In recent years, the utilization of certain medicinal plants as therapeutic agents has drastically increased. Phaleria macrocarpa (Scheff.) Boerl is frequently used in traditional medicine. The present investigation was undertaken with the purpose of developing pharmacopoeial standards for this species. Nutritional values such as ash, fiber, protein, fat, and carbohydrate contents were investigated, and phytochemical screenings with different reagents showed the presence of flavonoids, glycosides, saponin glycosides, phenolic compounds, steroids, tannins, and terpenoids. Our results also revealed that the water fraction had the highest antioxidant activity compared to the methanol extract and other fractions. The methanol and the fractionated extracts (hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and water) of P. macrocarpa seeds were also investigated for their cytotoxic effects on selected human cancer cells lines (MCF-7, HT-29, MDA-MB231, Ca Ski, and SKOV-3) and a normal human fibroblast lung cell line (MRC-5). Information from this study can be applied for future pharmacological and therapeutic evaluations of the species, and may assist in the standardization for quality, purity, and sample identification. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the phytochemical screening and cytotoxic effect of the crude and fractionated extracts of P. macrocarpa seeds on selected cells lines.
The antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory properties of Corchorus capsularis leaves chloroform extract were investigated in experimental animal models. The antinociceptive activity was measured using the writhing, hot plate and formalin tests, while the anti-inflammatory activity was measured using the carrageenan-induced paw edema test. The extract, obtained after 72 h soaking of the air-dried leaves in chloroform followed by in vacuo evaporation to dryness, was weighed and prepared by serial dilution in DMSO in the doses of 20, 100 and 200 mg/kg. The extract was administered (s.c.) 30 min prior to subjection to the respective assays. The extract was found to exhibit significant (p < 0.05) antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities. As a conclusion, the present study confirmed the traditional claims of using C. capsularis to treat various ailments related to inflammation and pain.
The present study was carried out to establish the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory properties of Dicranopteris linearis leaves chloroform extract in experimental animals. The antinociceptive activity was measured using the abdominal constriction, formalin and hot plate tests, while the anti-inflammatory activity was measured using the carrageenan-induced paw edema. The extract, obtained after 72 h soaking of the air-dried leaves in chloroform followed by evaporation under vacuo (40 degrees C) to dryness, was dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide to the doses of 20, 100 and 200 mg/kg and administered subcutaneously 30 min prior to subjection to the above mentioned assays. The extract, at all doses used, was found to exhibit significant (p<0.05) antinociceptive activity in a dose-dependent manner. However, the significant (p<0.05) anti-inflammatory activity observed occur in a dose-independent manner. As a conclusion, the chloroform extract of D. linearis possesses antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activity and thus justify its traditional uses by the Malays to treat various ailments.
INTRODUCTION: Water-soluble, but not lipid-soluble, extract of Dicranopteris linearis leaves has been proven to possess hepatoprotective activity. The present study aimed to validate the hepatoprotective and antioxidant activities, and phytoconstituents of lipid-soluble (chloroform) extract of D. linearis leaves.
METHODS: The extract of D. linearis leaves (CEDL; 50, 250 and 500 mg/kg) was orally administered to rats for 7 consecutive days followed by the oral administration of 3 g/kg PCM to induce liver injury. Blood was collected for liver function analysis while the liver was obtained for histopathological examination and endogenous antioxidant activity determination. The extract was also subjected to antioxidant evaluation and phytochemicals determination via phytochemical screening, HPLC and UPLC-HRMS analyses.
A field investigation was conducted at all water treatment plants throughout 11 states and Federal Territory in Peninsular Malaysia. The sampling points in this study include treatment plant operation, service reservoir outlet and auxiliary outlet point at the water pipelines. Analysis was performed by solid phase micro-extraction technique with a 100 microm polydimethylsiloxane fibre using gas chromatography with mass spectrometry detection to analyse 54 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of different chemical families in drinking water. The concentration of VOCs ranged from undetectable to 230.2 microg/l. Among all of the VOCs species, chloroform has the highest concentration and was detected in all drinking water samples. Average concentrations of total trihalomethanes (THMs) were almost similar among all states which were in the range of 28.4--33.0 microg/l. Apart from THMs, other abundant compounds detected were cis and trans-1,2-dichloroethylene, trichloroethylene, 1,2-dibromoethane, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, chlorobenzene, 1,4-dichlorobenzene and 1,2-dichloro - benzene. Principal component analysis (PCA) with the aid of varimax rotation, and parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) method were used to statistically verify the correlation between VOCs and the source of pollution. The multivariate analysis pointed out that the maintenance of auxiliary pipelines in the distribution systems is vital as it can become significant point source pollution to Malaysian drinking water.
Clausena excavata (Lour.), locally known as "Kemantu hitam," is a common plant in Malaysian folklore medicine. This study evaluated the antioxidant properties of the solvent extracts of C. excavata leaves and determined the acute toxicity of methanolic extract C. excavata (MECE) leaves in Sprague-Dawley rats. Harvested leaves were dried and subjected to solvent extraction using petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol in succession. The antioxidant activity of each extract was determined using the ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl dihydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity. The total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoids content (TFC) were estimated by Folin-Ciocalteu and ethanolic aluminium chloride method, respectively. The chloroform extract was found to be highest in flavonoid content, while the methanolic extract showed the highest TPC and antioxidant activity. There was no mortality in rats treated with MECE leaves even at a high dose of 5000 mg/kg body weight. However, the MECE leaves produced mild to moderate pathological changes in the liver and kidneys, shown by mild degenerative changes and leucocyte infiltration. The extract did not affect the haematological parameters or relative weights of the liver or kidneys. Overall, the MECE leaves have potent antioxidant activity and are presumed safe to be used orally as health-promoting product at low to moderate doses.
(1) Background: An earlier study on the hypoglycemic activity of S. polyanthum (Wight.) leaf methanol extract identified squalene as the major chemical compound. The present study was conducted to assess the hypoglycemic effect of fractions and subfractions of the methanol extract of S. polyanthum compared to the squalene using a bioassay-guided in vivo study. (2) Methods: The methanol extract was fractionated using the liquid−liquid fractionation method. Streptozotocin-induced type 1 diabetic rat was used to study the hypoglycemic effect. (3) Results: The findings showed that chloroform fraction significantly (p < 0.05) lowered blood glucose levels of diabetic rats as compared to the control. Further fractionation of chloroform fraction yielded subfraction-1 and -2, whereby subfraction-1 exhibited a higher blood-glucose-lowering effect. The lipid profile test showed that the total cholesterol level of subfraction-1 and squalene-treated groups decreased significantly (p < 0.05). An immunohistochemistry study revealed that none of the treatments regenerated pancreatic β-cells. Gas chromatography−mass spectrophotometer analysis identified the presence of squalene in the active methanol extract, chloroform fraction, and subfraction-1. In silico analysis revealed a higher affinity of squalene against protein receptors that control lipid metabolism than metformin. (4) Conclusions: Data obtained from the present work suggested the crude methanol extract exerted the highest hypoglycemic effect compared to fraction, subfraction, and squalene, confirming synergistic effect may be responsible for the hypoglycemic activity of S. polyanthum.
Withania coagulans (W. coagulans) is well-known in herbal medicinal systems for its high biological potential. Different parts of the plant are used against insomnia, liver complications, asthma, and biliousness, as well as it is reported to be sedative, emetic, diuretic, antidiabetic antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, hepatoprotective, antihyperglycemic, cardiovascular, immuno-suppressive and central nervous system depressant. Withanolides present in W. coagulans have attracted an immense interest in the scientific field due to their diverse therapeutic applications. The current study deals with chemical and biological evaluation of chloroform, and n-butanol fractions of W. coagulans. The activity-guided fractionation of both extracts via multiple chromatographic steps and structure elucidation of pure isolates using spectroscopies (NMR, mass spectrometry, FTIR and UV-Vis) led to the identification of a new withanolide glycoside, withacogulanoside-B (1) from n-butanol extract and five known withanolides from chloroform extract [withanolid J (2), coagulin E (3), withaperuvin C (4), 27-hydroxywithanolide I (5), and ajugin E (6)]. Among the tested compounds, compound 5 was the most potent α-glucosidase inhibitor with IC50 = 66.7 ± 3.6 µM, followed by compound 4 (IC50: 407 ± 4.5 µM) and compound 2 (IC50: 683 ± 0.94 µM), while no antiglycation activity was observed with the six isolated compounds. Molecular docking was used to predict the binding potential and binding site interactions of these compounds as α-glucosidase inhibitors. Consequently, this study provides basis to discover specific antidiabetic compounds from W. coagulans.
Clinacanthus nutans Lindau leaves (CN) have been used in traditional medicine but the therapeutic potential has not been explored for cancer prevention and treatment. Current study aimed to evaluate the antioxidant and antiproliferative effects of CN, extracted in chloroform, methanol, and water, on cancer cell lines. Antioxidant properties of CN were evaluated using DPPH, galvinoxyl, nitric oxide, and hydrogen peroxide based radical scavenging assays, whereas the tumoricidal effect was tested on HepG2, IMR32, NCL-H23, SNU-1, Hela, LS-174T, K562, Raji, and IMR32 cancer cells using MTT assay. Our data showed that CN in chloroform extract was a good antioxidant against DPPH and galvinoxyl radicals, but less effective in negating nitric oxide and hydrogen peroxide radicals. Chloroform extract exerted the highest antiproliferative effect on K-562 (91.28 ± 0.03%) and Raji cell lines (88.97 ± 1.07%) at 100 μ g/ml and the other five cancer cell lines in a concentration-dependent manner, but not on IMR-32 cells. Fourteen known compounds were identified in chloroform extract, which was analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectra analysis. In conclusion, CN extracts possess antioxidant and antiproliferative properties against cultured cancer cell lines, suggesting an alternate adjunctive regimen for cancer prevention or treatment.
Vigna sinensis also known as long-podded cowpea or Chinese long bean (Family:Fabaceae) is most widely grown in Southeast Asia. They are a good source of protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, phosphorus, and potassium. The antioxidant potential of crude methanol extract, chloroform, and ethyl acetate soluble fractions of Vigna sinensiswas screened for in- vitro antioxidant activity using total phenolic content, ferric reducing power, 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) assay, ferric thiocyanate (FTC) and thiobarbituric acid (TBA) tests. It was found that ethyl acetate fraction have maximum amount of polyphenolics compounds (2.69 mg/g GAE in concentration 0.5 mg/mL); more effective than methanol and chloroform extract.This fraction also exhibited fairly good antioxidant activity with in both TBA (17.39% mg/g GAE) and FTC (12.65% mg/g GAE) methods.
We investigated the effect of different solvents (ethyl acetate, methanol, acetone, and chloroform) on the extraction of phytoconstituents from Lantana camara leaves and their antioxidant and antibacterial activities. Further, GC-MS analysis was carried out to identify the bioactive chemical constituents occurring in the active extract. The results revealed the presence of various phytocompounds in the extracts. The methanol solvent recovered higher extractable compounds (14.4% of yield) and contained the highest phenolic (92.8 mg GAE/g) and flavonoid (26.5 mg RE/g) content. DPPH radical scavenging assay showed the IC50 value of 165, 200, 245, and 440 μg/mL for methanol, ethyl acetate, acetone, and chloroform extracts, respectively. The hydroxyl scavenging activity test showed the IC50 value of 110, 240, 300, and 510 μg/mL for methanol, ethyl acetate, acetone, and chloroform extracts, respectively. Gram negative bacterial pathogens (E. coli and K. pneumoniae) were more susceptible to all extracts compared to Gram positive bacteria (M. luteus, B. subtilis, and S. aureus). Methanol extract had the highest inhibition activity against all the tested microbes. Moreover, methanolic extract of L. camara contained 32 bioactive components as revealed by GC-MS study. The identified major compounds included hexadecanoic acid (5.197%), phytol (4.528%), caryophyllene oxide (4.605%), and 9,12,15-octadecatrienoic acid, methyl ester, (Z,Z,Z)- (3.751%).
This paper reports the potential application of cadmium selenide (CdSe) quantum dots (QDs) in improving the microelectronic characteristics of Schottky barrier diode (SBD) prepared from a semiconducting material poly-(9,9-dioctylfluorene) (F8). Two SBDs, Ag/F8/P3HT/ITO and Ag/F8-CdSe QDs/P3HT/ITO, are fabricated by spin coating a 10 wt% solution of F8 in chloroform and 10:1 wt% solution of F8:CdSe QDs, respectively, on a pre-deposited poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) on indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate. To study the electronic properties of the fabricated devices, current-voltage (I-V) measurements are carried out at 25 °C in dark conditions. The I-V curves of Ag/F8/P3HT/ITO and Ag/F8-CdSe QDs/P3HT/ITO SBDs demonstrate asymmetrical behavior with forward bias current rectification ratio (RR) of 7.42 ± 0.02 and 142 ± 0.02, respectively, at ± 3.5 V which confirm the formation of depletion region. Other key parameters which govern microelectronic properties of the fabricated devices such as charge carrier mobility (µ), barrier height (ϕb), series resistance (Rs) and quality factor (n) are extracted from their corresponding I-V characteristics. Norde's and Cheung functions are also applied to characterize the devices to study consistency in various parameters. Significant improvement is found in the values of Rs, n, and RR by 3, 1.7, and 19 times, respectively, for Ag/F8-CdSe QDs/P3HT/ITO SBD as compared to Ag/F8/P3HT/ITO. This enhancement is due to the incorporation of CdSe QDs having 3-dimensional quantum confinement and large surface-to-volume area. Poole-Frenkle and Richardson-Schottky conduction mechanisms are also discussed for both of the devices. Morphology, optical bandgap (1.88 ± 0.5 eV) and photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of CdSe QDs with a peak intensity at 556 nm are also reported and discussed.
Antiapoptotic and antioxidant activities of aqueous-methanolic extract (CAME) of Orthosiphonstamineus Benth(OS), and its hexane (HF), chloroform (CF), n-butanol (NBF), ethyl acetate (EAF) and water (WF) fractions were investigated. Antioxidant properties were evaluated using the assays of Folin-Ciocalteu, aluminiumtrichloride, β-carotene bleaching and DPPH. The role of OS against hydrogen peroxide induced apoptosis on MDA-M231 epithelial cells was examined using MTT assay, phase contrast microscope, colorimetric assay of caspase-3, western blot and quantitative real-time PCR. Results showed that EAF showed the highest total phenolic content followed by CAME, NBF, WF, CF and HF, respectively. Flavonoid content was in the order of the CF > EAF > HF > CAME > NBF > WF. The IC(50) values on DPPH assay for different extract/fractions were 126.2 ± 23, 31.25 ± 1.2, 15.25 ± 2.3, 13.56 ± 1.9, 23.0 ± 3.2, and 16.66 ± 1.5 μg/ml for HF, CF, EAF, NBF, WF and CAME, respectively. OSreduced the oxidation of β-carotene by hydroperoxides. Cell death was dose-dependently inhibited by pretreatment with OS. Caspase-3 and distinct morphological features suggest the anti-apoptotic activities of OS. This plant not only increased the expression of Bcl-2, but also decreased Bax expression, and ultimately reduced H(2)O(2)-induced apoptosis. The current results showed that phenolics may provide health and nutritional benefits.
This study reports the caffeine content in seven locally available coffee. The caffeine was extracted with chloroform and analysed using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR). The method reports an average recovery of 101% with the limit of determination established at 0.1%. The absorption band at 1654 cm-1 was used to construct the calibration curve for quantification of caffeine where the regression was fitted with satisfactory linearity. An average of 0.55% of caffeine was detected in the seven coffee products with Arabica coffee demonstrating lower caffeine concentration. The study evidenced that caffeine content in coffee is determined by the coffee types. The caffeine content found in the local coffee products was relatively lower likely due to the solvent types, extraction procedure and analytical method used.
Liquid-liquid iron(III) extraction was investigated using benzyl fatty hydroxamic acids (BFHAs) and methyl fatty hydroxamic acids (MFHAs) as chelating agents through the formation of iron(III) methyl fatty hydroxamate (Fe-MFHs) or iron(III) benzyl fatty hydroxamate (Fe-BFHs) in the organic phase. The results obtained under optimized conditions, showed that the chelating agents in hexane extract iron(III) at pH 1.9 were realized effectively with a high percentage of extraction (97.2% and 98.1% for MFHAs and BFHAs, respectively). The presence of a large amount of Mg(II), Ni(II), Al(III), Mn(II) and Co(II) ions did affect the iron(III) extraction. Finally stripping studies for recovering iron(III) from organic phase (Fe-MFHs or Fe-BFHs dissolved in hexane) were carried out at various concentrations of HCl, HNO(3) and H(2)SO(4). The results showed that the desired acid for recovery of iron(III) was 5 M HCl and quantitative recovery of iron(III) was achieved from Fe(III)-MFHs and Fe(III)-BFHs solutions in hexane containing 5 mg/L of Fe(III).
The roots of Hibiscus vitifolius Linn. (Malvaceae) is used for the treatment of jaundice in the folklore system of medicine in India. This study is an attempt to evaluate the hepatoprotective activity of the roots of Hibiscus vitifolius against anti-tubercular drug induced hepatotoxicity.
Clinacanthus nutans is a well-known herb that has been used as an alternative and therapeutic medicine, however more selective C. nutans extracts are needed. In this study, leaves were extracted with 80% methanol and further fractionated with n-hexane, dichloromethane, chloroform, n-butanol, and aqueous residue. Subsequently, the total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), antioxidant scavenging activity, and antiproliferative effects on breast cancer (Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 [MCF7]) and normal breast (Michigan Cancer Foundation-10A [MCF 10A]) cells of the extracts were measured. Additionally, molecular docking simulation of the major compounds from C. nutans extracts was conducted. The aqueous residue had the highest TPC and TFC, whereas the crude extract had the highest scavenging activity. Among the extracts, dichloromethane extract (CN-Dcm) was selected as it had the highest selectivity index (SI) (1.48). Then, the chosen extract (CN-Dcm) was proceed for further analysis. The compounds from CN-Dcm were identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The major compounds from CN-Dcm were further investigated through molecular docking studies. Palmitic acid and linolenyl alcohol were the compounds found in the CN-Dcm extract that exhibited the highest binding affinities with p53-binding protein Mdm-2. These results highlight the potential of C. nutans as a source of anticancer activities.
Acanthaster planci, the crown-of-thorns starfish, naturally endowed with the numerous toxic spines around the dorsal area of its body. Scientific investigations demonstrated several toxico-pharmacological efficacies of A. planci such as, myonecrotic activity, hemorrhagic activity, hemolytic activity, mouse lethality, phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activity, capillary permeability-increasing activity, edema-forming activity, anticoagulant activity and histamine-releasing activity from mast cells. The present study was performed to evaluate the cytotoxic activity of A. planci extracts obtained by different methods of extraction on MCF-7 and HCT-116, human breast and colon cancer cell lines, respectively. Results of the cell proliferation assay showed that PBS extract exhibited very potent cytotoxic activity against both MCF-7 and HCT-116 cell lines with IC(50) of 13.48 μg/mL and 28.78 μg/mL, respectively, while the extracts prepared by Bligh and Dyer method showed moderate cytotoxicity effect against MCF-7 and HCT-116 cell lines, for chloroform extract, IC(50) = 121.37 μg/mL (MCF-7) and 77.65 μg/mL (HCT-116), and for methanol extract, IC(50) = 46.11 μg/mL (MCF-7) and 59.29 μg/mL (HCT-116). However, the extracts prepared by sequential extraction procedure from dried starfish found to be ineffective. This study paves the way for further investigation on the peptide composition in the PBS extract of the starfish to discover potential chemotherapeutic agents.
The aim of the present study was to verify the anti-inflammatory activity of Orthosiphon stamineus leaf extracts and to identify the active compound(s) contributing to its anti-inflammatory activity using a developed HPLC method. Active chloroform extract of O. stamineus was fractionated into three fractions using a dry flash column chromatography method. These three fractions were investigated for anti-peritoneal capillary permeability, in vitro nitric oxide scavenging activity, anti-inflammatory and nitric oxide (NO) inhibition using carrageenan-induced hind paw edema method. The flavonoid rich chloroform extract fraction (CF2) [containing sinensetin (2.86% w/w), eupatorin (5.05% w/w) and 3'-hydroxy-5,6,7,4'-tetramethoxyflavone (1.101% w/w)], significantly reduced rat hind paw edema, NO and decreased dye leakage to peritoneal cavity at p < 0.05. IC(50) of in vitro NO scavenging of CF2 was 0.3 mg/mL. These results suggest that the anti-inflammatory properties of these CF2 may possibly be due to the presence of flavonoid compounds capable of affecting the NO pathway.
The level of total lipid and oryzanol content, an important antioxidant compound in locally produced bran was investigated. Total lipid in rice bran was extracted using 3:2 chloroform:methanol mixture yielding 16.4% fat. Oryzanol content was determined without saponification using a reverse-phase HPLC. Four fractions of oryzanol were successfully separated and quantitated. The 4 isomers were cycloartenyl ferulate, 24-methylene cycloartanyl ferulate, campestryl ferulate and mixtures of β–sitosteryl ferulate and cycloartanyl ferulate. The oryzanol content of local mixed varieties ranged from 23.7–43.0 mg g-1. The oryzanol concentration may depend on factors such as plant varieties, processing methods employed, extracting solvent used and ratio of extracting solvent to bran as well as extracting solvent temperatures. This study showed the potential of oryzanol extract from rice bran as a source of antioxidant.