KEY FINDINGS: T. corymbosa (Roxb. ex Wall.) parts are used as poultice, boiled juice, decoctions and infusions for treatment against ulceration, fracture, post-natal recovery, syphilis, fever, tumours and orchitis in Malaysia, China, Thailand and Bangladesh. Studies recorded alkaloids as the predominant phytochemicals in addition to phenols, saponins and sterols with vast bioactivities such as antimicrobial, analgesic, anthelmintic, vasorelaxation, antiviral and cytotoxicity.
SUMMARY: An evaluation of scientific data and traditional medicine revealed the medicinal uses of different parts of T. corymbosa (Roxb. ex Wall.) across Asia. Future studies exploring the structure-bioactivity relationship of alkaloids such as jerantinine and vincamajicine among others could potentially improve the future application towards reversing anticancer drug resistance.
KEY FINDINGS: The phytochemical investigations of Ferulago species revealed the presence of coumarins as the main bioactive compounds, including daucane derivatives, sesquiterpenes aryl esters, phenol derivatives, flavonoids and essential oils. Moreover, the therapeutic potentials of the pure compounds isolated from the genus Ferulago possess promising properties namely anticholinesterase, antimicrobial, anticoagulant, antileishmanial, antioxidant, antibacterial and antiproliferative.
SUMMARY: Today, significant advances in phytochemical and biological activity studies of different Ferulago species have been revealed. The traditional uses and reported biological results could be correlated via the chemical characterization of these plants. All these data will support the biologists in the elucidation of the biological mechanisms of these plants.
METHODS: The fresh Azolla pinnata plant from Kuala Krai, Kelantan, Malaysia was used for crude extraction using Soxhlet and maceration methods. Then, the chemical composition of extracts and its structure were identified using GCMS-QP2010 Ultra (Shimadzu). Next, following the WHO procedures for larval bioassays, the extracts were used to evaluate the early 4th instar larvae of Aedes mosquito vectors.
RESULTS: The larvicidal activity of Azolla pinnata plant extracts evidently affected the early 4th instar larvae of Aedes aegypti mosquito vectors. The Soxhlet extraction method had the highest larvicidal effect against Ae. aegypti early 4th instar larvae, with LC50 and LC95 values of 1093 and 1343 mg/L, respectively. Meanwhile, the maceration extraction compounds were recorded with the LC50 and LC95 values of 1280 and 1520 mg/L, respectively. The larvae bioassay test for Ae. albopictus showed closely similar values in its Soxhlet extraction, with LC50 and LC95 values of 1035 and 1524 mg/L, compared with the maceration extraction LC50 and LC95 values of 1037 and 1579 mg/L, respectively. The non-target organism test on guppy fish, Poecilia reticulata, showed no mortalities and posed no toxic effects. The chemical composition of the Azolla pinnata plant extract has been found and characterized as having 18 active compounds for the Soxhlet method and 15 active compounds for the maceration method.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings showed that the crude extract of A. pinnata bioactive molecules are effective and have the potential to be developed as biolarvicides for Aedes mosquito vector control. This study recommends future research on the use of active ingredients isolated from A. pinnata extracts and their evaluation against larvicidal activity of Aedes in small-scale field trials for environmentally safe botanical insecticide invention.