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Role of saponins for the anticonvulsant effect of adventitious roots of Ficus religiosa
No full textContext: The adventitious roots of Ficus religiosa L. (Moraceae) have been extensively used in traditional medicine for
treatment of several disorders, including epilepsy.
Objective: To investigate the possible anticonvulsant effect of the adventitious roots of Ficus religiosa, and to find the
biologically active fraction, to substantiate its traditional use in epilepsy.
Methods: The hydroethanolic extract of adventitious roots (5, 10, and 20 mg/kg; i.p.) of Ficus religiosa and its different
fractions (hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, butanol, aqueous, saponins-rich, and saponins-lacking) at a dose
equivalent to 20 mg/kg of the extract were administered 30 min prior to the induction of maximal electroshock
(MES) and pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) convulsions. Duration of tonic hind-limb extension (THLE) and latency to clonic
convulsions were noted in MES and PTZ tests, respectively. Neurotoxicity was assessed using rotarod test.
Results: Treatment with the root extract (5, 10, and 20 mg/kg; i.p.), butanolic (6 mg/kg; i.p.) and saponins-rich fractions
(3.4 mg/kg; i.p.) significantly (p < 0.05) decreased the duration of THLE in MES test, as compared to control. The same
treatment also significantly (p < 0.05) increased the latency to PTZ-induced clonic convulsions in comparison to
control. The other fractions were found to be ineffective. The root extract and its active fractions at their effective
doses showed no neurotoxic effects.
Conclusion: The present study concluded that the hydroethanolic extract of adventitious roots of Ficus religiosa has
anticonvulsant activity. Retention of anticonvulsant effect in the saponins-rich fraction-treated animals indicated the
role of saponins for the activity
Intraspecific variability of main phytochemical compounds in Picrorhiza kurroa Royle ex Benth. from North Indian higher altitude Himalayas using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography
No full textPicrorhiza kurroa Royle ex Benth. is an important medicinal plant belonging to family Scrophulariaceae. It is known to contain iridoid glycosides, picroside I and II as major bioactive compounds. The present study provides an analytical HPLC method with well-resolved and symmetrical peaks for the two reference compounds picroside-I and picroside-II. Separation was achieved on RP-18e, Merck made column. The mobile phase consisted of methanol:water (60:40, v/v) in isocratic elution with flow rate 1 ml/min. Injection volume of standard and samples was 10 μl and run time was 30 min. The detection of analyte was carried out using photodiode array detector with wavelength of 270 nm. Calibration curves were constructed for each analyte. The HPLC method was developed and applied to determine the picroside-I and picroside-II in rhizome of all the seven accessions [Rohtang-3978 m (PKR-1); Marhi-3300 m (PKM-2); Manali-2050 m (PKM-3); Keylong-3350 m (PKK-4); Khoksar-3160 m (PKK-5); Manikaran-1737 m (PKM-6) and Chamba-996 m (PKC-7)] from higher altitude North Indian Himalayas of Himachal Pradesh. Both of these reference compounds have been detected in the rhizome samples of all these seven accessions of P. kurroa. After detailed comparison, it was concluded that the percentage of both analytes were found to be maximum, that is, picroside-I (3.5%) and picroside-II (2.0%) in rhizome parts of P. kurroa collected from Rohtang area (3978 m)
First Metal- and Base-Free Selective Oxidative Coupling of Thiols in Neat Ionic Liquids: NMR Probed “Ambiphilic” Character of Neutral [hmim]Br towards Atom-Efficient Synthesis of Disulfides
No full textThe selective oxidative coupling of thiols
has been studied in several imidazolium-based ionic
liquids in the absence of any base/metal catalysts.
Disulfides were obtained from the corresponding
thiols in good to excellent yields in 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium
bromide ([hmim]Br). Furthermore,
a 1H NMR-based mechanistic study of the S–S
bond formation demonstrated the cooperative role
of halide anion and imidazolium cation of
[hmim]Br as an “ambiphile” – a character found to
be imperative for the efficient syntheses of disulfides.
The developed methodology is simple, selective
and green that utilises molecular oxygen as an
oxidant and produces water as the only by-product
Stilbene−Chalcone Hybrids: Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation as a New Class of Antimalarial Scaffolds That Trigger Cell Death through Stage Specific Apoptosis
No full textNovel stilbene−chalcone (S-C) hybrids were
synthesized via a sequential Claisen−Schmidt−Knoevenagel−
Heck approach and evaluated for antiplasmodial activity in in
vitro red cell culture using SYBR Green I assay. The most
potent hybrid (11) showed IC50 of 2.2, 1.4, and 6.4 μM against
3D7 (chloroquine sensitive), Indo, and Dd2 (chloroquine
resistant) strains of Plasmodium falciparum, respectively.
Interestingly, the respective individual stilbene (IC50 > 100
μM), chalcone (IC50 = 11.5 μM), or an equimolar mixture of
stilbene and chalcone (IC50 = 32.5 μM) were less potent than
11. Studies done using specific stage enriched cultures and
parasite in continuous culture indicate that 11 and 18 spare the schizont but block the progression of the parasite life cycle at the
ring or the trophozoite stages. Further, 11 and 18 caused chromatin condensation, DNA fragmentation, and loss of
mitochondrial membrane potential in Plasmodium falciparum, thereby suggesting their ability to cause apoptosis in malaria
parasite
An Improved Protocol for the Isolation of RNA from Roots of Tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze)
No full textTea, a beverage crop, is a rich source of polyphenols
and polysaccharides which greatly attribute to its
importance. However, oxidation and precipitation of these
compounds during nucleic acids extraction is a limitation
to molecular biology and genomic studies. On isolation
of total RNA from root tissue using established protocols,
difficulties were encountered in terms of purity and
quantity of isolated RNA or some of the methods were
time-consuming and also yields were low. The present
communication combines a phenol-based RNA isolation
protocol with a cetyltrimethylammonium bromide-based
procedure with appropriate modifications. This protocol
successfully isolated RNA from tap root tissue in 2–3 h as
compared with 16 h reported by the previous method. Also,
RNA yield was higher by more than fourfold. The RNA
isolated by this protocol was successfully used for downstream
applications such as RT-PCR and the construction
of suppression subtractive hybridization library. The
developed protocol worked well with other plant tissue
with high polyphenols and polysaccharides contents
Antifungal Sesquiterpenes from Cedrus deodara
No full textAbstract
!
Two new sesquiterpenes, (E)-(2S,3S,6R)-atlantone-2,3-diol (1)
and (E)-(2S,3S,6S)-atlantone-2,3,6-triol (2), along with two
known sesquiterpenes, atlantolone (3) and (E)-α-atlantone (4),
were isolated from Cedrus deodara Loud. The structures of the
new compounds were elucidated on the basis of UV, IR, NMR,
HR‑ESI-QTOF‑MS, and EI mass spectral studies. The n-hexane
and chloroformextracts of sawdust and compounds 3 and 4 from
the plant exhibited antifungal activity against Aspergillus flavus,
A. niger, A. ochracoeus, A. parasiticus, and A. sydowii. A weak activity
was also recorded against A. parasiticus and A. sydowii for
compound 1, while Trichophyton rubrum was inhibited by compound
2 and the extracts
Need for a centralized digital inventory on floral additions
No full textThe Convention on Biological Diversity
encourages member countries to document
their diversity and make it available
for general use1. Consequently, apart
from new species, additions to the
country2 and state floras3 are being
reported.
Compilation of floral information for
Himachal Pradesh (HP) revealed that duplicity
of additions is not uncommon,
wherein the same taxon has been reported
as a new addition to the HP flora
more than once. A minimum of eight
such duplicate additions were found
(Table 1).
This is a serious limitation that emanates
from the limited resources (journals,
books, flora, etc.) that an author,
referee or reviewer may have access too.
At the same time, increase in the number
of publishers and journals makes it even
harder to keep track of them.
It would thus be desirable to have a
centralized digital inventory of recent
additions to the Indian flora as is available
for the global new plant species
(www.ipni.org). The Botanical Survey of
India, a Central Government organization
with a mandate of documenting floral
diversity of India, has already
initiated an important activity in this
direction and has come up with the
book4, Plant Discoveries 2010. This is a
valuable contribution and making it
available on the web would further enhance
its visibility, use and importance.
Similar initiatives should also be taken
up at the state level. A nodal agency in
the state may opt for such a task of
documenting, compiling and hosting on
the net, additions to the flora of the respective
states. Once done, the author,
referee or reviewer just needs to check
this list before preparing or recommending
a publication reporting new addition(
s). This would not only check
duplicity of additions, but would be of
great help to the scientific community
where spatio-temporal additions to the
flora can be analysed. Updating such a
list would be much easier on the web and
thus real-time information would be
available to the users.
The success of e-floras and virtual
herbarium is noteworthy and therefore,
resources (financial and human) should
be channelized for this activity also.
Importantly, a mechanism needs to be
evolved by which an author/journal
who/that publishes a new addition furnishes
this information to the nodal
agency
Molecular diagnosis of apple virus and viroid pathogens from India
No full textApple is known to be susceptible to various virus and viroid pathogens.
Symptomatic apple cultivars and rootstocks were collected and analyzed by
ELISA and then through RT-PCR. The study reports the presence of Apple
mosaic virus (ApMV), Apple stem grooving virus (ASGV), Apple stem pitting virus
(ASPV), Apple chlorotic leaf spot virus (ACLSV), the major apple viruses and
Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV), a minor apple virus, at the molecular
level in India. Apple scar skin viroid (ASSVd) infection was also confirmed at the
molecular level. Sporadic incidences of Tomato ringspot virus and Arabis mosaic
virus infections were also detected by ELISA in nursery plant
ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL OF Juglans regia BARK: QUANTIFICATION OF SEVEN PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS BY RP-HPLC
No full textWalnut (Juglans regia L., Juglandaceae) is traditionally used for the treatment of various common ailments including
tuberculosis, tuberculosis of the cervical glands, and cancer [1, 2]. The bark of J. regia contains juglone along with numerous
bioactive polyphenols [3, 4]. Although there have been many reports on several biological activities of J. regia bark [2–5],
there has been only one report on its antioxidant activity [3].
The objectives of this work were to determine the antioxidant potential and bioactive compounds of the methanol
extract (MOH) and its fractions obtained by partitioning from J. regia bark with hexane (HEX), chloroform (CHL), ethyl
acetate (EA), and butanol (BU), and the water-insoluble part (INS).
Methanol is able to extract out a significant amount of compounds (11.36%) from the walnut bark. The yields of
fractions were: EA-3.18, BU-1.87, CHL-0.21, and HEX-0.11%, suggesting that ethyl acetate is a more effective solvent for
fractionation. Some phenolic compounds also remained trapped in the water-insoluble part (INS, 1.4%).
Total phenol content (TPC), determined using Folin–Ciocalteau reagent [6], was highest in the EA (470.3 ± 8.5) followed
by BU (360.5 ± 4.8), MOH (343.5 ± 5.5), INS (193.4 ± 2.8), CHL (100.2 ± 3.5), and HEX (32.3 ± 2.3), all in mg g–1 dry extract.
In a study, Labuckas and co-workers [7] has reported high total phenol content in aqueous-methanolic extract of hull of J. regia.
The antioxidant activity of the extract and fractions were determined by DPPH (2,2'-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) [8],
ABTS (2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt) [9] radical scavenging and FRAP (ferric
reducing/antioxidant power) [10] assays, and the results are presented in Table 1.
The EA showed highest antioxidant potential in three in vitro test systems. Both EA and BU were better DPPH
scavengers than the positive control quercetin; however, none of the extract/fractions were as effective as butylated
hydroxytoluene (BHT) or gallic acid. ABTS∙+ scavenging of extract/fractions was also much lower than gallic acid, BHT, and
quercetin. In contrast to DPPH∙ scavenging, ABTS∙+ scavenging ability of the marker compound juglone was much higher
than the extract or fractions. The reducing power of EA was found comparable to the positive controls quercetin and BHT.
However, it was much lower than gallic acid. The reducing power of juglone was significantly lower than that exhibited by the
extract or fractions except HEX and CHL.
It was also noticed that the order of DPPH∙ scavenging and ferric reducing properties of the extract and fractions was
similar to the order of TPC. This indicates that there is a significant correlation between antioxidant properties and TPC. The
correlation coefficients (r2) of total phenolic content, DPPH∙ and ABTS∙+ scavenging, and FRAP activities were 0.975, 0.798,
and 0.960, respectively.
In order to quantify phenolic compounds in the extract/fractions, HPLC was carried out using a LiChrospher RP-18
column (250 mm х 4.6 mm, 5 μm) and Waters 2996 photodiode array detector at 30 degree C. a) Acetonitrile–methanol (70:30, v/v)
and b) 0.05% trifluoro acetic acid were used as the mobile phase with a gradient programmed as follows: a) 80–0% in 0–10 min
and back to 80% in 20 min with a flow-rate of 1 mL/min. Seven phenolic compounds, namely gallic acid (1), caffeic acid (2),
quercitrin (3), rutin (4), myricetin (5), quercetin (6), and juglone (7), were quantified. Among all, quercitrin and gallic acid
were observed in the highest amount in the MOH and its fractions (Table 2). In particular, the content of each phenolic
compound was higher in EA in comparison to others, which corroborated with the observed trends in total phenol content and
antioxidant activity. The marker compound juglone was detected only in the methanol extract and not in the fractions.
The results of this study clearly indicate that walnut bark extract/fractions, especially the ethyl acetate fraction, may
be used as a potential source of natural antioxidant
Natural resources assessment and their utilization
No full textThe present paper quantifies and reviews
the natural resource use in the Himalayan state of
Himachal Pradesh (HP). Twenty-five percent of the
geographical area of HP is under forests and harbour
ca. 3,400 plant species. The available bioresources not
only support the livelihood of nearly 6 million people
but also fulfill the forage requirement of 5.2 million
livestock. Thus, dependence on bioresources is
manifold. Based on field surveys to different localities
of HP and analyses of published information, two
types of resource use patterns have been identified.
One, the direct use of forest resources which is
represented by extraction of timber, fuelwood and
fodder; and the second represents indirect resource
use from the forest that is represented by activities
related to agriculture, tourism and industry. Amongst
the direct resource use, annual timber requirement of
the local people works out to be 310,063 m3. On the
other hand, annual fuelwood and fodder requirement
of local people is to the tune of 3,646,348.8 and
10,294,116.5 tons, respectively. Extraction of fodder
therefore appears to be one of the main reasons for
forest degradation in HP as opposed to timber and
fuelwood extraction. However, compared to direct
resource use, indirect resource use and pressures have
far more pronounced effect on the forests. Of the
indirect pressures, shifts in agriculture patterns and
increased tourism seem to be the most prominent