Archana Mehta

In vitro antioxidant activity and total phenolic content of ethanolic leaf extract of Stevia rebaudiana Bert.

The aim of this study was to assess the in vitro potential of ethanolic leaf extract of Stevia rebaudiana as a natural antioxidant. The DPPH activity of the extract (20, 40, 50, 100 and 200 microg/ml) was increased in a dose dependent manner, which was found in the range of 36.93-68.76% as compared to ascorbic acid 64.26-82.58%. The IC(50) values of ethanolic extract and ascorbic acid in DPPH radical scavenging assay were obtained to be 93.46 and 26.75 microg/ml, respectively. The ethanolic extract was also found to scavenge the superoxide generated by EDTA/NBT system. Measurement of total phenolic content of the ethanolic extract of S. rebaudiana was achieved using Folin-Ciocalteau reagent containing 61.50 mg/g of phenolic content, which was found significantly higher when compared to reference standard gallic acid. The ethanolic extract also inhibited the hydroxyl radical, nitric oxide, superoxide anions with IC(50) values of 93.46, 132.05 and 81.08 microg/ml, respectively. However, the IC(50) values for the standard ascorbic acid were noted to be 26.75, 66.01 and 71.41 microg/ml respectively. The results obtained in this study clearly indicate that S. rebaudiana has a significant potential to use as a natural antioxidant agent.

Antioxidant activity and total phenolic content of ethanolic extract of Caesalpinia bonducella seeds

The aim of this study was to assess the in vitro potential of ethanolic extract of Caesalpinia bonducella seeds as a natural antioxidant. The DPPH activity of the extract (20, 40, 50, 100 and 200 microg/ml) was increased in a dose dependent manner, which was found in the range of 38.93-74.77% as compared to ascorbic acid (64.26-82.58%). The IC(50) values of ethanolic extract and ascorbic acid in DPPH radical scavenging assay were obtained to be 74.73 and 26.68 microg/ml, respectively. The ethanolic extract was also found to scavenge the superoxide generated by EDTA/NBT system. Measurement of total phenolic content of the ethanolic extract of C. bonducella was achieved using Folin-Ciocalteau reagent containing 62.50mg/g of phenolic content, which was found significantly higher when compared to reference standard gallic acid. The ethanolic extract also inhibited the hydroxyl radical, nitric oxide, superoxide anions with IC(50) values of 109.85, 102.65 and 89.84 microg/ml, respectively. However, the IC(50) values for the standard ascorbic acid were noted to be 70.79, 65.98 and 36.68 microg/ml respectively. The results obtained in this study clearly indicate that C. bonducella has a significant potential to use as a natural antioxidant agent.

Antioxidant ability and total phenolic content of aqueous leaf extract of Stevia rebaudiana Bert.

In the present study, we carried out a systematic research on relative antioxidant activity of aqueous leaf extract of Stevia rebaudiana. The DPPH activity of aqueous leaf extract (20, 40, 50, 100 and 200 μg/ml) was increased in a dose dependent manner, which was found in the range of 40.00-72.37% as compared to ascorbic acid 64.26-82.58%. The IC(50) values of aqueous extract and ascorbic acid in DPPH radical scavenging assay were obtained to be 83.45 and 26.75 μg/ml, respectively. Measurement of total phenolic content of the aqueous leaf extract of S. rebaudiana was achieved using Folin-Ciocalteau reagent containing 56.73 mg/g of phenolic content, which was found significantly potent when compared to reference standard gallic acid. The aqueous extract also inhibited the hydroxyl radical, nitric oxide and superoxide anions with IC(50) values of 100.86, 98.73 and 100.86 μg/ml, respectively. The greater amount of phenolic compounds leads to more potent radical scavenging effects as shown by the aqueous leaf extract of S. rebaudiana.

Immunomodulatory activities of the ethanolic extract of Caesalpinia bonducella seeds.

UNLABELLED Caesalpinia bonducella FLEMING (Caesalpiniaceae) is a plant well known for its medicinal value in Indian Ayurveda. However, to prove its efficiency for the clinical utilization, more experimental data will be beneficial. AIMS OF THE STUDY The present study involved the investigation of immunomodulatory activities of ethanolic extract of Caesalpinia bonducella seeds. MATERIALS AND METHODS Neutrophil adhesion test, haemagglutinating antibody (HA) titre, delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) response, phagocytic activity and cyclophosphamide-induced myelosuppression were determined by in vivo experiments. RESULTS The evaluation of immunomodulatory potential by oral administration of ethanolic seed extract of Caesalpinia bonducella (200-500 mg/kg) evoked a significant increase in percent neutrophil adhesion to nylon fibers as well as a dose-dependent increase in antibody titre values, and potentiated the delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction induced by sheep red blood cells. Also it prevented myelosuppression in cyclophosphamide drug treated rats and good response towards phagocytosis in carbon clearance assay. CONCLUSIONS The results obtained in this study indicate that Caesalpinia bonducella possesses potential immunomodulatory activity and has therapeutic potential for the prevention of autoimmune diseases.

Studies on anti-inflammatory, antipyretic and analgesic properties of Caesalpinia bonducella F. seed oil in experimental animal models

Caesalpinia bonducella FLEMING (Caesalpiniaceae) plant is well known for its medicinal and therapeutic values in Indian Ayurveda. However, to be clinically useful, more scientific data are needed. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated the effects of C. bonducella seed oil on acute and chronic inflammation. To assess the anti-inflammatory, antipyretic and analgesic activities, varied concentrations of the seed oil of C. bonducella (100, 200 and 400mg/kg orally) were tested in carrageenan-induced rat paw oedema, brewers yeast-induced pyrexia, acetic acid-induced writhing and hot plate reaction time in experimental rats. The paw volumes, pyrexia and writhes in experimental rats were reduced significantly (p<0.05) as compared to that of control, and hot plate test showed significant licking effect in rats. These results clearly indicate that the oil of C. bonducella seeds could be a potential source for using as anti-inflammatory, antipyretic and analgesic agent.

Anticancer potential of medicinal plants and their phytochemicals: a review

In recent years, medicinal plants have attracted huge attention due to their diverse range of biological and therapeutic properties. Evidences have been accumulated since ages to demonstrate promising potential of medicinal plants used in various traditional, complementary, and alternative systems especially for cancer treatment. Although several medicines are available in the market to treat various types of cancers, no drug is found to be fully effective and safe as anticancer therapy. The major problem in the cancer chemotherapy is the prolonged toxicity of the well-established chemical drugs. However, plants and plant-derived products have been proved effective and safe in the treatment and management of various cancers to some extent. Many natural products and their analogs have been identified as potent anticancer agents, and anticancer properties of various plants or phytochemicals are being identified. Several plant-based anticancer agents including taxol, vinblastine, vincristine, camptothecin derivatives, topotecan, and irinotecan, as well as epipodophyllotoxins, are in clinical use all over the world. This review focuses on the application of medicinal plants and their phytochemicals as natural anticancer substances. In addition, this review will also discuss the Ayurvedic concept of using medicinal plants and their phytochemicals in traditional way for the treatment of various types of cancers. Further, a brief description will be given on the anticancer mode of action of various medicinal plants and their phytochemicals to understand the mechanisms at molecular level that alter growth and metabolism in cancer cells. Finally, this review will summarize the significance and innovative ways on using medicinal plants and their phytochemicals in anticancer therapy along with their future prospective in the treatment of cancer and related diseases.

In vitro kinetics and antifungal activity of various extracts of Terminalia chebula seeds against plant pathogenic fungi

The aim of the present study was to examine the efficacy of various seed extracts of Terminalia chebula as an antifungal potential against certain important plant pathogenic fungi. The organic extracts of methanol, ethyl acetate and chloroform at the used concentration of 1500 ppm/disc revealed remarkable antifungal effect as a fungal mycelial growth inhibitor against Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium solani, Phytophthora capsici and Botrytis cinerea, in the range of 41.6–61.3%, along with MIC values ranging from 62.5 to 500 μg/ml. Also, the extracts had a strong detrimental effect on spore germination of all the tested plant pathogens along with concentration as well as time-dependent kinetic inhibition of B. cinerea. The results obtained from this study suggest that the natural products derived from Terminalia chebula could become an alternative to synthetic fungicides for controlling such important plant pathogenic fungi.

In vivo immunomodulatory activities of the aqueous extract of bonduc nut Caesalpinia bonducella seeds.

This study evaluated the in vivo immunomodulatory activities of the aqueous extract of Caesalpinia bonducella Fleming (Caesalpiniaceae) seeds. C. bonducella is a plant widely used in the traditional medicinal systems of India. In the present investigation, the aqueous extract of C. bonducella seeds was tested for its effect on cell mediated and humoral components of the immune system in rats. Administration of C. bonducella seed extract produced an increase of 93.03 ± 4 mean hemagglutinating antibody (HA) titer and a change of 0.56 ± 0.058 mm in delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) as compared to control at a dose of 400 mg/kg body weight. Thus, the results of this study indicate that C. bonducella extract could be a promising immunostimulatory agent.

Antibacterial activity of leaf extracts of Pongamia pinnata from India.

This study was designed to examine the efficacy of various organic extracts derived from the leaves of Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre (Fabaceae) for antibacterial potential against some representative food spoilage and food-borne pathogenic bacteria. The organic extracts of chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol, at a concentration of 2500 μg/mL, exhibited a promising antibacterial effect against Bacillus subtilis ATCC6633, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC6538, Listeria monocytogenes ATCC19118, L. monocytogenes ATCC19166, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC6432 and Salmonella typhimurium ATCC2512. The zones of inhibition of various leaf extracts against the tested bacterial pathogens were found in the range of 8.1 to  18 mm, along with their respective MIC values, ranging from 125 to 1000 μg/mL. The chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts displayed significantly higher antibacterial activity as compared to streptomycin. The results of this study suggest that P. pinnata may have potential use in food industry as an antimicrobial agent, as well as pharmaceutical interest.

Phytochemical Screening and Anthelmintic and Antifungal Activities of Leaf Extracts of Stevia rebaudiana

The aim of this study was to assess the phytochemical screening of various extracts of Stevia rebaudiana leaves. Further, the alcohol and aqueous extracts were subjected to determine their in vitro anthelmintic and antifungal activities against P. posthuma and A. galli earthworms as well as plant pathogenic fungi B. cinerea and F. oxysporum, respectively. The alcoholic and aqueous extracts of S. rebuadiana contained steroids, glycosides, tannis, alkaloids and saponnis like phytochemicals. Both alcoholic and aqueous extracts (25-100 mg/ml) exhibited significant anthelmintic activity at the used concentrations involving determination of paralysis and death time of the tested worms. Also the aqueous and ethanolic extracts (1 mg/disc each) exerted potent antifungal activity as a radial growth inhibition percentage against the tested plant pathogens B. cinerea (64.2 and 67.5 %) and F. oxysporum (65.3 and 73.6 %), whereas the MIC values of the tested extracts were found in the range of 1 to 3 mg/ml.