In vitro Antigonorrhea Activity of the Aerial Part of Asparagus suaveolens n-Hexane Fraction and Palmitone as a Bioactive Compound.

Asparagus suaveolens is a medicinal plant used in Lesotho and South Africa to treat epilepsy and gonorrhea. The current investigation identifies the compound responsible for the antiepileptic and antimicrobial properties as palmitone which showed antigonorrhea activities against WHO 2008 Neisseria gonorrhea F and 0 strains more than the standard used, gentamicin. These results support the traditional use of A. suaveolens for treatment of gonorrhea and epilepsy since palmitone is known as an anticonvulsant agent. This is the first study indicating the presence of palmitone in the Asparagus genus and demonstrates the in vitro antigonorrhea activity of palmitone.

Isolation and Chemical Structural Characterisation of a Compound with Antioxidant Activity from the Roots of Senna italica.

Senna italica, a member of the Fabaceae family (subfamily Caesalpiniaceae), is widely used in South African traditional medicine to treat a number of disease conditions. Aqueous extracts of the plant are mainly used to treat sexually transmitted infections and intestinal complications. The roots of S. italica were ground to a fine powder and sequentially extracted with n-hexane, dichloromethane, acetone, and methanol using serial exhaustive extraction (SEE) method. Thin layer chromatography was used to analyse the phytochemical composition of the extracts and DPPH radical scavenging method to detect the presence of antioxidant compounds. The bioassay guided fractionation of the acetone fraction afforded an antioxidant compound with free radical scavenging activity. The isolated compound was subsequently identified as 3,4',5-trihydroxystilbene (resveratrol). This study represents the first report of the stilbene resveratrol in S. italica.