Discovery Phytomedicine Journal
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Analgesic, anti-inflammatory and non-ulcerogenic properties of Annickia chlorantha aqueous stem bark extract.
No full textAnnickia chlorantha is used in Cameroon to treat stomach problemsand many other diseases. The purpose of this study was to evaluate analgesic,anti-inflammatory and non-ulcerogenic properties of aqueous stem bark extract of Annickia chlorantha (ASBEAC). These properties were tested on in vivo induced pain models by intraperitoneal injection of acetic acid and paw injection of formaldehyde:25 rats were divided into 5 batches of 5 animals: negative control received distilled water (5 mL/kg), positive control received indomethacin (50 mg/kg) and three test groups received ASBEAC (125, 250 and 500 mg/kg). Anti-inflammatory activity was assessed by in vitro method using membrane stabilization at different extract concentrations (25-1600 ug/mL).For non-ulcerogenic test, 20 rats were divided into 4 groups of 5 animals: negative control received distilled water (5 mL/kg), two test groups receivedASBEAC (250 and 500 mg/kg), and positive control received indomethacin (50 mg/kg).The results show that, ASBEAC significantly reduced (p< 0.001), with dose-dependent manner, the number of abdominal contortions with a maximum inhibition percentage (76.47%) at the dose of 500 mg/kg. Significant inhibition of pain(p<0.001), in a dose-dependent mode, for the pain test induced by paw injection of formaldehyde were also noted. With a maximum inhibition percentage of 40.69% and 30.35%, respectively for phases 1 and 2. For anti-inflammatory test,ASBEAC (200-1600 ug/mL) significantly (p <0.001) protected heat-induced hemolysis of erythrocytes.The non ulcerogenic test show that ASBEAC at all doses did not cause ulcer, but significantly increased and in a dose-dependent manner, themucus secretion. This study indicates that ASBEAC has analgesic, anti-inflammatory and non-ulcerogenic properties
A Study on Aphanamixis polystachya for evaluation of phytochemical and pharmacological properties
No full textThe present study was conducted to detect possible chemicals (phytoconstituents), and investigate antioxidant, antimicrobial and thrombolytic activities of the extract of Aphanamixis polystachya (stem bark). Phytochemical screening was carried out using the standard test methods of different chemical group. For investigating the antioxidant activity, two complementary test methods namely DPPH free radical scavenging assay and total phenolic content determination were carried out. For the evaluation of in vitro antimicrobial activity, disc diffusion method, and to determine the thrombolytic activity, the method of Prasad et al., 2007 with minor modifications were used. The bark extracts were a rich source of phytochemicals. In DPPH free radical scavenging test, the Carbon tetra chloride soluble fraction showed the highest free radical scavenging activity with IC50 value 19.86µg/ml. while compared to that of the reference standards ascorbic acid. Aphanamixis polystachya was also found as a good source of total phenolic contents. Moreover, the extracts revealed broad spectrum antimicrobial activity at the concentration of 400 µg/disc. By comparing with the negative control the mean clot lysis % was significant (p value <0.0009). Therefore, further studies are suggested to determine the active compounds responsible for the biological activities of the plant extracts.
Phytochemical screening and cytotoxic activity of Elaeocarpus robustus roxb
No full textThe present study was aimed to detect medicinal compounds of crude ethanolic extract of Elaeocarpus robustus roxb (EEE) and also it’s cytotoxic activity. The cytotoxic activity of EEE was determined by brine shrimp lethality bioassay. This analysis showed that with increasing concentration cytotoxicity of crude extract increased gradually. The LD50 value of EEE was 82.065±2.00 which was nearly about standard vincristine sulphate LD50value 69.726±1.52. The chi value of EEE (2.34) with the chi square value of standard vincristine sulphate (2.014) was quite similar and indicates little difference exists between the observed counts and expected counts. Through this research we also detect the presence of alkaloid and tannins by several tests like mayar’s reagent, wagner’s reagent, alkaloidal precipitation, ferric chloride test.
Review of ethnobotanical studies on medicinal plants that used to treat diarrhea and dysentery in Ethiopia
No full textBackground: Diarrheal diseases are a major public health problem. Studies indicated that medicinal plants are being lost as a result of combined effects of environmental degradation, agricultural expansion, and deforestation and over harvesting of species. Poor resource administration, lack of awareness on herbal medicine and oral transmission of knowledge from generation to generation have also a great contribution for the lost. As a result, this review was initiated to document the medicinal plants, particularly those plants that used to treat diarrhea or/and dysentery in Ethiopia. Therefore, the data could be used as a basis for further studies.Objective: To review medicinal plants that used to treat diarrhea or/and dysentery and to document it that could be used as a source of knowledge to scientists.Methods: A review of available ethnobotanical literature on Ethiopian traditional medicine particularly that was related to diarrhea treatment was carried out. Google scholar online internet searches were done.Result: Ninety (90) medicinal plants distributed in 51 families were found from the reviewed studies. Of the 51 families 19 consist at least 2 species within each family, where as the remaining consist only one species. Most of them are used for diarrhea (76.5%), dysentery (16.5%) and the remaining 7 % used for both diarrhea and dysentery. Some of the plants also used for stomachache, vomiting and intestinal parasite therapy. Of different plant parts leaves are the most commonly used followed by roots, fruits, seeds and barks that used by preparing in different methods.Conclusion: This review has identified a number of important medicinal plants used by the Ethiopian community and traditional healers for the treatment of diarrhea/dysentery which provides a baseline for future phytochemical and pharmacological investigations. It has also identified the presence of bad practices that need improvement for better service such as absence of accurate and reproducible doses that need for a multidisciplinary approach to develop potentially effective dose
The Myth of Aloe vera phytochemicals and its advancement as medicinal and plant packed cosmetics
No full textA succulent plant Aloe vera has been extensively utilized for various pharmaceutical and biomedical products. Its bioactive components that have different properties of anti-inflammation, anti-oxidation, anti-microbial and immunomodulation have made it more attractive for the scientific community to further explore its hidden facts about its utilization and also in addition to improve its properties through expression of some useful protein which can make it complete plant packed cosmetics. This study briefly summarizes fundamental active components, their biological activities, and significant applications of the constituents found in Aloe vera, and extensively surveyed its research progress in cytology and molecular biology with an emphasis on genetic engineering. Aloe constituents are studied in the context of therapeutics, cosmetics, and hydration, antibacterial and antiviral applications. The information that has been presented here is useful for better comprehending and investigating its possible therapeutic and culinary applications and provides routes for future studies. 
Phytochemical Screening, in Vitro Antimycotic and Antioxidant Activities of Crude Extracts of Six Rwandan Medicinal Plants
No full textPhytochemicals constitute reliable sources of antifungal and antioxidant compounds with low toxicity to mammals and safe to the environment which may serve as substitutes for synthetically produced chemicals. The present work aims at screening, and investigating the antimycotic and antioxidant activities of six medicinal plants, namely Croton macrostachyus (Euphorbiaceae), Clerodendrum (Rotheca) myricoides (Lamiaceae), Erucastrum arabicum (Brassicaceae), Melanthera scandens (Asteraceae), Senecio mannii (Asteraceae), and Senna didymobotrya (Fabaceae). A qualitative phytochemical screening was conducted by appropriate chemical methods. Antioxidant activity of 18 aqueous extracts has been tested by bleaching the solution of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical. Antimycotic activity of all extracts was measured by the disc diffusion method on a potato dextrose agar plate against five fungal strains viz. Rhizopus stolonifer, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus parasiticus and Fusarium oxysporum. The study revealed that the main phytochemical constituents of leaf, stem and root bark extracts were terpenoids, tannins, saponins, alkaloids. Furthermore, the results showed that leaf extracts were richer in antioxidant potentials than the rest of the plant parts tested. However, scavenging capacity of leaf extract was lower than that of the ascorbic acid for all extracts except C. macrostachyus and M. scandens which exhibited approximately the same values as ascorbic acid. The leaf extracts displayed the highest inhibition zone average for most of the fungi. The strong antimycotic activity ranged from 14 to 27 mm and was observed mainly in leaf extracts. The leaf extract of M. scandens was the strongest against F. oxysporum with 27.0 mm inhibition zone diameter. The root extract displayed the lowest average zones of inhibition such as 2.0 mm for E. arabicum extract against R. stolonifer and 3.0 mm for S. didymobotrya extract against A. niger. Antioxidant and antimycotic activities were probably attributed to the presence of different groups of phytochemicals as such as terpenoids, flavonoids, and tannins. From the results of this study, plant extracts with higher antioxidant and antimycotic activity could be further studied and eventually be used in the development of natural antioxidants and food preservatives that could replace the synthetic compounds
Justicia secunda leaf aqueous fraction suppressed NF-κB, TNF-α, IL-6 and COX-2 in arthritic rat
No full textJusticia secunda Vahl leaf is employed in folklore medicine preparation as a remedy used in the management of inflammatory disorders. Rheumatoid arthritis constitutes one of many chronic inflammatory disorders which is typified by the gradual build-up and prolonged existence of inflammatory cells in synovial joints. Pro-inflammatory mediators (Tumor necrosis factor- alpha (TNF-α), nuclear factor–kappa B (NF-κB), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) play varied roles in the development and continuation of rheumatoid arthritis which proceeds to cause extreme damage to the host tissue. The suppression of these mediators can substantially limit their rate of migration to the cells. This study evaluated the effect of aqueous fraction of J. secunda leaves on selected inflammatory markers (NF-κB, TNF-α, IL-6 and COX-2) and its possible mechanism of action. J. secunda aqueous leaf fraction (JSALF) was tested on carrageenan, arachidonic and Complete Freund’s Adjuvant (CFA) induced rat paw inflammation models, respectively. TNF-α, NF-κB, IL-6 and COX-2 levels were analysed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis was carried out. JSALF treated animals had significantly (p < 0.05) suppressed carrageenan, arachidonic and CFA-induced paw edema when compared with untreated control animals. Serum levels of TNF-α, NF-κB, IL-6 and COX-2 were significantly reduced (p < 0.05) in JSALF-treated animals. GC-MS detected 10 suspected anti-inflammatory compounds. Findings from this study indicate that J. secunda aqueous leaf fraction substantially suppressed pro-inflammatory mediators and COX-2 pathways in arthritic rats which justifies its folkloric use in the management of inflammatory diseases
Phytochemical study and anti-nutritional factors in stems of Dioscorea praehensilis benth (Dioscoreaceae)
No full textThe objective of this study was to identify and assay phytochemical compounds and various biological macromolecules of the tender stems of Dioscorea praehensilis benth and evaluate their antioxidant activity and to compare the content of oxalates and cyanogenetic glucosides between raw and cooked tender stems. The plant collection and identification, phytochemical evaluation: phytochemical screening, preliminary (qualitative) analyses and in vitro assays. Phytochemical screening was performed by qualitative methods. The estimation of the content of secondary metabolites was evaluated by spectrophotometry-UV. Antioxidant activity was evaluated using the ABTS and DPPH assays and preliminary composition by the gravimetric method. The results obtained show that the stems of Dioscorea praehensilis are devoid of certain important chemical groups, the flavonoids were not detected and they were rich in total polyphenols (17.22 ± 0.16), tannins (19.32 ± 0.52) and anthocyanins (25.22 ± 0.04). Our extracts showed a lower antioxidant activity than that of positive controls. The samples are rich in carbohydrates and fiber, with low levels of proteins, lipids and ash. Dioscorea praehensilis has a high toxicity in HCN, but after a good cooking of about 1 hour, 99.97% of the cyanide are eliminated and does not have many oxalates. The results obtained show that Dioscorea praehensilis has a high dietary value and can therefore be used as a nutritive food
Phytochemical Screening and in vitro Antimicrobial Activity of Lawsonia Inermis Barks
No full textPlants have been used as medicine since time immemorial (Ushimaru et al., 2007). Medicinal plants are essential sources of easily accessible remedies used by traditional healers. Henna leaves are used to cure jaundice, skin diseases, dysentery, arthritis (Sharma et al., 2018). Lawsonia inermis is widely used by Rwandan as cosmetic products and in treatment of different ailments. This study was aimed to investigate the phytochemical screening and in vitro antimicrobial activities of different extracts of L. inermis barks collected from Huye District in Southern Province of Rwanda. The dried and powdered barks were extracted with methanol and cyclohexane by maceration giving 1.627g (10.83%), 0.173.g (1.15%) respectively. The extracts were concentrated for further phytochemical tests and evaluated for antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus using disk diffusion method.The results from phytochemical screening revealed the presence of terpenoids, phenolic compounds, tannins, flavonoids, proteins and saponins. Lawsonia inermis barks displayed antimicrobial activity against both gram negative and gram positive bacterial strains used in the present study. The findings of antimicrobial assay showed that the methanol extract of lawsonia inermis barks with the concentration of 10-1 has an antibacterial activity against gram negative bacteria Escherichia coli with zone of inhibition of 10 mm which is same as, the positive control, penicillin inhibition zone (10 mm) with the same concentration. The antibacterial activity of cyclohexane extract against E. coli showed a smaller inhibition zone of 9 mm for diluted inoculum (10-1). For the same concentrations of extracts and inoculums, the methanol extract inhibited Staphylococcus aureus (gram positive) growth with zone of inhibition of 9 mm, while the antibacterial activity of cyclohexane extract against the same bacteria was 4 mm, which are smaller than penicillin inhibition zone (18 mm). Key words: lawsonia inermis, phytochemical screening, anti-microbial activity, E. coli, S. aureus
Effects of Cotinus coggygria extract on human blood T and NK cells activity in vitro
No full textIt is an important research area to define the bioactivities of plant fractions and to create appropriate utilization areas for them. Although Cotinus coggygria, which is widely used in folk medicine, which grows from Europe to the center of China, has a wide variety of bioactivities, there is limited information about its influence on the immune system.The anti-proliferative effects of Cotinus coggygria extract on stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were determined by CFSE dilution method. The effects of the extract on peripheral blood T and natural killer (NK) cells were followed by their proliferative responses. Annexin V / PI staining method was used to evaluate the apoptotic effects of the extract on PBMCs. The effects of the extracts on expression levels of IL-1?, IL-2, IL-4 and IL-10 genes were investigated.Effect of Cotinus coggygria on the proliferation of T cells and NK cell subsets were decreased in a dose dependent manner. Anti-proliferative effect of Cotinus coggygria extract on stimulated PBMCs was not directly related to its apoptotic properties, it also changes the cytokine genes expression on PBMCs. Our study suggests that Cotinus coggygria methanol extract, whose anti-inflammatory effects have not been investigated yet, may be a pioneer in the identification of new molecules with anti-inflammatory properties and the development of related therapies