The methanol extract of the dried ripe fruits of Alpinia rafflesiana was investigated for its DPPH free radical scavenger constituents. 2',3',4',6'-Tetrahydroxychalcone (7), which has never been isolated from natural sources was found to be most active as a DPPH free radical scavenger with the IC50 value of 55 microM. Other known compounds isolated from this species include 5,6-dehydrokawain (1), flavokawin B (2). 1,7-diphenyl-5-hydroxy-6-hepten-3-one (3), (-)-pinocembrin (4), cardamonin (5) and (-)-pinostrobin (6). The DPPH free radical scavenger compounds were detected using TLC autographic analysis. The percentage inhibition of DPPH free radical scavenging activity was measured on isolates (5-7) using colorimetric analysis.
Two new garcinia acid derivatives, 2-(butoxycarbonylmethyl)-3-butoxycarbonyl-2-hydroxy-3-propanolide and 1',1"-dibutyl methyl hydroxycitrate, were isolated from the fruits of Garcinia atroviridis guided by TLC bioautography against the fungus Cladosporium herbarum. The structures of these compounds were established by spectral analysis. The former compound represents a unique beta-lactone structure and the latter compound is most likely an artefact of garcinia acid (= hydroxycitric acid). Both compounds showed selective antifungal activity comparable to that of cycloheximide (MID: 0.5 microg/spot) only against C herbarum at the MIDs of 0.4 and 0.8 microg/spot but were inactive against bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli), other fungi (Alternaria sp., Fusarium moniliforme and Aspergillus ochraceous) including the yeast Candida albicans.
The oil of Adenanthera pavonina L. seeds was analysed by chromatographic and instrumental means. The oil was found to be rich in neutral lipids (86.2%), and low in polar lipids (13.8%). The neutral lipids consisted mainly of triacylglycerols (64.2%). Unsaturated fatty acids were found as high as 71%, while the percentage of saturated fatty acids was only 29%. GC and GC/MS analyses revealed linoleic, oleic and lignocerotic acid to be predominant among all fatty acids in the A. pavonina oil, whereas stigmasterol was the major steroid identified within this study. Subsequently, the oil was used for preparation of submicron oil-in-water (o/w) lipid emulsions. Lipid emulsions were formulated by using soybean lecithin (SL) to investigate their particle size, Zeta potential and stability at the different oil and SL ratios. The results obtained indicate possible applications of the tested oil in pharmaceutical and medical fields as drug and cosmetic active ingredient carriers.
This work was aimed to evaluate the feasibility of castor bean residue based activated carbons prepared through metals chloride activation. The activated carbons were characterized for textural properties and surface chemistry, and the adsorption data of rhodamine B were established to investigate the removal performance. Zinc chloride-activated carbon with specific surface area of 395 m(2)/g displayed a higher adsorption capacity of 175 mg/g. Magnesium chloride and iron(III) chloride are less toxic and promising agents for composite chemical activation. The adsorption data obeyed Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetics model. The rate-limiting step in the adsorption of rhodamine B is film diffusion. The positive values of enthalpy and entropy indicate that the adsorption is endothermic and spontaneous at high temperature.
White rice husk ash (RHA), an agriculture waste containing crystalline tridymite and alpha-cristobalite, was used as a silica source for zeolite Beta synthesis. The crystallization of zeolite Beta from RHA at 150 degrees C in the presence of tetraethylammonium hydroxide was monitored by XRD, FTIR and (29)Si MAS NMR techniques. It was found that zeolite Beta started to form after 12h and the complete crystallization of zeolite Beta phase was achieved after 2d. XRD, (29)Si MAS NMR and solid yield studies indicate that the transformation mechanism of silica present in RHA to zeolite Beta involves dissolution of the ash, formation of an amorphous aluminosilicate after 6h of crystallization, followed by dissolution in the mother liquor and final transformation to pure zeolite Beta crystals.
Trypanosoma evansi, the causative agent of "surra", infects many species of wild and domestic animals worldwide. In the current study, the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of six medicinal plants, namely, Aquilaria malaccensis, Derris elliptica, Garcinia hombroniana, Goniothalamus umbrosus, Nigella sativa, and Strobilanthes crispus were screened in vitro for activity against T. evansi. The cytotoxic activity of the extracts was evaluated on green monkey kidney (Vero) cells using MTT-cell proliferation assay. The median inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of the extracts ranged between 2.30 and 800.97 μg/ml and the median cytotoxic concentrations (CC50) ranged between 29.10 μg/ml and 14.53 mg/ml. The aqueous extract of G. hombroniana exhibited the highest selectivity index (SI) value of 616.36, followed by A. malaccensis aqueous extract (47.38). Phytochemical screening of the G. hombroniana aqueous extract revealed the presence of flavonoids, phenols, tannins, and saponins. It is demonstrated here that the aqueous extract of G. hombroniana has potential antitrypanosomal activity with a high SI, and may be considered as a potential source for the development of new antitrypanosomal compounds.
Snake bite has been regarded as an important health problem in Myanmar since early 1960's. In the recent years, there has been growing interest in alternative therapies and therapeutic use of natural products, especially those derive from plants. In Myanmar and Indian traditional medicine, various plants have used as a remedy for treating snake bite. The present study was carried out to evaluate the effects of alcohol extract of Tamarind (Tamarindus indica Linn.) seed on some biologic properties of Russell's viper (Daboia russelli siamensis) venom (RVV). The Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) enzyme, coagulase enzyme and caseinolytic enzyme activities of Russell's viper venom (RVV) were reduced when mixed and incubated with the extract. When the RVV and the different amount of extracts were preincubated and injected intramuscularly into mice, all of them survived, but all the mice in the control group died. On the other hand, when RVV were injected first followed by the extract into mice, all of them died. If the extract was injected near the site where Russell's viper venom was injected, all the mice survived for more than 24 hours and the survival time prolonged but they all died within 96 hours. In conclusion, according to the results obtained, the extract neutralizes some biologic properties of the Russell's viper venom and prolonged the survival time if the extract was injected near the site where the Russell's viper venom was injected.
The purpose of this study is to see the anthelmintic activity potential of papaya seeds against Hymenolepis diminuta in rats. The objectives of this study were: (1) to determine the effectiveness of papaya seeds on helminths especially H. diminuta in rats and (2) to determine the effective dose level on helminths in rats. Thirty six male rats from strain Sprague-Dawley were chosen as samples in this experiment. Two types of dose level were used for papaya seeds treatments such as 0.6 g kg-1 and 1.2 g kg-1. The geometric mean (GEM) was used to calculate mean for eggs per gram (EPG) before and after the treatment to be included in the reduction percentage calculation. After 21 days post treatment, necropsies were done to get the worm count and the GEM was used to calculate the efficacy percentage for the treatment. Results from this study showed that the reduction percentages in EPG for papaya seeds treatment for both doses level were very high which is 96.8% for 0.6g kg-1 dose level and 96.2% for 1.2 g kg-1 dose level. Whereas the efficacy percentage based on the worm counts for both doses level were also very high that was 90.77% for 0.6 g kg-1 dose level and 93.85% for 1.2 g kg-1.
Swietenia mahogani crude methanolic (SMCM) seed extract was investigated for the antifungal activity against Candida albicans which has not been evaluated previously. The antifungal activity was evaluated against C. albicans via disk diffusion, minimum inhibition concentration (MIC), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and time killing profile. The MIC value of SMCM seed extract is 12.5 mg/ml. The SEM and TEM findings showed there is morphological changes and cytological destruction of C. albicans at the MIC value. Animal model was used to evaluate the in vivo antifungal activity of SMCM seed extract. The colony forming unit (CFU) were calculated per gram of kidney sample and per ml of blood sample respectively for control, curative and ketaconazole treated groups. There was significant reduction for the CFU/ml of blood and CFU/g of kidney. This indicated that the extract was observed to be effective against C. albicans in vitro and in vivo conditions.
The protective effects of Mucuna pruriens seed extract (MPE) against the cardio-respiratory depressant and neuromuscular paralytic effects induced by injection of Calloselasma rhodostoma (Malayan pit viper) venom in anaesthetized rats were investigated. While MPE pretreatment did not reverse the inhibitory effect of the venom on the gastrocnemius muscle excitability, it significantly attenuated the venom-induced cardio-respiratory depressant effects (p < 0.05). The protection effects may have an immunological mechanism, as indicated by the presence of several proteins in the venom that are immunoreactive against anti-MPE. However, we cannot rule out the possibility that the pretreatment may exert a direct, non-immunological protective action against the venom.
Seed of Mucuna pruriens (Velvet beans) has been prescribed by traditional medicine practitioners in Nigeria as a prophylactic oral antisnake remedy. In the present studies, we investigated the protective effects of M. pruriens seed extract (MPE) against histopathological changes induced by intravenous injection of Naja sputatrix (Malayan cobra) venom in rats pretreated with the seed extract. Examination by light microscope revealed that the venom induced histopathological changes in heart and blood vessels in liver, but no effect on brain, lung, kidney and spleen. The induced changes were prevented by pretreatment of the rats with MPE. Our results suggest that MPE pretreatment protects rat heart and liver blood vessels against cobra venom-induced damages.
The present study was designed to evaluate the antibacterial activities of Swietenia mahagoni crude methanolic (SMCM) seed extract. The antimicrobial activity of the oily extract against Gram-positive, Gram-negative, yeast and fungus strains was evaluated based on the inhibition zone using disc diffusion assay, minimal inhibition concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) values. The crude extract was subjected to various phytochemicals analysis. The demonstrated qualitative phytochemical tests exhibited the presences of common phytocompounds including alkaloids, terpenoids, antraquinones, cardiac glycosides, saponins, and volatile oils as major active constituents. The SMCM seed extract had inhibitory effects on the growth of Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeroginosa, Streptococcus faecalis and Proteus mirabillase and illustrated MIC and MBC values ranging from 25 mg/ml to 50 mg/ml.
Trypanothione reductase is a key enzyme that upholds the redox balance in hemoflagellate protozoan parasites such as T. congolense. This study aims at unraveling the potency of Kolaviron against trypanothione reductase in T. congolense infection using Chrysin as standard. The experiment was performed using three different approaches; in silico, in vitro and in vivo. Kolaviron and Chrysin were docked against trypanothione reductase, revealing binding energies (-9.3 and -9.0 kcal/mol) and Ki of 0.211μM and 0.151μM at the active site of trypanothione reductase as evident from the observed strong hydrophobic/hydrogen bond interactions. Parasitized blood was used for parasite isolation and trypanothione reductase activity assay using standard protocol. Real-time PCR (qPCR) assay was implored to monitor expression of trypanothione reductase using primers targeting the 177-bp repeat satellite DNA in T. congolense with SYBR Green to monitor product accumulation. Kolaviron showed IC50 values of 2.64μg/ml with % inhibition of 66.78 compared with Chrysin with IC50 values of 1.86μg/ml and % inhibition of 53.80. In vivo studies following the administration of these compounds orally after 7 days post inoculation resulted in % inhibition of Chrysin (57.67) and Kolaviron (46.90). Equally, Kolaviron relative to Chrysin down regulated the expression trypanothione reductase gene by 1.352 as compared to 3.530 of the infected group, in clear agreement with the earlier inhibition observed at the fine type level. Overall, the findings may have unraveled the Kolaviron potency against Trypanosoma congolense infection in rats.
The objective of this study was to determine the effects of dietary supplementation of Nigella sativa L. seeds, Rosmarinus officinalis L. leaves and their combination on rumen metabolism, nutrient intake and digestibility, growth performance, immune response and blood metabolites in Dorper lambs. Twenty-four entire male Dorper lambs (18.68 ± 0.6 kg, 4-5 months old) were randomly assigned to a concentrate mixture containing on a dry matter basis either, no supplement (control, T1), 1% R. officinalis leaves (T2), 1% N. sativa seeds (T3) or 1% R. officinalis leaves +1% N. sativa seeds (T4). The lambs had ad libitum access to urea-treated rice straw (UTRS) and were raised for 90 days. Supplemented lambs had greater (P
Indian jujuba seed powder (IJSP) has been investigated as a low-cost and an eco-friendly biosorbent, prepared for the removal of Acid Blue 25 (AB25) from aqueous solution. The prepared biomaterial was characterized by using FTIR and scanning electron microscopic studies. The effect of operation variables, such as IJSP dosage, contact time, concentration, pH, and temperature on the removal of AB25 was investigated, using batch biosorption technique. Removal efficiency increased with increase of IJSP dosage but decreased with increase of temperature. The equilibrium data were analyzed by the Langmuir and the Freundlich isotherm models. The data fitted well with the Langmuir model with a maximum biosorption capacity of 54.95 mg g(-1). The pseudo-second-order kinetics was the best for the biosorption of AB25 by IJSP, with good correlation. Thermodynamic parameters such as standard free energy change (ΔG(0)), standard enthalpy changes (ΔH(0)), and standard entropy changes (ΔS(0)) were analyzed. The removal of AB25 from aqueous solution by IJSP was a spontaneous and exothermic adsorption process. The results suggest that IJSP is a potential low-cost and an eco-friendly biosorbent for the AB25 removal from synthetic AB25 wastewater.
Different parts of the medicinal plant Zanthoxylum budrunga Wall enjoy a variety of uses in ethnobotanical practice in Bangladesh. In the present study, a number of phytochemical and pharmacological investigations were done on the ethanol extract of Z. budrunga seeds (ZBSE) to evaluate its antinociceptive and antioxidant potential. ZBSE was also subjected to HPLC analysis to detect the presence of some common antioxidants. In acetic acid induced writhing test in mice, ZBSE showed 65.28 and 74.30% inhibition of writhing at the doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg and the results were statistically significant (P < 0.001). In hot-plate test, ZBSE raised the pain threshold significantly (P < 0.001) throughout the entire observation period. In DPPH scavenging assay, the IC50 of ZBSE was observed at 82.60 μg/mL. The phenolic content was found to be 338.77 mg GAE/100 g of dried plant material. In reducing power assay, ZBSE showed a concentration dependent reducing ability. HPLC analysis indicated the presence of caffeic acid with a concentration of 75.45 mg/100 g ZBSE. Present investigation supported the use of Zanthoxylum budrunga seed in traditional medicine for pain management. Constituents including caffeic acid and other phenolics might have some role in the observed activity.
The ethanol extract of B. javanica seed was fractionated with solvents of different polarities and tested for antioxidant activities by several assays including DPPH radical scavenging activity, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), ferrous ion chelating activity (FCA), and nitric oxide radical scavenging activity (NORSA) along with their polyphenolic contents. Antidiabetic activity was evaluated both in vitro and in vivo using a glycogen phosphorylase α (GPα) inhibition assay and oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in nondiabetic rats. The ethyl acetate fraction (EAF), rich in tannin, exhibited the strongest antioxidant activities to DPPH, FRAP, and NORSA, except for FCA. The EAF also exerted a dose-depended inhibition of GPα (IC50 = 0.75 mg/ml). Further evaluation of hypoglycemic effect on OGGT indicated that rats treated with EAF (125 mg/kg bw) showed a 39.91% decrease (P < 0.05) in blood glucose levels at 30 min, and continuous fall (P < 0.05) of 28.89% and 20.29% was observed in the following hours (60 and 90 min) compared to the normal control during OGTT. The EAF was applied to polyamide column chromatography, and the resulting tannin-free fraction was tested for both GPα inhibition and antioxidant (DPPH only) activity. The GP α inhibitory activity was retained, while antioxidant activity was lost (4.6-fold) after tannin removal. These results concluded that the GPα inhibitory activity initially detected was primarily due to the compounds other than tannins, whereas antioxidant activity was mainly due to the tannins.
Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) combined with multivariate calibration of partial least square (PLS) was developed and optimized for the analysis of Nigella seed oil (NSO) in binary and ternary mixtures with corn oil (CO) and soybean oil (SO). Based on PLS modeling performed, quantitative analysis of NSO in binary mixtures with CO carried out using the second derivative FTIR spectra at combined frequencies of 2977-3028, 1666-1739, and 740-1446 cm(-1) revealed the highest value of coefficient of determination (R (2), 0.9984) and the lowest value of root mean square error of calibration (RMSEC, 1.34% v/v). NSO in binary mixtures with SO is successfully determined at the combined frequencies of 2985-3024 and 752-1755 cm(-1) using the first derivative FTIR spectra with R (2) and RMSEC values of 0.9970 and 0.47% v/v, respectively. Meanwhile, the second derivative FTIR spectra at the combined frequencies of 2977-3028 cm(-1), 1666-1739 cm(-1), and 740-1446 cm(-1) were selected for quantitative analysis of NSO in ternary mixture with CO and SO with R (2) and RMSEC values of 0.9993 and 0.86% v/v, respectively. The results showed that FTIR spectrophotometry is an accurate technique for the quantitative analysis of NSO in binary and ternary mixtures with CO and SO.
The current study has been conducted to evaluate the effect of different processing techniques on the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging capacity and the gastroprotective potential of Chenopodium quinoa red seeds in acute gastric injury induced by absolute ethanol in rats. Seven groups of female Sprague Dawley rats were assigned to normal and absolute ethanol (absolute EtOH) groups, given distilled water, reference control omeprazole (OMP, 20 mg/kg), pressure-cooked quinoa seeds (QP, 200 mg/kg), first stage-germinated quinoa seeds (QG, 200 mg/kg), Lactobacillus plantarum bacteria-fermented quinoa seeds (QB, 200 mg/kg), and Rhizopus oligosporus fungus-fermented quinoa seeds (QF, 200 mg/kg). One hour after treatment, all groups were given absolute ethanol, except for the normal control rats. All animals were sacrificed after an additional hour, and the stomach tissues were examined for histopathology of hematoxylin and eosin staining, immunohistochemistry of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2), and nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). Stomach homogenates were evaluated for oxidative stress parameters and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). Gene expression was performed for gastric tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and nuclear factor kappa of B cells (NF-kB). QB and QG recorded the highest DPPH scavengers compared to QF and QP. The gastroprotective potential of QB was comparable to that of OMP, followed by QF, then QG, and QP as confirmed by the histopathology, immunohistochemistry, and gene expression assessments. In conclusion, differently processed red quinoa seeds revealed variable antioxidant capacity and gastroprotective potential, while the bacterial fermented seeds (QB) showed the highest potential compared to the other processing techniques. These results might offer promising new therapy in the treatment of acute gastric injury.
Pollutants, especially heavy metals like cadmium, Chromium, lead and mercury, play a significant role in causing various water-borne diseases to humans. This study evaluates the sorption properties of bioactive constituents of Moringa oleifera seeds for decontamination of cadmium at laboratory scale. The performance of the bioactive constituent extracted by salt extraction method was enhanced by process optimization with various concentration of bioactive dosages, agitation speed, contact time, pH and heavy metal concentrations. Statistical optimization was carried out for evaluating the polynomial regression model through effect of linear, quadratic and interaction of the factors. The maximum removal of cadmium was 72% by using 0.2 g/l of bioactive dosage.