Chemical profiling, in vitro and in vivo bioactivities of leaf extracts of Vitex neugundo.

The Vitex negeundo is a widely used medicinal plant which has not been fully investigated in the past. We assessed the in vivo hepatoprotective and in vitro antioxidant, antibacterial, cytotoxicity and antiproliferative study of leaf extracts of V. Neugundo. The chemically profiled using HPLC, three flavonoids were quantified and GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of two new compounds those were not reported earlier. The animal study was conducted on mice treated with CCl4 using methanolic and chloroform extracts (100, 200 and 300 mg/kg b.w), with silymarin as a positive control. Hepatoprotective effects were determined by analyzing blood for liver marker enzymes, direct bilirubins and hematological parameters (RBC, WBC and platelets). The methanolic extract (300 mg/kg b.w) has shown the stronger hepatoprotective effects against abnormalities produced by CCl4. The in vivo hepatoprotective effects correlated well with the in vitro antioxidant, cytotoxicity and antiproliferative activities and with high levels of flavonoids and other organic compounds analyzed from plant extracts. The leaf extracts of this plant could be good candidates for lead compound required for the development of antioxidant/anticancer drugs.

Chemical profiling and bioactivities on the leaf extracts of Vitex neugundo.

The Vitex negeundo is a widely used medicinal plant which has not been fully investigated in the past. We assessed the in vivo hepatoprotective and in vitro antioxidant, antibacterial, cytotoxicity and anti proliferative study of leaf extracts of V. neugundo. The chemically profiled using HPLC, three flavonoids were quantified and GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of two new compounds those were not reported earlier from the leaf extract of V. neugundo. The animal study was conducted on mice treated with CCl4 using methanolic and chloroform extracts (100, 200 and 300mg/kg b.w), with silymarin as a positive control. Hepatoprotective effects were determined by analyzing blood for liver marker enzymes, direct bilirubins and hematological parameters (RBC, WBC and platelets). The methanolic extract (300mg/kg b.w) has shown the stronger hepatoprotective effects against abnormalities produced by CCl4. The in vivo hepatoprotective effects correlated well with the in vitro antioxidant, cytotoxicity and antiproliferative activities and with high levels of flavonoids and other organic compounds analyzed from plant extracts. The leaf extracts of this plant could be good candidates for lead compound required for the development of antioxidant/anticancer drugs.

Pharmacological and phytochemical analysis of Bergenia ciliata leaf and rhizome extracts.

Antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, cytotoxic, and anti-haemolytic activity of various rhizome extracts of Bergenia ciliata were evaluated in this study. The results showed inhibition of the growth of all selected bacterial and fungal strains in comparison with standard antibiotics. The antioxidant activities of Bergenia ciliata extracts were evaluated against DPPH, H2O2, ABTS, total antioxidant capacity and reducing power assays. The order of antioxidant activity of various extracts were methanol> ethanol>n-hexane> aqueous>chloroform. The cytotoxicity ( brine shrimp assay) and anti-haemolytic activities of plant extracts were also promising and varies in dose depended manner. The phytochemical analysis of rhizome extracts of Bergenia ciliata revealed presence of various secondary metabolites which might be responsible for the antimicrobial, antioxidant, cytotoxic and anti-haemolytic activities.

Synthesis, characterization and evaluation of antibacterial activity of copper oxide nanoparticles against clinical strains of Staphylococcus aureus.

Bacterial resistance is spreading globally due to excessive use of antibiotics, making it one of our times biggest challenges. To address this issue present study was conducted to evaluate the antibacterial activity of copper oxide nanoparticles against methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Copper oxide nanoparticles were synthesized by chemical precipitation method and were characterized by UV-Visible, FT-IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy. These nanoparticles of 27nm were assessed for antibacterial activity using disc diffusion method. Our results showed superb inhibitory effects of CuO nanoparticles with increase in concentration and complete inhibition was recorded against tested strains of S. aureus at 100µl/ml and 125µl/ml concentration. The study concludes that the drugs which do not show any inhibitory effects against resistant bugs could be augmented with CuO nanoparticles to achieve the treatment goal.

Isolation and characterization of antibiotic producing bacterial strains from red soil of Himalayan region of Pakistan.

The emergence of multi drug resistant microbial pathogens has become a global health challenge and set a dire requirement of searching new effective antimicrobials. Soil is an ultimate reservoir of biologically active micro flora, which harbors trillions of microbial strains producing compounds of commercial interest. Hence aim of the present study was an attempt to isolate and identify the antibiotic producing microbial strains from the red soil of Himalayan an unexplored region of Pakistan. In this study from 10 different soil samples only one bacterial strain was isolated capable of antimicrobial activity. Strain was identified by biochemical characteristics and final identification was done by API 20 NE kit which showed 99% homology with P. aeruginosa. Hence the strain was identified as P. aeruginosa S2. Antibacterial and antifungal activity of the P. aeruginosa S2 showed that Staphylococcus aureus was extremely sensitive to it with a zone of inhibition of 42mm. Staphylococcus epidermidis, Enterobacter aerogenes, Aspergillus fumigatus and Candida albicans were also inhibited by the isolated strain. Effect of Glycerol, Copper sulphate (CuSo4), Sodium sulphate (Na2SO4) and Glycerol on antibiotic production was also evaluated by supplementing growth media with these chemicals. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was grown in bulk quantity using solid state fermentation and crude extract was prepared using organic solvents and subjected to silica gel column chromatography for purification of active compound. Purified compound showed antibacterial against human pathogens. The unexplored Kashmir Himalayas are of great significance because of its richness in biodiversity and need to be explored for isolation and characterization of native microbes for biologically active secondary metabolites. This untouched region may be considered as hub of new antimicrobials and may have applications in natural product-based drug discovery.

Biosynthesis, characterization and antimicrobial action of silver nanoparticles from root bark extract of Berberislycium Royle.

Various biological methods are being recognized for the fabrication of silver nanoparticles, which are used in several fields. The phytosynthesis of nanoparticles came out as a cost effective and enviro-friendly approach. When root bark extract of Berberis lycium was treated with silver ions, they reduced to silver nanoparticles, which were spherical, crystalline, size ranged from 10-100nm and capped by biomolecules. Synthesized silver nanoparticles were characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infra Red Spectroscopy (FTIR). The plant mediated synthesized silver nanoparticles showed pronounced antimicrobial activities against both Gram negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Klebseilla pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and Gram positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis). The plant mediated process proved to be non-toxic and low cost contender as reducing agent for synthesizing stable silver nanoparticles.

Characterization of ascorbate peroxidase in soybean under flooding and drought stresses.

Flooding and drought are the two different forms of water stress that adversely affect the growth and development of soybean plant in particular at early stage. Ascorbate peroxidase (APX) is a known antioxidant enzyme that plays key role in abiotic stresses. To investigate the changes in APX in soybean under drought and flooding stresses, western blotting, enzyme activity assay and biophoton emission techniques were used. Flooding stress was imposed by adding excess amount of water in the sand and drought by withholding water supply. Under flooding stress, a decrease in APX was detected with time. Completely opposite trend was evident in hypocotyl and root of plants exposed to drought. Western blotting and APX activity results are complementary to each other. Biophoton emissions further confirmed the increasing and decreasing trend of APX under drought and flooding stress, respectively.