The Flora Diversity of Lasitae Protected Nature Forest and the Nearby Area, District of Barru, South Sulawesi

An expedition to Lasitae Protected Forest in District of Barru, South Sulawesi was undertaken to collect living plants for Pucak Botanic Garden, South Sulawesi. The aims were to investigate the diversity of the plants and as a dedication to the Expedition of the Republic of Indonesia Corridor Sulawesi. Using an explorative method, we collected the plants and recorded all data in the field following the tracks assisted by the field guide. A total of 179 collection-numbers have been collected from this dry lowland forest including the data for the local names. Many potential and valuable plants occur in the forest, 13 plants were highlighted in this paper for its conservation status, the potentiality for various purposes or its uniqueness: Diospyros celebica Bakh. or streak ebony (Ebenaceae), Arenga pinnata (Wurmb.) Merr. (Arecaceae), Phyllanthus lamprophyllus Mull.Arg. (Phyllanthaceae), Cycas rumphii Miq. (Cycadaceae), Lagerstroemia speciosa (L.) Pers. (Lythraceae), Garcinia celebica L. (Clusiaceae), Nervilia aragoana Gaud. (Orchidaceae), Phalaenopsis amabilis (L.) Blume (Orchidaceae), Ophioglossum reticulatum L. (Ophioglossaceae), Tetracera scandens (L.) Merr. (Dilleniaceae), Derris trifoliata Lour., Phytocrene bracteata Wall. (Icacinaceae), and Dioscorea hispida Dennst. Buchanania arborescens (Blume) Blume and Ardisia elliptica Thunb. can easily be found and widely spread.

Biological Activities of Selected Plants and Detection of Bioactive Compounds from Ardisia elliptica Using UHPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry

Plants and plant-based products have been used for a long time for medicinal purposes. This study aimed to determine the antioxidant and anti-α-glucosidase activities of eight selected underutilized plants in Malaysia: Leucaena leucocephala, Muntingia calabura, Spondias dulcis, Annona squamosa, Ardisia elliptica, Cynometra cauliflora, Ficus auriculata, and Averrhoa bilimbi. This study showed that the 70% ethanolic extract of all plants exhibited total phenolic content (TPC) ranging from 51 to 344 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g dry weight. A. elliptica showed strong 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and nitric oxide (NO) scavenging activities, with half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of 2.17 and 49.43 μg/mL, respectively. Most of the tested plant extracts showed higher inhibition of α-glucosidase enzyme activity than the standard, quercetin, particularly A. elliptica, F. auriculata, and M. calabura extracts with IC50 values of 0.29, 0.36, and 0.51 μg/mL, respectively. A total of 62 metabolites including flavonoids, triterpenoids, benzoquinones, and fatty acids were tentatively identified in the most active plant, i.e., A. elliptica leaf extract, by using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC)–electrospray ionization (ESI) Orbitrap MS. This study suggests a potential natural source of antioxidant and α-glucosidase inhibitors from A. elliptica.

Five new species of Notosacantha Chevrolat (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae) from Borneo, with a key to the Bornean species and new faunistic data

Five new species of Notosacantha are described from Borneo (Sabah): N. flaviventris Borowiec and Takizawa sp. nov. (also described from Sumatra), N. flavosuturata Świętojańska and Takizawa sp. nov., N. minuta Świętojańska and Takizawa sp. nov., N. obscuricornis Borowiec and Takizawa sp. nov. and N. ovoidea Borowiec and Świętojańska sp. nov. New records for nine other species, a check list and key to Bornean Notosacantha are given. Myrsinaceae and Myristicaceae are new host plant families for tortoise beetles and Ardisia elliptica Thunb., Ardisia sp., Embelia sp., Gironiema sp. (all Myrsinaceae) and Knema sp. (Myristicaceae) are new host plants for Notosacantha.