Current Issue : July - September Volume : 2018 Issue Number : 3 Articles : 6 Articles
Vernonia amygdalina is traditionally used in Ethiopia to treat various diseases. This prompted us to isolate bioactive compounds\nfrom the flowers of this plant. TheCHCl3 extract after silica gel column chromatography has led to the isolation of two compounds\nidentified as tricosane (1) and vernolide (2), while the acetone extract furnished isorhamnetin (3) and luteolin (4). The acetone\nextract and isorhamnetin significantly scavenged the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical by 91.6 and 94%, respectively.\nIt was also shown that the acetone extract and isorhamnetin inhibited lipid peroxidation by 74 and 80%, respectively. The extracts\nand isolated compounds were also evaluated for their antibacterial activity with the CHCl3 extract and vernolide showing strong\nactivity against S. aureus with an inhibition zone of 21 and 19 mm, respectively. On the other hand, the acetone extract and\nisorhamnetin were active against all bacterial pathogens tested. The work presented herein has demonstrated that vernolide and\nisorhamnetin had antibacterial activity. The antioxidant activity displayed by the flowers of V. amygdalina is accounted to the\npresence of isorhamnetin. Therefore, the biological activities displayed by the extracts and isolated compounds from this plant\ncorroborate the traditional uses of this plant by the local people against various diseases....
Essential oils are secondary metabolites with a key-role in plants protection, consisting primarily of terpenes with a volatile nature\nand a diverse array of chemical structures. Essential oils exhibit a wide range of bioactivities, especially antimicrobial activity, and\nhave long been utilized for treating various human ailments and diseases. Cancer cell prevention and cytotoxicity are exhibited\nthrough a wide range of mechanisms of action, with more recent research focusing on synergistic and antagonistic activity between\nspecific essential oils major and minor components. Essential oils have been shown to possess cancer cell targeting activity and\nare able to increase the efficacy of commonly used chemotherapy drugs including paclitaxel and docetaxel, having also shown\nproimmune functions when administered to the cancer patient. The present review represents a state-of-the-art review of the\nresearch behind the application of EOs as anticancer agents both in vitro and in vivo. Cancer cell target specificity and the use\nof EOs in combination with conventional chemotherapeutic strategies are also explored....
Fermentation of foods by lactic acid bacteria is a useful way to improve the nutritional value of foods. In this study, the\nhealth-promoting effects of fermented papaya juices by two species, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus plantarum, were\ndetermined. Changes in pH, reducing sugar, organic acids, and volatile compounds were determined, and the vitamin C, total\nphenolic content, and flavonoid and antioxidant capacities during the fermentation process were investigated. Juices fermented\nby Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus plantarum had similar changes in pH and reducing sugar content during the 48 h\nfermentation period. Large amounts of aroma-associated compounds and organic acids were produced, especially lactic acid,\nwhich increased significantly (...
The most commonly used plant source of Ã?²-elemene is Curcuma wenyujin Y. H. Chen\n& C. Ling (syn. of Curcuma aromatic Salisb.) with its content in supercritical CO2 extract up to\n27.83%. However, the other rich source of this compound is Nigella damascena L. essential oil,\nin which Ã?²-elemene accounts for 47%. In this work, the effective protocol for preparative isolation of\nÃ?²-elemene from a new sourceââ?¬â?N. damascena essential oilââ?¬â?using high performance counter-current\nchromatography HPCCC was elaborated. Furthermore, since sesquiterpens are known as potent\nantimicrobials, the need for finding new agents designed to combat multi-drug resistant strains was\naddressed and the purified target compound and the essential oil were tested for its activity against a\npanel of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, fungi, and mycobacterial strains. The application\nof the mixture of petroleum ether, acetonitrile, and acetone in the ratio 2:1.5:0.5 (v/v) in the reversed\nphase mode yielded Ã?²-elemene with high purity in 70 min. The results obtained for antimicrobial\nassay clearly indicated that N. damascena...
Plant-mediated green synthesis of nanomaterials has been increasingly gaining popularity\ndue to its eco-friendly nature and cost-effectiveness. In the present study, we synthesized silver\nnanoparticles (AgNPs) by using an aqueous solution of Saudi Origanum vulgare L. plant extract as a\nbioreducing agent. The as-synthesized AgNPs were characterized using various microscopic and\nspectroscopic techniques. The results indicated the formation of crystalline face-centered cubic (fcc)\nAgNPs. Additionally, FT-IR study confirmed that the O. vulgare L. extract not only functioned as a\nbioreductant but also stabilized the surface of the AgNPs by acting as a capping agent. Moreover,\nthe effect of the amount of the plant extract on the size and the antimicrobial activity of the NPs was\nalso assessed. It was found that with increasing amounts of plant extract, the size of the NPs was\ndecreased. Moreover, as-synthesized AgNPs as well as O. vulgare L. plant extract were separately\ntested to examine their antimicrobial activities. The activities were tested against various bacterial and\nfungal microorganisms including Shigella sonnei, Micrococcus luteus, Escherichia coli, Aspergillus flavus,\nAlternaria alternate, Paecilomyces variotii, Phialophora alba, and so on. These results evidently show that\nthe inclusion of O. vulgare L. extracts improves the solubility of AgNPs, which led to a significant\nenhancement in the toxicity of the NPs against the assessed microorganisms....
Graphis ajarekarii endemic crustose lichen and Parmotrema tinctorum foliose lichen, found growing lushly in India. This study objective was to establish the chemical and biological profile, total flavonoid and phenolic content of manglicolous lichens, G. ajarekarii and P. tinctorum. Initially, the hydroalcoholic extracts of manglicolous lichens, G. ajarekarii and P. tinctorum were prepared and re-extracted with n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and acetone. The resultant extracts were evaluated for their phytochemical analysis, total flavonoid (AlCl3 spectrophotometric method) and phenolic (Folin-Ciocalteu’s method) content, in-vitro antimicrobial (using four different bacterial and two fungal strains by cup plate method), antimycobacterial (by MABA) activities and the bioactive extracts were subjected to column chromatography. All the screened extracts showed differences in composition and pharmacological activities. Among all extracts, the bioactive profile, total flavonoid and phenolic content was noticed better with ethyl acetate extracts. Between ethyl acetate extract of G. ajarekarii showed prominence compared to P. tinctorum towards antimicrobial including against M. Tuberculosis H37Rv strain. The chemical isolation of ethyl acetate extracts of G. ajarekarii and P. tinctorum led to isolation of atranorin and ethyl everninate, respectively. This study reveals the relatively high levels of flavonoid, phenolic content and potent activity of G. ajarekarii against bacterial and fungal strains, while P. tinctorum is active against gram-negative strains. This data indicates that these manglicolous lichen might be a good source of antimicrobial and antimycobacterial agents....
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