Chemico-pharmacological evaluations of the dwarf elephant ear (Colocasia affinis Schott) plant metabolites and extracts: health benefits from vegetable source.

Introduction: Colocasia affinis Schott (Family: Araceae), found in the Asian region, is a traditional root vegetable consumed by the locals and well-known as Dwarf Elephant Ear. Methods: For the pharmacological exploration of this root vegetable, four kupchan fractions (i.e. HSF, DCMSF, EASF, and AQSF) from ethanolic extract of C. affinis were employed to in vitro i.e. antioxidant, cytotoxicity, and antimicrobial and in vivo i.e. antidiarrheal and analgesic assays, followed by phytochemical screening and GC-MS protocol. Result and Discussion: In the antioxidant assay, the AQSF showed promising potential with an IC50 value of 29.4 µg/mL and additionally, it exhibited the greatest overall phenolic content, measuring 57.23 mg GAE/gm. of extract among other fractions. The AQSF also revealed promising cytotoxic activity in brine shrimp lethality assay with an LC50 value of 1.36 µg/mL. Both AQSF and EASF exhibited substantial antimicrobial efficacy against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria as well as various fungus species with a remarkable zone of inhibitions compared to standards. Whereas, during both the castor oil-induced antidiarrheal and acetic acid-induced writhing assay, the DCMSF at 400 mg/kg dose exhibited the highest 51.16% reduction of diarrhea and 52.33% reduction of writhing. Phytochemical screening revealed several chemical groups while GC-MS study of different fractions of dwarf elephant ear ethanolic extract revealed 48 different bioactive phytochemicals in total. Several targets such as KAS, DHFR for anti-microbial activities, GLR, URO for antioxidant activities, EGFR, BCL-2 for cytotoxicity, KOR, DOR for antidiarrheal activities and COX-2, TNF-α for analgesic activities are considered for molecular docking against identified phytocompounds and standards along with ADME/T studies to ascertain their safety, efficacy and drug likeliness profiles. Conclusion: To recapitulate, our study revealed that vegetables such as dwarf elephant ear can be considered as a prospective source of therapeutics and drug development besides their nutritive food values.

Flavonoids: A treasure house of prospective pharmacological potentials.

Flavonoids are organic compounds characterized by a range of phenolic structures, which are abundantly present in various natural sources such as fruits, vegetables, cereals, bark, roots, stems, flowers, tea, and wine. The health advantages of these natural substances are renowned, and initiatives are being taken to extract the flavonoids. Apigenin, galangin, hesperetin, kaempferol, myricetin, naringenin, and quercetin are the seven most common compounds belonging to this class. A thorough analysis of bibliographic records from reliable sources including Google Scholar, Web of Science, PubMed, ScienceDirect, MEDLINE, and others was done to learn more about the biological activities of these flavonoids. These flavonoids appear to have promising anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antioxidant, antiviral, cytotoxic, and lipid-lowering activities, according to evidence from in vitro, in vivo, and clinical research. The review contains recent trends, therapeutical interventions, and futuristic aspects of flavonoids to treat several diseases like diabetes, inflammation, bacterial and viral infections, cancers, and cardiovascular diseases. However, this manuscript should be handy in future drug discovery. Despite these encouraging findings, a notable gap exists in clinical research, hindering a comprehensive understanding of the effects of flavonoids at both high and low concentrations on human health. Future investigations should prioritize exploring bioavailability, given the potential for high inter-individual variation. As a starting point for further study on these flavonoids, this review paper may promote identifying and creating innovative therapeutic uses.

Analysis of bioactive compounds present in different crude extracts of Benincasa hispida and Cucurbita moschata seeds by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Plant seeds are the resources of many different bioactive components. The chemical composition of the different crude extracts from Benincasa hispida (White pumpkin) and Cucurbita moschata (Pumpkin) seeds with three different polarity-based solvents (n-hexane, n-hexane-chloroform (2:1), and methanol) was analyzed to identify the biologically active compounds. Each of the extracts was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Different extracts of targeted seeds showed different biologically active compounds that have different pharmacological potentialities. 9, 12-Octadecadienoic acid (ZZ) was the most potent bioactive compound present in three different extracts of both B. hispida and C. moschata. Another bioactive compound comparatively low percentage present in both plants was n-hexadecanoic acid. Other major pharmacologically active compounds present in both plants were 9- Octadecenoic acid (Z)-, methyl ester, and 9, 12-Octadecadienoic acid methyl ester (E, E). Besides these compounds, a few more biologically active compounds were present in the two plants separately. The findings of this study support the use of these seeds in modern functional foods, nutraceuticals, and medicinal purposes, and the whole seeds would give better health benefits rather than use any extract. Although further pharmacological examinations should be carried out to conclude the medicinal application of the seeds of these two plants as well as to understand the mechanism of the potential health benefits.

Antioxidant, antimicrobial, toxicity and analgesic properties of ethanol extract of Solena amplexicaulis root.

BACKGROUND: This study was subjected to investigate different pharmacological properties of ethanol extract of Solena amplexicaulis root. RESULTS: The extract contains flavonoid, alkaloid, saponin and steroid compounds. The extract exhibited excellent antioxidant activity in DPPH radical scavenging activity. The extract also showed potent activity in brine shrimp lethality bioassay. The LC50 value was found to 44.677 µg/ml. The extract showed better anti-bacterial activity against gram-negative bacteria. In antifungal assay, the maximum 79.31% of anti-mycotic activity was observed against Aspergillus ochraceus while minimum 44.2% against Rhizopus oryzae. MIC value ranged between 1500-3000 µg/ml. The extract was found moderately toxic with a 24-hr LD50 value of 81.47 mg/kg in Swiss albino mice. The degree of inhibition by the ethanolic extract of the root was found less than that of standard analgesic drug diclofenac sodium. The extract also showed moderate anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activity and anti-diabetic property. Reducing power of the extract was comparable with standard ascorbic acid. Moderate in vitro thrombolytic activity, lipid peroxidation inhibition property, metal chelating ability and stress-protective activity was also observed. CONCLUSION: Ethanol extract of Solena amplexicaulis root can be valuable for treatment of different diseases.

Antioxidant, antimicrobial, toxicity and analgesic properties of ethanol extract of Solena amplexicaulis root

BACKGROUND: This study was subjected to investigate different pharmacological properties of ethanol extract ofSolena amplexicaulis root. RESULTS: The extract contains flavonoid, alkaloid, saponin and steroid compounds. The extract exhibited excellent antioxidant activity in DPPH radical scavenging activity. The extract also showed potent activity in brine shrimp lethality bioassay. The LC50 value was found to 44.677 µg/ml. The extract showed better anti-bacterial activity against gram-negative bacteria. In antifungal assay, the maximum 79.31% of anti-mycotic activity was observed against Aspergillus ochraceus while minimum 44.2% against Rhizopus oryzae. MIC value ranged between 1500 - 3000 µg/ml. The extract was found moderately toxic with a 24-hr LD50 value of 81.47 mg/kg in Swiss albino mice. The degree of inhibition by the ethanolic extract of the root was found less than that of standard analgesic drug diclofenac sodium. The extract also showed moderate anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activity and anti-diabetic property. Reducing power of the extract was comparable with standard ascorbic acid. Moderate in vitro thrombolytic activity, lipid peroxidation inhibition property, metal chelating ability and stress-protective activity was also observed. CONCLUSION: Ethanol extract of Solena amplexicaulis root can be valuable for treatment of different diseases.

Whole Leea macrophylla ethanolic extract normalizes kidney deposits and recovers renal impairments in an ethylene glycol-induced urolithiasis model of rats.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the antilithiatic effect of the whole Leea macrophylla (L. macrophylla) Roxb (Leeaceae) ethanol extract in ethylene glycol-induced urolithiasis model of rats. METHODS: Forty two seven weeks old male wistar albino rats were randomly divided into two major groups namely: preventive (n=18) and therapeutic (n=24). Preventive group was further subdivided into 3 groups of 6 rats namely: preventive control (PC), preventive lithiatic control (PLC) and preventive lithiatic L. macrophylla (PLLM). Similarly, therapeutic group was also subdivided into 4 groups of 6 rats namely: therapeutic control (TC), therapeutic lithiatic control (TLC), therapeutic lithitatic L. macrophylla (TLLM) and therapeutic lithiatic cystone (TLCYS). The lithiasis was induced by 0.75% (v/v) ethylene glycol in the drinking water of all groups except the PC and TC groups. The urinary ionic parameters such as calcium, inorganic phosphate, oxalate, magnesium & creatinine and renal morphology were altered by ethylene glycol, which were partially recovered by 14 d preventive and almost fully recovered by 28 d therapeutic intervention trials with L. macrophylla extract (500 mg/kg BW daily). RESULTS: Significant difference on recovery was observed between preventive and therapeutic interventional trials. Anti-urolithiatic effect of cystone was significantly (P<0.001) higher than extracts. L. macrophylla extract was found nontoxic in the acute toxicity test. CONCLUSION: The results of this study demonstrated very promising anti-urolithiatic effect of L. macrophylla extract with preventive and therapeutic treatments in this experimental condition.