Effects of Peganum harmala L. Seed Extract on Culex pipiens (Diptera: Culicidae)

Mosquito-borne diseases result in the loss of life and economy, primarily in subtropical and tropical countries, and the emerging resistance to insecticides is increasing this threat. Botanical insecticides are promising substitutes for synthetic insecticides. This study evaluated the larvicidal and growth index of Culex pipiens of four solvent extracts of Terminalia chebula, Aloe perryi, and Peganum harmala against Cx. pipiens. None of the 12 extracts exhibited larvicidal potential against third instars except the ethyl acetate extract of P. harmala. After 24 h of exposure, the LC50 value was 314.88 ppm, and the LC90 value was 464.19 ppm. At 320 ppm, the hatchability was 25.83%, and it resulted in 100% mortality. In addition, the eggs treated with the EtOAc extract of P. Harmala exhibited a long larval period compared with the control. The larval period continued for 12 days, and the pupal period took three days in the treatment groups. The growth index data also exhibited a decrease (0.00–7.53) in the treated groups compare with 8.5 in the control. The transformation of eggs into adults decreased with increasing concentrations. This paper is the first report on the development and growth index of Cx. pipiens potential using P. harmala seeds.

Five New Terpenes with Cytotoxic Activity from Pestalotiopsis sp.

Five new compounds called Pestalotis A–E (1–5), comprising three monoterpene-lactone compounds (1–3), one tetrahydrobenzofuran derivative (4), and one sesquiterpene (5), were isolated from the EtOAc extract of Pestalotiopsis sp. The structures of the new compounds were elucidated by analysis of their NMR, HRMS, and ECD spectra, and the absolute configurations were established through the comparison of experimental and calculated ECD spectra. All compounds were tested for antitumor activity against SW-480, LoVo, HuH-7, and MCF-7. The results showed that compounds 2 and 4 exhibited potent antitumor activity against SW-480, LoVo, and HuH-7 cell lines. Furthermore, compound 4 was assessed against HuH-7, and the results indicated that the rate of apoptosis was dose-dependent.

Chemical Components of Fungus Comb from Indo-Malayan Termite Macrotermes gilvus Hagen Mound and Its Bioactivity against Wood-Staining Fungi

Recently, the architectural and physical properties of the fungus comb from subterranean termite Macrotermes gilvus Hagen (Isoptera: Termitidae) mounds had been studied and it is important to determine its chemical profile as well as to evaluate its anti-staining-fungi activity. The results showed that fungus comb of M. gilvus has a high crude ash (30.57%), fiber (25.46%), starch (7.76%), protein (5.80%, 5.53% amino acid), acid-insoluble ash (3.45%), and fat (0.73%). It also contained phenol hydroquinone, steroids, terpenoids, and saponin compounds. Seventeen amino acids were identified via high-performance liquid chromatography analysis, of which arginine, leucine, glutamate, and aspartic acid were the majority. According to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis, the n-hexane extract consists of several types of fatty acid derivatives. Meanwhile, the ethyl acetate (EtOAc) extracts were primarily phenol groups with 1,2,3-propanetriol (glycerol) at the highest relative concentration. Four fungus-comb extracts (n-hexane, EtOAc, MeOH, and water) inhibited the Aspergillus foetidus fungus, with inhibition rates ranging from 24.17% to 100% and EtOAc extract as the most active extract. It appears that EtOAc extracts from the M. gilvus fungus comb can be considered an active ingredient source of novel organic fungicide in preventing wood-staining fungi attacks on susceptible wood.

Antibacterial Screening of Endophytic Fungus Xylaria sp. derived from Andrographis paniculata (Sambiloto)

AIM: The purpose of this research is to evaluate the antibacterial activity of endophytic fungi derived from the flowers of Andrographis paniculata (Sambiloto). METHODS: The endophytic fungi were obtained following the dilution method with potato dextrose agar as media. Four isolates of fungi have been obtained and then fermented with rice media for 3 weeks. The fermented fungi were extracted with ethyl acetate (EtOAc) and evaporated to yield the EtOAc extract. All EtOAc extracts were evaluated for their antibacterial activity using agar diffusion method. RESULTS: The results indicated that the EtOAc extract from fungus RG-2 was the potential source of antibacterial compounds. Molecular identification showing fungus RG-2 was Xylaria sp. CONCLUSION: Further investigation of the antibacterial compounds produced by fungus Xylaria sp. derived from the flowers of A. paniculata will be performed in the future. To the best of our knowledge, endophytic fungal Xylaria sp. is firstly isolated from A. paniculata.

Inhibitory Activity of Shrimp Waste Extracts on Fungal and Oomycete Plant Pathogens

(1) Background: This study was aimed at determining the in vitro inhibitory effect of new natural substances obtained by minimal processing from shrimp wastes on fungi and oomycetes in the genera Alternaria, Colletotrichum, Fusarium, Penicillium, Plenodomus and Phytophthora; the effectiveness of the substance with the highest in vitro activity in preventing citrus and apple fruit rot incited by P. digitatum and P. expansum, respectively, was also evaluated. (2) Methods: The four tested substances, water-extract, EtOAc-extract, MetOH-extract and nitric-extract, were analyzed by HPLC-ESI-MS-TOF; in vitro preliminary tests were carried out to determine the minimal inhibitory/fungicidal concentrations (MIC and MFC, respectively) of the raw dry powder, EtOAc-extract, MetOH-extract and nitric-extract for each pathogen. (3) Results: in the agar-diffusion-assay, nitric-extract showed an inhibitory effect on all pathogens, at all concentrations tested (100, 75, 50 and 25%); the maximum activity was on Plenodomus tracheiphilus, C. gloeosporioides and Ph. nicotianae; the diameters of inhibition halos were directly proportional to the extract concentration; values of MIC and MFC of this extract for all pathogens ranged from 2 to 3.5%; the highest concentrations (50 to 100%) tested in vivo were effective in preventing citrus and apple fruit molds. (4) Conclusions: This study contributes to the search for natural and ecofriendly substances for the control of pre- and post-harvest plant pathogens.

Antioxidant activity and bioactive compounds of extracts from the Algerian plant Moltkia ciliata

In the present study, we reported the evaluation of antioxidant properties using electrochemical and spectrophotometric assays and determination of total bioactive compounds content of the ethyl acetate (EtOAc) and n-butanol (n-BuOH) extracts of Moltkia ciliata growing in Algeria. The results obtained showed that the EtOAc extract was rich in bioactive compounds, which showed the most effective antioxidant capacity in all tests compared to the n-BuOH extract. This was confirmed by the chromatographic analysis and HPLC of the extract of many compounds in different quantities. The difference in antioxidant activity can be explained by differences in the levels of polyphenols and flavonoids. The study concludes this plant is a rich source of phenols and flavonoids, and also showed good in-vitro antioxidant activity by all methods. Thus, the plant M. ciliata can be explored as a potential source of natural antioxidant.

Solid State Fermentation of Shrimp Shell Waste Using Pseudonocardia carboxydivorans 18A13O1 to Produce Bioactive Metabolites

Marine actinomycetes are prolific microorganisms; however, knowledge of their diversity, distribution, and secondary metabolites is limited. Marine actinomycetes represent an untapped source of novel bioactive compounds. In this study, we investigated shrimp shell as substrates for model production bioactive metabolites from actinomycetes under solid state fermentation (SSF) conditions. A total of fifteen actinomycetes were isolated from six sponges and one tunicate. The isolated actinomycetes were grown on solid shrimp shells. Cultures of actinomycetes were extracted with ethyl acetate (EtOAc) and extracts were bioassayed for activity against Staphylococcus aureus. One isolate 18A13O1 from the sponge, Rhabdastrella globostellata, exhibited antibacterial activity on primary screening compared to the other samples and was chosen for further study. Visualization using SEM showed aerial and substrate mycelia. Through phylogenetic analysis, it was confirmed that isolate 18A13O1 is a Pseudonocardia carboxydivorans. Purification of an EtOAc extract yielded A13B2, which showed a minimum inhibition concentration against S. aureus at 15.6 μg/mL. It can be concluded that this basic information is very important for further studies related to the development of the production of bioactive secondary metabolites through the solid state fermentation process.

Construction of a “Bacteria-Metabolites” Co-Expression Network to Clarify the Anti–Ulcerative Colitis Effect of Flavonoids of Sophora flavescens Aiton by Regulating the “Host–Microbe” Interaction

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is considered an immune disease, which is related to the dysbiosis of intestinal microbiota and disorders of the host immune system and metabolism. Sophora flavescens Aiton has been used for the clinical treatment of UC in China and East Asia for thousands of years. It has many traditional prescriptions and modern preparations, and its curative effects are definite. We are the first to report that the flavonoids in Sophora flavescens (S. flavescens) Aiton EtOAc extract (SFE) could potentially attenuate the dextran sodium sulfate–induced UC in mice, which changed the current understanding of considering alkaloids as the only anti-UC pharmacological substances of S. flavescens Aiton. Based on the 16S rRNA gene sequencing and metabolomic analysis, it was found that the anti-UC effects of SFE were due to the regulation of gut microbiota, reversing the abnormal metabolisms, and regulation of the short-chain fatty acids synthesis. Notably, according to the interaction networks of specific bacteria and “bacteria and metabolites” co-expression network, the SFE could enrich the abundance of the commensal bacterium Lactobacillus, Roseburia, norank_f__Muribaculaceae, Anaerotruncus, Candidatus_Saccharimona, and Parasutterella, which are proposed as potentially beneficial bacteria, thereby playing vital roles in the treatment of UC.

Cussonia arborea Hochst (Araliaceae): Ethnobotany, Pharmacology and Phytochemistry

Background: C. arborea belonging to Araliaceae family is used traditionally to cure many alien diseases including gonorrhoeae infection, diarrhea, malaria, and diabetes mellitus. The plant has been examined on the basis of scientific in vitro and in vivo evaluations possessing the major pharmacological activities including antimicrobial, antibacterial, antihyperglycemic, antiplasmodial and anticancer properties. Aim of the study: In the present paper, we reported the isolation and characterization of secondary metabolites from the methanol extract of the stem bark of Cussonia arborea Hochst after a short review of the traditional and pharmacological studies done on this important medicinal plant. Materials and methods: MeOH extract of stem bark of C. arborea was suspended in water and successively extracted with EtOAc and n-BuOH. The EtOAc extract (18 g) was subjected to repeated column chromatography to yield seven (1-7) compounds. Their structures were determined by means of NMR, and published data. Results: The isolated compounds were identified as: protocatechuic acid (1), mixture of 3,23-dihydroxyolean-12-en-28-oic acid (2a) and 3,23-dihydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid (2b) in ratio 5/4, 3-O-β-D-xylopyranosylolean-12-en-28-oic acid (3), 3-O-α-L-arabinopyranosylolean-12-en-28-oic acid (4), β-resorcylic acid (5), mixture of 3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-23-hydroxyolean-12-en-28-oic acid (6a) and 3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-23-hydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid (6b) in ration 4/1, 3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-α-L-arabinopyranosyl-3β-hydroxyolean-12-en-28-oic acid (7). Compounds 3, 4, 5, 7, 2b and 6b are herein reported for the first time in this plant

A Sesquiterpene Aldehyde Isolated From Ethyl Acetate Extract of Lansium Domesticum Fruit Peel

Lansium domesticum (fam. Meliaceae) contains various compounds with various biological activities. Based on the previous research, extracts from several parts of the plant have biological activity. This study aimed to isolate a compound from the fruitpeel of L. domesticum and evaluate cytotoxic activity against T47D, WiDr and HepG2 cell lines. Powdered peels were macerated with ethyl acetate and the filtrate was evaporated to give EtOAc extract. Dried extract was triturated with n-hexane to give n-hexane soluble fraction (A) and insoluble fraction (B). The fraction B was separated using vacuum column chromatography (VLC) with mobile phase n-hexane: ethyl acetate and given 5 fractions. Fractions B3-B5 were combined and separated using VLC with n-hexane and ethyl acetate as mobile phase. This VLC separation gave 18 subractions, subfractions 6-9 with the similar TLC profile were combined. This subfraction was separated further using preparative thin layer chromatography to give compound 1. The Isolated compound (1) appeared as liquid. The chemical structure of 1 was identified acoording to spectroscopic data and comparison with literature. Cytotoxic bioassay was performed on T-47D, WiDr and Hep G2 cell lines in a series of concentrations at 50, 40, 30, 20, 10 and 5µg/mL, with Doxorubicine used as positive control. According to spectroscopic data, compound 1 was identified as 2-ethyl,3-(1’-hydroxy-2’-menthene) propenal, and demonstrate the strongest cytotoxicity against T-47D cell lines (IC50=39.18+1.54 µg/mL).