Palanisami Eganathan

Growth Inhibitory Activity of Fatty Acid Methyl Esters in the Whole Seed Oil of Madagascar Periwinkle (Apocyanaceae) Against Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

ABSTRACT Crude hexane and water extracts of Catharanthus roseus Linn. (Syn: Vinca rosea) (Apocyanaceae) stem, leaf, and seed exhibited pesticidal activity against Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). The extracts differed significantly in their efficacy, with the crude hexane extract of whole seed being the most effective in curtailing pupal survivorship to 18% followed by the hexane extracts of leaf (21%) and stem (24%). Average pupal weight (68.2 mg) and length (1.5 cm) in the whole seed treatment were drastically reduced, compared with the controls (415.2 mg and 2.72 cm), subsequently reducing adult emergence to 15.7%. SiO2 column purification yielded eight fractions of which fraction 1 exhibited 90% larval mortality, with severe reduction of the larvae weight (12.7 mg) and length (1.5 cm). Gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis of fraction 1 suggested the presence of 16 compounds, among which oleic, linoleic, palmitic, and margaric acids were detected as major constituents. Presence of the alkane hydrocarbons triacontane, tetracosane, and heptacosane also was noted.

Chemical Composition of Leaf Essential Oil of Syzygium densiflorum Wall. ex Wt. & Arn.- A Vulnerable Tree Species

Abstract Syzygium densiflorum is a tree species categorized as a vulnerable species in the IUCN red list of threatened species. Fresh leaf samples of S. densiflorum were collected from a wild tree and essential oil fraction was extracted by hydrodistillation process and the compounds were identified using GC-MS analysis. A total of 84 compounds were identified among which β-maaliene (17.43 %), isoledene (12.46 %), α-gurjunene (10.44 %), β-elemene (9.9 %) and β-vatirenene (8.50 %) were major constituents.

Chemical Composition, Antimicrobial, Antioxidant and Anticancer Activity of Leaves of Syzygium benthamianum (Wight ex Duthie) Gamble

Abstract The study was carried out on antimicrobial, antioxidant and anticancer activity of Syzygium benthamianum leaf extract. Chemical compositions of the leaf were analysed using GC/MS technique. A total of 24 compounds were identified among which 4-(4-ethylcyclohexyl)-1-pentyl-Cyclohexene (24.07 %) and Linoleic acid (15.16 %) are the major constituents. Antimicrobial activity of the leaf was observed on six bacterial and three fungal species, whose MIC values ranged from 100 to 500 μg/ml. At higher concentration, the extract exhibits higher scavenging activity (94.7 %) that was comparable with standard BHT. It was also observed that the leaf sample were able to effectively inhibit the growth of Hep 2 cells.

In vitro regeneration from different ages of petioles of physic nut (Jatropha curcas L.)

Jatropha curcas L. is an important non-edible oil yielding plant growing in wasteland and dry lands. The experiment was conducted to study the plant regeneration of J. curcas from different ages of petioles. Petioles explant grown on Murashige and Skoog’s (MS) medium supplemented with 1 mg/l α-naphthalene acetic acid and 0.2 mg/l kinetin showed the highest frequency of callus induction and the same medium was found to be best suited for callus growth in 1st petiole. Percent of somatic embryo formation was higher (35.16%) from the 1st petiole explant on 0.5 mg/l thidiazuron with 0.4 mg/l gibberellic acid. MS medium supplemented with 1 mg/l N 6 -benzylaminopurine, 0.5 mg/l indole-3-acetic acid, 0.25 mg/l kinetin recorded the higher somatic embryo germination percentage (66.85%). MS basal medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/l thidiazuron, 0.1 mg/l N 6 -benzylaminopurine, 0.4 mg/l gibberellic acid was found to be best medium for shoot elongation. Among the auxins tested, the higher frequency of root formation was observed in MS medium supplemented with 0.3 mg/l α-naphthalene acetic acid compared to indole-3-butyric acid and indole-3-acetic acid. The survival rate of in vitro rooted plantlets was dependent on the type of explant source and it varies from 47 to 60%. Keywords: Euphorbiaceae, petiole, callus, indirect organogenesis, biodiesel, plant growth regulator African Journal of Biotechnology , Vol. 13(2), pp. 265-273, 8 January, 2014

Chemical Composition of Syzygium benthamianum (Wt. ex Duthie) Gamble Essential oil - An endemic and Vulnerable Tree Species

Fresh leaf material of Syzygium benthamianum a vulnerable tree species endemic to India, was steam distillation and analyzed by GC-MS for its chemical composition. The essential oil contained a total of 63 compounds. The major compounds obtained were sitosteryl acetate (11.83 %), stigmastan-3,5,22trien (7.0 %), 2,6-dimethyl-2-octene (6.99 %), estra-1,3,5(10)-trien-17.beta.-ol (6.3 %), ergosta-4,7,22-trien3.beta-ol (5.19 %), 1-methylcholest-1,3,5(10)-trien-3-ol (5.06 %) and a number of other minor compounds. This is the first report of essential oil chemical composition from leaf materials of S. benthamianum from India.

Comparative histochemical localization of secondary metabolites in seed-raised and in vitro propagated plants of Excoecaria agallocha Linn. (Euphorbiaceae), the milky mangrove tree of historical significance.

Mangroves synthesize novel secondary chemicals that are poorly understood. Among the euphorbiaceous mangrove species, Excoecaria agallocha Linn. produces novel terpenoids and alkaloids of medicinal importance. We conducted a comparative tissue level histochemical study of E. agallocha L. to determine whether in vitro propagation alters the content of phytochemicals within the plant parts. Transverse sections of the root, stem and leaves of seed-raised saplings and in vitro propagated plants stained with 10% vanillin-perchloric acid revealed accumulation of terpenoids in the cork cambium. Alkaloids were localized using Dragendorfs reagent in the cortex of the root sections as brown layers. Methylene blue staining revealed that seed-raised plants possessed more lignified cells, distinct latex ducts and ellipsoidal guard cells compared to the plants propagated in vitro, which revealed abnormal, circular guard cells. The phytochemical content of E. agallocha propagated by the in vitro method was comparable to the seed-raised plants. Phytochemical studies of the species of E. agallocha propagated in vitro would confirm whether the species could be used for its medicinal compounds.

GC-MS Analysis, Antimicrobial, Scavenging Ability and Cytotoxic Activity of Leaves of Syzygium calophyllifolium Walp

The Syzygium calophyllifolium is a large evergreen tree growing in higher altitude in Southern Western Ghats, India. The ethyl acetate extract of leaves contain higher proportions of sesquiterpenoids and triterpenoid compounds that showed effective antimicrobial screening against some of bacterial and fungal strains. The extract showed maximum inhibition zones against Enterococcus faecalis and Trichophyton mentagrophytes. The extract also showed notable antioxidant activity and at higher concentration scavenged 81.45 % of free radicals. A potent cytotoxicity has been exhibited by the extract, showing increased activity with increasing concentration. The study suggests that leaves of Syzygium calophyllifolium may be a prominent source of several medicinally important natural compounds.

Antimicrobial Activity of Syzygium stocksii (Duthie) Gamble and Syzygium densiflorum Wall. ex Wt. & Arn. leaves

Abstract Leaf extracts of Syzygium stocksii and Syzygium densiflorum were screened for their antimicrobial activity by disc diffusion method. Ethyl acetate extract of these plants were studied using six bacterial strains (Pseudomonas aeroginosa, Proteus vulgaris, Klebsiella pneumonia, Escherishia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis) and three fungal species (Aspergillus niger, Alternaria alternata and Pencillium chrysogenum). The extracts showed higher activity against pathogenic bacteria whereas the fungal species were more resistant. MICs and MLCs were also determined for the bacterial species.

Essential Oil Composition from Seedlings of Jatropha curcas L

Abstract The essential oil chemical composition of leaf, stem, petiole and root of Jatropha curcas seedlings isolated by hydrodistillation extraction were determined by Gas Chromatography and Mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Phytol (47.42 %), pinane (7.10 %) and n-eicosane-(6.98 %) in leaf, 1-butoxyperethyl- homotetrasilsesquioxane (36.11 %) in petiole, 7-benzyl-8-(methylthio)theophyllin (12.53 %) in stem and ?- gurjunene (13.99 %), ?-elemol (13.45 %), guaiene (13.13 %) in root were major components present in the essential oil.

Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of Leaf Essential Oil of Syzygium grande (Wight) Walp

Abstract The chemical composition of essential oil obtained from the leaves of Syzygium grande was analyzed using GC-MS. β-caryophyllene (18.38 %) was the major constituent present in the leaf oil followed by 10s,11s-himachala-3(12),4-diene (12.06 %), (+)-aromadendrene (10.51% ), α-caryophyllene (10.22 %) and α- selinene (8.94 %). The antimicrobial activity of the oil was determined and the results showed higher activity against bacteria whereas fungal species were found to be more resistant.