliophyllum (Fisch. & Mey.) Schultz Bip. var. monocephalum Grierson

Tanacetum L. species traditionally used for insecticidal purposes as well as in folk medicine for their antitumor, antimicrobial, antifungal activities. In our previous study a novel sesquiterpene lactone and triterpene lactone together with 12 known flavonoids, coumarin and a triterpene were isolated from T. chiliophyllum var. oligocephalum and T. chiliophyllum var. monocephalum extracts which have insecticidal and antimicrobial activity. In this study, cytotoxic, antimicrobial activities and acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) inhibitory effects of pure compounds isolated from these plants were investigated. The tested compounds showed AChE and BChE inhibition which ranged between 7.20–80.37% and 9.19%–76.99% respectively. The highest AChE and BChE inhibition was observed for ulubelenolide which afforded 80.37% and 76.99% inhibition respectively. The cytotoxic effect of the compounds ranged between 22.34–49.77 μg/mL IC₅₀ values. Highest cytotoxic activity was observed against MCF-7 and HEK 293 cell line by 5–hydroxy-3′,4′,7-trimethoxy flavone and 5-hydroxy-3′,4′,6,7-tetramethoxyflavone that produced 25.80 ± 0.17 and 22.34 ± 0.70 IC₅₀ values respectively. Compounds eupatilin, cirsilineol, 5–hydroxy-3′,4′,7-trimethoxy flavone and ulubelenolide showed significant antimicrobial effect on C. albicans with 7.8 μg/mL MIC. The new compound ulubelenolide afforded high AChE and BChE inhibition as well as high antifungal activity. In our opinion activity of this substance should be evaluated further against other fungal species.     

Response of cowpea bruchid,Callosobruchus maculatus (Fab.) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) to cheese wood,Alstonia boonei De Wild stem bark oil extracted with different solvents

Cheese wood, Alstonia boonei De Wild stem bark was extracted with five different solvents namely: methanol, ethanol, acetone, petroleum ether and n-hexane. The extracts were tested for insecticidal activity on cowpea bruchid, Callosobruchus maculatus (Fab.). Adult mortality and adult emergence of the insects were investigated. Oviposition deterrences using dual-choice and multiple-choice tests were also investigated as well as percentage damage and weight loss at temperature of 28?±?2?°C and 75?±?5% relative humidity. Results showed that at the rate of 2% extract per 20?g of cowpea seeds, methanol, petroleum ether and n-hexane extracts caused 100% mortality of adult cowpea bruchid after four?days of post treatment. When the bruchid had choice of oviposition substrate, they laid significantly (p?<?0.05) fewer eggs on cowpea seeds treated with extracts compared to untreated seeds. There was no adult emergence in seeds treated with methanol, ethanol, petroleum ether and n-hexane extracts and 100% reduction in F₁ progeny was recorded compared with untreated that had 81.86% adults emergence and 0% reduction in F₁ progeny. The results obtained from this study revealed that methanol, ethanol, acetone, petroleum ether and n-hexane extracts of A. boonei stem bark were effective in controlling C. maculatus and could serve as an alternative to synthetic insecticides for the protection of stored cowpeas against bruchids.     

Insecticidal activity of five Chinese medicinal plants against Plutella xylostella L. larvae

Twenty-five extracts of five Chinese medicinal plant species were screened for insecticidal activity against the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella L., larvae by a leaf dipping bioassay method. The ethyl acetate, ethanol, and acetone extracts of Veratrum nigrum L. root and rhizome, the ethyl acetate extract of Phytolacca americana L. root, and the petroleum ether extract of Pseudolarix kaempferi Gord. root bark were effective against P. xylostella. Among them, the ethyl acetate extract of V. nigrum showed the strongest insecticidal activity against the second and third instar larvae of P. xylostella, with LC₅₀ values of 225 and 335 ppm, respectively. The other extracts gave little or no insecticidal activity against P. xylostella. These results indicated that V. nigrum may be a promising naturally occurring agent for P. xylostella larval control, and that the organic solvent used for plant extraction can affect its insecticidal activity.     

Phytochemical profiling,antioxidant and antibacterial efficacy of a native Himalayan Fern: Woodwardia unigemmata (Makino) Nakai

Present work elucidates the antioxidant and antibacterial activity of Woodwardia unigemmata (Makino) Nakai along with chemical characterization using its aqueous (AEW), methanol (MEW), and hexane (HEW) extracts. Chemical profile of different extracts was illustrated by using Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Antioxidant activities were tested using DPPH and FRAP assays, total phenolic and flavonoid content by Folin-Ciocalteu and aluminum chloride method, respectively. Further, antibacterial activity against six plant and four animal pathogenic bacteria was analyzed by employing the disc diffusion assay. GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of catechol (21.96%), glycerol (20.22%), n-pentadecanoic acid (6.95%), glyceryl monoacetate (6.35 %), ethyl acetimidate (5.39 %) and 3-hydroxy-2,3-dihydromaltol (5.36%) in AEW; β-sitosterol (17.39%), pentadecanoic acid (9.81%), vitamin E (7.82%) and glycerol (7.05%) in MEW; γ-sitosterol (33.45%), vitamin E (10.04%) and campesterol (7.32%) in HEW as major constituents. Maximum phenolics (873 ± 6.01 mgGAE/g dry extract) as well as flavonoids (151 ± 11.44 mgQE/g dry extract) content was found in MEW, which also showed remarkable antioxidant potential (IC₅₀ 6.07 ± 1.4 µg/ml for DPPH and 768 ± 10.4 mg AAE/g dry extract for FRAP assay. In antibacterial activity, maximum inhibition (15 ± 0.9 mm) was observed for HEW against R. solanacearum, followed by AEW against A. tumefaciens and X. phaseoli (11 ± 0.3 mm each). MEW was found positive only against A. tumefaciens. Significant minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value observed for AEW against L. monocytogenes (10 mg/ml). Polar extracts had remarkable antioxidant potential, while non-polar extract did show significant antibacterial activity. Further, GC- MS reports indicated that this traditionally useful fern species can be an excellent source of biologically active compounds.     

Biogenic synthesis of silver nanoparticles: Antibacterial and cytotoxic potential

In green chemistry, the application of a biogenic material as a mediator in nanoparticles formation is an innovative nanotechnology. Our current investigation aimed at testing the cytotoxic potential and antimicrobial ability of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) that were prepared using Calligonum comosum roots and Azadirachta indica leaf extracts as stabilizing and reducing agents. An agar well diffusion technique was employed to detect synthesized AgNPs antibacterial ability on Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus bacterial strains. Furthermore, their cytotoxic capability against LoVo, MDA-MB231 and HepG2 ca cells was investigated. For phyto-chemical detection in the biogenic AgNPs the Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) was considered. Zeta sizer, TEM (Transmission Electron Microscope) and FE-SEM (Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope) were used to detect biogenic AgNPs’ size and morphology. The current results showed the capability of tested plant extract for conversion of Ag ions to AgNPs with a mean size ranging between 90.8 ± 0.8 and 183.2 ± 0.7 nm in diameter. Furthermore, prepared AgNPs exhibited apoptotic potential against HepG2, LoVo, and MDA-MB 231cell with IC₅₀ ranging between 10.9 and 21.4 μg/ml and antibacterial ability in the range of 16.0 ± 0.1 to 22.0 ± 1.8 mm diameter. Activation of caspases in AgNPs treated cells could be the main indicator for their positive effect causing apoptosis. The current investigation suggested that the green production of AgNPs could be a suitable substitute to large-scale production of AgNPs, since stable and active nanoparticles could be obtained.     

Pharmacological properties and preliminary phytochemical analysis of Pseudocaryopteris foetida (D.Don) P.D. Cantino leaves

Medicinal plants have significant contribution in pharmaceutical industries being producers of compounds utilized as precursors for drug development. A plant of Lamiaceae family; Pseudocaryopteris foetida had not been investigated for its biomedical potential. Current research was aimed to investigate phytochemical analysis, cytotoxic potential and antioxidant activity of crude methanolic extract and fractions of Pseudocaryopteris foetida (leaves). The preliminary phytochemical analysis of crude methanolic extracts and fractions of Pseudocaryopteris foetida revealed that plant is rich in phenolic and flavonoid classes of secondary metabolites while presence of tannin was observed only in crude methanolic extract. The cytotoxicity was determined using brine shrimp lethality test. Different concentrations (25, 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 µg/mL) of crude methanolic extract and fractions exhibited dose dependent cytotoxicity. However, The LD₅₀ for all the extracts was more than 200 µg/mL indicating weak cytotoxic potential of Pseudocaryopteris foetida. The antioxidant capabilities of crude methanolic extract and fraction of Pseudocaryopteris foetida were analyzed by in vitro bio assays including DPPH, ABTS, Reducing power and phosphomolybdate antioxidant assays using ascorbic acid as standard. The crude methanolic extract showed IC₅₀ (256.38 ± 0.6 and 314.95 ± 1.1 µg/mL) for DPPH and ABTS respectively, while total antioxidant capacity was calculated as 55.79 ± 0.5 µg/mL for crude methanolic extract of Pseudocaryopteris foetida while ascorbic acid indicated total antioxidant capacity of 71.89 ± 2.3 µg/mL. Study concluded that leaves of Pseudocaryopteris foetida were the rich source of antioxidant phytochemicals. Based on preliminary investigations further research should be focused to isolate bioactive phytochemicals as leading source of clinical medicines in future.     

In-vitro antioxidant,antimutagenic and cancer cell growth inhibition activities of Rhododendron arboreum leaves and flowers

In the current investigation, the active principles of the methanol extracts of Rhododendron arboreum leaves (MEL) and flowers (MEF) were investigated with the help of ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC), amino acid analyzer and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). UHPLC revealed different polyphenols present in the extracts. GC-MS identified 20 phytochemicals in leaves and 17 in the flowers, whereas, amino acid analyzer confirmed 11 amino acids in leaves and 10 in the flowers. The extracts were subjected to the investigation of biological activity through analysis of antioxidant activity in different in vitro assays, antimutagenic activity in Ames assay and cancer cell growth inhibition activity by MTT (3-4,5 dimethylthiazol-2,5 diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay. MEL showed higher antioxidant activity in lipid peroxidation inhibition assay (95.32 ± 0.37%) than MEF (77.09 ± 4.17%) with IC₅₀103.6 µg/ml for MEL and 271.17 µg/ml for MEF. In nitric oxide scavenging assay, an activity of 94.46 ± 0.32% (IC₅₀ 150.13) was observed in MEF followed by 83.71 ± 0.74% (IC₅₀ 179.52) in MEL. The antimutagenic activity of both the extracts was evaluated against sodium azide, 4-nitro-O-phenylenediamine and 2-aminofluorene mutagens in TA-98 and TA-100 strains of Salmonella typhimurium. The analysis was carried out using pre- and co-incubation modes. However, both extracts were observed to possess considerable antimutagenic activity against different known mutagens, flowers came out to be more effective than the leaves in terms of % inhibition. The extracts also exhibited significant cancer cell growth inhibition activity, when tested against 3 cancer cell lines namely, Human cervical cancer cell line (HeLa), Breast cancer cell line (MCF7) and Lung cancer cell line (A549). In case of HeLa and A549, MEL showed higher activity of 64.62 ± 2.65 and 75.08 ± 1.68% as compared to 53.11 ± 2.84 and 45.92 ± 2.43% in MEL, respectively. The EC₅₀ values for MEL in HeLa and A549 were noted to be 232.76 and 155.38 µg/ml, respectively, whereas, MEF had EC₅₀ of 395.50 µg/ml in HeLa and 660.26 µg/ml in A549. Further, MEF showed higher cytotoxicity in MCF7 cell line (84.93 ± 1.17%) followed by the MEL (73.57 ± 1.27%) with EC₅₀ value of 95.16 µg/ml for MEF followed by 172.19 µg/ml for MEL. The biological activities of the extracts can be attributed to the phyto-constituents identified by sophisticated instruments.The biological activities of the extracts can be attributed to the active principles identified by sophisticated instruments.     

In vivo and in vitro evaluation of pharmacological activities of Adenia trilobata (Roxb.)

Adenia trilobata, locally known as akandaphal in Bangladesh, has some traditional uses. Leaves and stems extracted with pure methanol (MEATL, MEATS) and fractioned by n-hexane (NFATL, NFATS), which was subjected to qualitative phytochemical analysis. The qualitative phytochemical analysis of four extracts showed the presence of secondary metabolites such as alkaloid, carbohydrate, glycosides, flavonoids, phenols, flavonol, and saponins. All four extracts of A. trilobata, exhibited a strong antioxidant activity while a moderately (MEATS = 328 μg/mL) to weakly toxic (NFATL = 616.85 μg/mL) LC₅₀ observed in brine shrimp lethality bioassay. In thrombolytic test, MEATL (18.54 ± 2.18%; P < 0.01) and MEATS (25.58 ± 4.76%; P < 0.0001) showed significant percentage of clot lysis in human blood. The in vivo analgesic activity carried by acetic acid test and formalin test, while the antidiarrheal activity assayed by two standard methods e.g., castor oil-induced diarrhea and castor oil-induced gastrointestinal motility. Both, in vivo model, showed an extremely significant (P < 0.0001) dose-dependent manner percentage of inhibition in comparison to the control group. Present results suggested, A. trilobata could be a potential source for antioxidative, cytotoxic, thrombolytic, analgesic, antidiarrheal agents which require further study to identify the mechanism of A. trilobata.     

Assessment of the antimicrobial activity of the lipoidal and pigment extracts of Punica granatum L. leaves

Punica granatum L. is one of the famous and old species belonging to Family Punicaceae. The lipoidal and natural pigment extracts of the pomegranate were screened for their antimicrobial activity against nine different microbial pathogens. Three different doses of each extract (50, 100 and 150?μl) at three different contact times (15, 30 and 60?min) were examined. Results can be cleared that, all tested microbial pathogens were inhibited by 150?μl of both extracts at 60?min. Furthermore, the removal efficiency of n-hexane extract was powerful than the pigment extract. Also, the quantitative evaluation of the pigments in the leaves was performed using spectroscopical and HPLC analyses, carotenoids and chlorophylls content of P. granatum L. leaves were spectroscopically determined (mg/g) as 6.7?±?0.214 and 4.9?±?0.251, respectively. Chlorophyll a and b were 2.33?±?0.014 and 1.51?±?0.023, respectively. HPLC analysis of lutein and β-carotene were investigated as 3.652 and 1.915?mg/g. GC/MS analysis of the saponifiable and unsaponifiable fraction of n-hexane extract was carried out and α-amyrin acetate, ergosterol, and α-tocopherol were isolated, purified and identified using different spectroscopical methods. Toxicity assessment demonstrated their high biocompatibility since no toxic effect was recorded.     

Development of alternative medicinal sources from golden berry,bananas and carrot wastes as antioxidant,cytotoxic and antimicrobial agents

Discovering new medicinal sources from food wastes is a beneficial and valuable way instead of their disposal. Fruits and vegetables waste can be an inexpensive and readily available source of bioactive compounds to be used in pharmaceutical industries. The aim of this study is to highlight the in vitro antioxidant, cytotoxic, and antimicrobial activities of the total extracts of banana peels (Musa acuminate), carrot peels (Daucus carota) and golden berry husk (Physalis peruviana) besides evaluating their in vivo acute and chronic toxicity profiles as well as their antimutagenic activity. Also, we investigated their phenolic and flavonoid contents spectrophotometrically and by HPLC. Results showed that D. carota peels revealed the highest antioxidant activity (29.903 mg TE/g) using DPPH free radical scavenging assay. Cytotoxic outcomes (SulphoRhodamine-B method) showed that the highest cytotoxic activity of M. acuminate peels (IC₅₀: 20.7 μg/mL) was exerted on HEPG2 cell line, where D. carota peels (IC₅₀: 18.8 μg/mL) showed the highest cytotoxic activity on PC-3 cell line. In addition, pH. peruviana husk (IC₅₀: 10.5 ± 1.0 μg/mL) showed a potent cytotoxic activity on HCT-116 that is non-significant from the standard Doxorubicin (IC₅₀: 11.5 ± 0.8 μg/mL). For the antimicrobial activity (agar diffusion assay), most of the total extracts revealed notable activities against all tested pathogens relative to the standards; ciprofloxacin and ketoconazole, specially Ph. peruviana husk that showed a potent inhibitory activity (inhibition zone diameter of 29 mm.) against C. albicans even more than the standard ketoconazole (inhibition zone diameter of 28 mm.). These promising biological activities are mainly related to the high content of flavonoids and phenolic compounds identified and quantified in their total extracts. Moreover, the three extracts proved their in vivo safety on the short and long terms as well as their possible antimutagenic effect on the genotoxicity of the drug cyclophosphamide (CP) in both bone marrow cells and spermatocyte cells.     

Comparative study among Avicennia marina,Phragmites australis,and Moringa oleifera based ethanolic-extracts for their antimicrobial,antioxidant, and cytotoxic activities

Microbial resistance and other emerging health risk problems related to the side effects of synthetic drugs are the major factors that result in the research regarding natural products. Fruits, leaves, seeds, and oils-based phyto-constituents are the most important source of pharmaceutical products. Plant extract chemistry depends largely on species, plant components, solvent utilized, and extraction technique. This study was aimed to compare the ethanolic extracts of a mangrove plant, i.e., Avicennia marina (1E: Lower half of A. marina‘s pneumatophores, 2E: A. marina‘s leaves, 3E: Upper half of A. marina‘s pneumatophores, and 4E: A. marina‘s shoots), with non-mangrove plants, i.e., Phragmites australis (5E: P. australis‘s shoot), and Moringa oleifera (6E: M. oleifera‘s leaves) for their antimicrobial activities, total phenolic contents, antioxidant activity, and cytotoxicity potential. The antimicrobial activity assays were performed on gram-positive bacteria (i.e., Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus), gram-negative bacteria (i.e., Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa), and fungi (i.e., Aspergillus niger, Candida albicans, and Rhizopus spp.). We estimated antioxidant activity by TAC, DPPH, and FRAP assays, and the cytotoxicity was evaluated by MTT assay. The results of antimicrobial activities revealed that B. subtilis was the most sensitive to the tested plant extracts compared to S. aureus, while it only showed sensitivity to 6E and Imipenem. 5E and 6E showed statistically similar results against P. aeruginosa as compared to Ceftazidime. E. coli was the most resistant bacteria against tested plant extracts. Among the tested plant extracts, maximum inhibition activity was observed by 6E against A. niger (22 ± 0.57 mm), which was statistically similar to the response of 6E against C. albicans and 3E against Rhizopus spp. 2E did not show any activity against tested fungi. We found that 6E (208.54 ± 1.92 mg g^?1) contains maximum phenolic contents followed by 1E (159.42 ± 3.22 mg g^?1), 5E (131.08 ± 3.10 mg g^?1), 4E (i.e., 72.41 ± 2.96 mg g^?1), 3E (67.41 ± 1.68 mg g^?1), and 2E (48.72 ± 1.71 mg g^?1). The results depict a significant positive correlation between the phenolic contents and the antioxidant activities. As a result, phenolic content may be a natural antioxidant source.     

Determination of antimicrobial and phytochemical compounds of Jatropha curcas plant

The aim of this study was to explore the effectiveness of different parts of J. curcas plant against some selected human pathogens as antimicrobial agent which are known to cause diseases and to check antioxidant and phytochemicals from different plant sections of J. curcas. Plant extracts were analyzed by quantification of antimicrobial and phytochemical compounds. This study reveals that 20% ethanol stem extract of J. curcas showed maximum antibacterial activity (40 ± 0.0 mm) against Klebsiella pneumonia. Water extract of root of J. curcas also inhibited E. coli (35.25 ± 0.35 mm). The growth of K. pneumonia and Agrobacterium tumifaciens were also ceased when ethanol extract of J. curcas root applied to check their potential as antimicrobial agent. The results also revealed that fungal species, Aspergillus niger, and Pencillium notatum noted the maximum antifungal activity in ethanol extract of flower and methanol extract of root (38.5 ± 0.7 mm) and (27.25 ± 0.35 mm) respectively. Phytochemicals and many secondary metabolites were present in J. curcas extracts such as alkaloids, steroids, tannins, glycosides, flavonoids, saponins, courmerin, and phenolic compounds. It also showed the highest density of color in the different parts of plant extract of J. curcas. Similarly, biochemical primary metabolites were observed at maximum amount of biochemical in different parts of J. curcas, and correlated with antimicrobial activity. The study concluded that J. curcas has great potential as antibacterial agent and cure various human pathogens.     

Anti-bacterial,anti-scavenging and cytotoxic activity of garden cress polysaccharides

Plants polysaccharides are an infinite stock of drug composites with varying pharmacological and biological activities. The present investigation aimed to examine the antibacterial, anti-scavenging and cytotoxic potential of garden cress (GC) polysaccharides. The antibacterial effects vs Escherichia coli and as well as Staphylococcus aureus of GC polysaccharides were examined by means of agar diffusion assay, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), outer and inner cell membrane permeability. Antioxidant potential of the GC polysaccharides were performed by free radical DPPH scavenging, superoxide anion scavenging, hydroxyl radical scavenging, reducing power potential assay, and hydrogen peroxide method. Cytotoxicity potential of GC polysaccharides were evaluated by MTT assay in human cervical (HeLa) and liver carcinoma (HepG2) cell lines. The findings showed that GC polysaccharides MIC were 1.06 and 0.56 mg mL⁻¹ against E. coli and S. aureus, respectively. Compared to the standard inhibitor, the GC polysaccharides showed essential inhibitor assays in a very dose dependent approach, and notable actions to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS) are also due to the large quantities of hydrophilic polyphenols. The IC₅₀ values of all tested parameters were measured against standard ascorbic acid antioxidant agent. The GC polysaccharides diminish the cell viability percentage of HeLa and HepG2 in a concentration dependent manner. GC polysaccharides at a dose of 500 µg ml⁻¹ exhibited higher anti-tumor activity in both HeLa (65.33 ± 3.75%) and HepG2 (60.33 ± 3.48%). The findings obtained in this study indicate that GC polysaccharides has antibacterial and has a possible source of natural antioxidant and also has cytotoxic effect on different carcinoma cell lines.     

Acetylcholinesterase inhibitory effects of the bulb of Ammocharis coranica (Amaryllidaceae) and its active constituent lycorine

Ammocharis coranica (Ker-Gawl.) Herb. (Amaryllidaceae) is used in southern Africa for the treatment of mental illnesses. The ethanol extracts of the bulb of A. coranica and its total alkaloids rich fractions were screened for inhibition of acetylcholinesterase enzyme (AChE), which is implicated in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease. The ethanolic extracts significantly inhibited AChE with IC₅₀ value of 14.3 ± 0.50 μg/ml. The basic ethyl acetate and butanol fractions of the crude extracts were the most active against AChE with IC₅₀ values of 43.1 ± 1.22 and 0.05 ± 0.02 μg/ml respectively. Bioassay-guided fractionation of the basic fractions led to the isolation of lycorine and 24-methylenecycloartan-3β-ol. Lycorine which was isolated from both butanol and ethyl acetate fractions had IC₅₀ of 29.3 ± 3.15 μg/ml, while 24-methylenecycloartan-3β-ol was not active.