Gas Chromatographic analysis of potentially bioactive compounds in leaf and root extracts of Muntingia calabura and their expected antibacterial activities

The study aimed to identify bioactive compounds in <i>Muntingia calabura</i> leaf and root methanolic extracts. The Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS) technique were used to identify bioactive compounds. GC-MS analysis revealed 38 compounds in the leaf and 15 compounds in the root methanolic extracts of <i>M. calabura</i>. The prime potent compound found in leaf extract is 2-{3-[(E)-2-(1H-indol-3-yl)ethenyl]-1,2,4-oxadiazol-5-yl}phenol with 5.78% peak area and cholest-4-en-6-on-3-ol is found in root extracts, has the highest 63.7% peak area and another potent compound Lupeol has 7.3% peak area. The bioactive compounds identified in <i>M. calabura</i> have antibacterial activity against various bacterial strains such as gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, which showed the efficacy of <i>in vivo</i> plant extracts. These findings validate the therapeutic potentiality of <i>M. calabura</i> leaf and root samples. Furthermore, these screened potential bioactive compounds can be used effectively for biomedical and therapeutic applications.

Uji Aktivitas Ekstrak Daun Dan Akar Singawalang (Petiveria alliaceae) Terhadap Penghambatan Tirosinase

Tyrosinase is an enzyme that plays a role in the formation of skin pigments from a person because it is involved in the process of melanogenesis. Tyrosinase plays a very important role in the skin depigmentation process, there are several attempts to inhibit the skin depigmentation process, one of which is by inhibiting tyrosinase. Research on the leaves and roots of singawalang (Petiveria alliacea) was conducted to determine the potential as a tyrosinase inhibitor. Leaves and root extracts of singawalang were macerated with ethanol, then tested for identification of secondary metabolites. Singawalang leaves extract contains alkaloids, tannins and terpenoids while singawalang root extract contains alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins and terpenoids. Tyrosinase inhibitory activity used the microplate reader ELISA technique at a wavelength of 492 nm. Tests were carried out on kojic acid as a comparison and L-DOPA as a substrate. The results of the tyrosinase inhibition activity test for the extracts of singawalang leaves, singawalang roots and kojic acid, IC50 were 9.817 mg / mL, 4.987 mg / mL and 0.092 mg / mL, respectively.

Morphology, microscopic anatomy and bacterial inhibition of extracts of Ludwigia adscendens (L.) H. Hara plants growing in Lang Sen Wetland Reserve, Long An province, Vietnam

The study aimed to supplement data on a plant that was considered a folk medicine of Vietnam. Morphological and microscopic anatomical characteristics of this species which were adapted to the frequently flooded habitat of the reserve was studied and analyzed. Alcoholic extracts of each stem, leaf and root part were recovered using a rotary evaporator. The inhibitory ability on bacterial strains including Bacillus cereus, B. subtilis and Escherichia coli was tested through agar plate diffusion method. The result showed that the stem and leaf extracts were effective against all three bacterial strains, while the root extracts had no effect against E. coli.

Contact Toxicity of Various Stemona Collinsiae Root Extracts Against Periplaneta Americana (Dictyoptera: Blattodea) And Detection of Didehydrostemofoline Distribution in Tissue Using MALDI Imaging Mass Spectrometry

Contact toxicity against Periplaneta americana has never been tested with S. collinsiae root extract. Hexane, dichloromethane, ethanol and water extracts were tested in final-instar nymphs and adult P. americana by topical application method. The dichloromethane extract showed the high-est potency of contact toxicity against the final-instar nymphs (41-100% corrected mortality at 48 hours), lowest LC50 (1.5&plusmn;0.2 %w/v at 48 hours), and lowest LT50 (36.1&plusmn;0.8 hours at 10%w/v) while the water crude extract lacked the contact toxicity (0-0% corrected mortality at 48 hours). Signs of toxicity, such as excited movement, trembling body, motionlessness, and swollen abdomen segment including irregularly extended foregut were found at the both stages of P. americana dropping with solutions of dichloromethane extract. Detection of didehydrostemofoline distri-bution using IMS revealed that didehydrostemofoline distributed in the tissue of the dead fi-nal-instar nymph and adult P. americana contacting with dichloromethane extract, but it was not found in tissue of euthanized P. americana which exposed to the water extract. Didehydrostemo-foline in the extract was a cause of toxicity signs and death of P. americana via a contact route. Thus, dichloromethane extract and didehydrostemofoline could be used as an active ingredient and chemical marker in aerosol and spray formulations for cockroach control.

In vivo and in silico Evaluation of Analgesic and Hypoglycemic Activities of Roots of Acacia nilotica, Azadirachta indica and Justica adhatoda

The present study focuses on the investigation of methanol extracts of roots of three indigenous plants of Bangladesh namely Acacia nilotica, Azadirachta indica and Justicia adhatoda to evaluate their analgesic and hypoglycemic activities in experimental animal model along with in silico modelling of several compounds present in the root extracts of these plants. Analgesic and hypoglycemic activities were evaluated in Swiss albino mice using acetic acid-induced writhing inhibition method and glucose tolerance test, respectively. In silico molecular docking and ADME study was conducted to assess the binding affinity with the target receptors and oral bioavailability of the compounds. The methanol extracts of A. nilotica, J. adhatoda and A. indica roots at a dose of 400 mg/kg body weight reduced the number of writhes by 61.53%, 54.61% and 47.69%, respectively compared to standard diclofenac sodium (70.77% at a dose of 50 mg/kg bw) (p<0.05). A. nilotica and A. indica root extracts showed significant hypoglycemic activity at a dose of 400 mg/kg bw (% reduction of blood glucose 43.66 and 37.55% respectively, p<0.001) and J. adhatoda root extract reduced the blood glucose level by 33.71% (p<0.001) compared to that of standard drug, glibenclamide (57.46% reduction of blood glucose) after 120 minutes of administration. Among the computationally tested compounds, flavan-3-ol showed the lowest binding energy (-8.7 kcal/mol) with both COX-1 and COX-2 compared to standard diclofenac sodium (-7.8 kcal/mol). On the other hand, quercetin demonstrated the lowest binding energy (-8.8 kcal/mol) with ATP-sensitive potassium channel with Sulfonylurea Receptor 1 subunit among the tested compounds compared to standard glibenclamide (-9.3 kcal/mol). All the compounds showed high oral bioavailability in ADME analysis. Among all the root extracts, A. nilotica exhibited the most promising analgesic and hypoglycemic activities and should be employed to future investigation for isolating specific chemical constituents. Dhaka Univ. J. Pharm. Sci. 20(2): 185-197, 2021 (December)

Avens Root (Geum Urbanum L.) Extract Discovered by Target-Based Screening Exhibits Antidiabetic Activity in the Hen’s Egg Test Model and Drosophila melanogaster

Medicinal plant extracts are becoming increasingly important as an alternative for traditional drugs against diabetes mellitus (DM). For this reason, we initialized a target-based screening of 111 root extracts from an open access plant extract library (PECKISH) by ascertaining their in-vitro inhibitory efficacy on α-glucosidase. The two most active extracts Geum urbanum L. (roseroot) and Rhodiola rosea L. (avens root) were further tested for their antidiabetic activities in terms of their impact on different regulatory key points of glucose homeostasis. To this end, various enzyme- and cell culture-based in-vitro assays were employed including the determination of sodium-dependent glucose transporter 1 (SGLT1) activity in Caco-2 monolayers by Ussing chambers and of glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) translocation in a GFP-reporter cell line. Subsequently, the antidiabetic potential of the root extracts were further evaluated in in-vivo models, namely hen’s eggs test and the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Avens root extract was found to be a more potent inhibitor of the enzymes α-glucosidase and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4) than roseroot extract. Most importantly, only avens root extract exhibited antidiabetic activity in the two in-vivo models eliciting a reduced blood glucose level in the in-ovo model and a decline of the triglyceride level in a dietary starch-induced D. melanogaster obesity model. Analyses of the polyphenolic composition of the avens root extract by HPLC revealed a high content of ellagic acid and its derivatives as well as ellagitannins such as pedunculagin, stenophyllanin, stachyurin, casuarinin and gemin A. In conclusion, avens root extract represents a promising medicinal plant that should be considered in further in-vivo studies on hyperglycemia in laboratory rodents and humans.

A Comparative Study on Anti-inflammatory Activity of Hydroethanolic of Leaf, Stem and Root Extracts of Tecoma stans

Background: Tecoma stans is an important medicinal plant. The major bioactive compounds like alkaloids, phenols, terpenoids, glycosides, flavonoids and saponins had been isolated from this plant. The leaves bark and roots contain biologically active chemicals, and extracts from those tissues are in use as traditional folk medicines. Inflammation is a biological response of the immune system that can be triggered by a variety of factors, including pathogens, damaged cells and toxic compounds. The aim of the study was to analyze the anti-inflammatory activity of hydroethanolic leaf, stem and root extracts of Tecoma stans. Materials and methods: All chemicals and reagents were bought by sigma Chemicals Company. Anti inflammatory activity of the three different parts (leaf, stem and root) the plant were analysed by an in-vitro protein denaturation inhibition assays and inhibition calculation on protein inhibition percentage was done by the formula % inhibition=100−(A1 -A2)/A0 )*100). Statistical analysis was done by ANOVA and Duncan's multiple range test. Results: After comparing the anti-inflammatory activity of the leaf root stem of Tecoma stans, the results were plotted in graphs through statistical analysis using ANOVA and Duncan's multiple range test. The results showed that the stem of the plant has maximum anti-inflammatory activity compared to leaf and root. Conclusion: A comparative study of the extract or stem, leaf and root shows that the stem portion of the plant contains maximum anti-inflammatory activity.