Antigenotoxic potential of plant leaf extracts of Parkinsonia aculeata L. using Allium cepa assay.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the antigenotoxic potential of P. aculeata L. leaf extract/fractions against maleic hydrazide (MH) using Allium cepa root chromosomal aberration assay. The excessive reduction in root growth and mitotic index value was observed after 3 h treatment of MH as compared to negative control (water). In case of MH treatment, frequency of aberrated cells significantly (p ≤ 0.05) raised from 129 to 337 at 0.1 ppm and 2.0 ppm concentrations respectively. From root growth inhibition test with MH treatment, EC50 value i.e. 0.5 ppm was selected to study the antigenotoxic effect of different extract/fractions of P. aculeata L. leaves. All the extract/fractions showed increase in mitotic index and great reduction in chromosomal aberrations with rise in concentration against the genotoxicity of MH. Among all the extract/fractions, butanol and ethyl acetate fractions showed significant reduction in chromosomal aberrations in A. cepa cells and indicates the chemo preventive activity. Antigenotoxic property of this plant is due to the presence of various phytochemicals in leaf such as epi-orientin, Parkinsonin-A, Parkinsonin-B, orientin, iso-orientin, vitexin, iso-vitexin, C-glycosylflavone, parkintin, rotenoids, terpenoids, flavonoids, saponins, alkaloids, glycosides and anthraquinone etc. Our result showed that among all the treatments, simultaneous treatment showed best result followed by pre and post treatment. Further studies in animal model are suggested for further evaluation of the use of P. aculeata leaf extract in human welfare.

Eucalyptus robusta leaves methanolic extract suppresses inflammatory mediators by specifically targeting TLR4/TLR9, MPO, COX2, iNOS and inflammatory cytokines in experimentally-induced endometritis in rats.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Bacterial endometritis is one of the major causes of reproductive disorders including infertility in farm animals. Antibiotics are generally used for treatment of such disorders but now a days residues of antibiotics are of great public health concern, therefore, phytoremediation is being considered as an alternative to use of antibiotics. AIM OF THE STUDY: Present study was undertaken to investigate the efficacy of Eucalyptus robusta leaves methanolic extract against endometritis along with the possible mechanism of action especially targeting inflammatory biomarkers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Bacterial endometritis was produced using clinical isolates of E. coli and Staphyloccocus aureus from bovines (cows and buffaloes) endometritis cases. After seven days of inoculation of the mixed bacterial culture, endometritis was confirmed based on the presence of visible pus and edema, thinning of endometrial lining and presence of large number of polymorphonuclear cells and bacterial load in uterine flushing. Female Wistar rats were divided in to five groups namely control, sham-operated, endometritis, endometritis plus Eucalyptus leaves extract and endometritis plus cefixime. Serum specific inflammatory biomarkers (interleukin-1ß, interleukin-10, tumor necrosis factor-α, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, serum amyloid A) and myleoperoxidase, toll like receptors-4 and -9, inducible nitric oxide synthase, nitric oxide, cyclooxygenase 1 and 2 were estimated in uterine tissues using ELISA kits. RESULTS: Interleukin-10, serum amyloid A, myleoperoxidase, toll like receptors-4 and-9, cyclooxygenase-2, inducible nitric oxide synthase and nitric oxide were significantly increased while non significant increase in interleukin-1ß, cycloxygenase-1 and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 were observed but level of tumor necrosis factor-α was found decreased in rats of endometritis group. Histopathological lesions in uterus showed efficient induction of endometritis by presence of inflammatory cells which are lessened effectively after treatment with Eucalyptus leaves extract. Eucalyptus robusta leaves extract produced curative and protective effect against endometritis and results were comparable to or even better than cefixime. CONCLUSIONS: Eucalyptus robusta leaves extract possess promising antibacterial activity and efficacy against experimental endometritis and, therefore, holds promising potential for development of effective formulation for treatment of endometritis in animals.