Pradeep Mehta

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.

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.

Evaluation of antiproliferative and hepatoprotective effects of wheat grass (Triticum aestivum)

This study was aimed to evaluate the pharmacological potential of various extracts (hexane, chloroform, methanol and aqueous) of dried shoots of Triticum aestivum (wheat grass) in terms of antiproliferative and hepatoprotective potential of T. aestivum. The total chlorophyll content in dried shoots of T. aestivum was 0.54 ± 0.016 g/L (chlorophyll-a: 0.288 ± 0.05 g/L; and chlorophyll-b; 0.305 ± 0.05 g/L), while total carotene content was 0.42 ± 0.066 g/L. In addition, the chloroform extract of dried shoots of T. aestivum (250 μg/mL) exhibited 87.23% inhibitory effect with potent cytotoxicity against human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cancer cell line. Moreover, chloroform and methanol extracts significantly reduced the levels of SGOT, and SGPT enzymes, as well as total bilirubin content, while raised the level of total protein in a concentration-gradient manner, confirming the potent hepatoprotective effect of T. aestivum. A possible mechanism of apoptosis of the chloroform extract of dried shoots of T. aestivum in terms of its potent antiproliferative activity against HepG2 cancer cell line can also be proposed in this study. Our findings clearly demonstrate that T. aestivum has a significant pharmacological potential that night be used for antiproliferative and hepatoprotective purposes.