W. G. van der Sluis

Ethnopharmacognostical survey of Azadirachta indica A. Juss (Meliaceae).

Literature data on respectively botany, chemistry, ethnopharmacology, pharmacology and toxicology of Azadirachta indica A. Juss. (Meliaceae) are reviewed and evaluated. In traditional literature, preparations of the tree are claimed to be vulnerable in wide spectrum of diseases. Especially for inflammation-related diseases a good correlation is found with the results of recent experimental investigations. In addition, a variety of other biological activities are reported. Most frequently the effects can be attributed to compounds representing the structural classes of the limonoids, phenolics and macromolecules. Reported toxicity of preparations and isolated compounds are low, except for the seed oil. In conclusion, A. indica can be regarded as a valuable plant source for the rationalisation of its use in traditional medicine and for modern drug development.

Labaditin, a novel cyclic decapeptide from the latex of Jatropha multifida L. (Euphorbiaceae): isolation and sequence determination by means of two-dimensional NMR

Latex; Decapeptide, cyclic; Labaditin; NMR, 1H‐; Peptide isolation; (Jatropha multifida, Euphorbiaceae)

Characterization of anti-complement compounds from azadirachta indica

The crude aqueous extract of Azadirachta indica bark possesses an inhibitory activity on both classical (CP) and alternative pathway (AP) activation of human complement. Purification of the compounds with the guidance of the AP-inhibitory activity involved extraction with methanol, dialysis, ion-exchange procedures and gel-permeation chromatography. This sequence yielded two polymers, NB-I and NB-II, one a highly active compound with a relatively low molecular weight (NB-II) and the other a less active compound with a high molecular weight (NB-I). The polymers were characterized by using colour reactions, TLC, GLC and HPLC after hydrolysis and gel-permeation chromatography as peptidoglycans. The carbohydrate part consisted predominantly of glucose. Arabinose, galactose and mannose were present in minor amounts (NB-II) or only as traces (NB-I). Protein was present for 5.5% in NB-I and for 9.8% in NB-II.