Triterpenoid and Fatty Acid Contents from the Stem Bark of Cordia dichotoma (Forst f.).

AIM: To isolate and determine the chemical constituents of the stem bark of Cordia dichotoma (Forst f.), a plant used for medicinal purpose in folk medicine. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Petroleum ether extract of the stem bark was used for this study. Saponification process was performed to separate fatty acid and unsaponifiable matter. RESULTS: One triterpenoids, α-amyrin was isolated from the bark by using isocratic elution. The chemical compounds isolated, for the first time, were analyzed by GC/MS, IR, and UV. The chemical composition of the fatty acids methyl esters (FAMEs) in bark of Cordia dichotoma were also analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. After methyl-esterification, 17 components were identified in the bark. The derivatization conditions were investigated in order to validate this method. CONCLUSION: The present analysis revealed that Cordia dichotoma stem bark contains 17 fatty acid. The principal themes of the review highlight the development and application of chromatographic techniques for the separation, isolation and detection of the compounds.

In vitro antioxidant activity of hydro alcoholic extract from the fruit pulp of Cassia fistula Linn.

The present study is aimed to investigate antioxidant activity of the extracts of Cassia fistula Linn. (Leguminosae) fruit pulp. Cassia fistula Linn., a Indian Laburnum, is widely cultivated in various countries and different continents including Asia, Mauritius, South Africa, Mexico, China, West Indies, East Africa and Brazil as an ornamental tree for its beautiful bunches of yellow flowers and also used in traditional medicine for several indications. The primary phytochemical study and in vitro antioxidant study was performed on hydro alcoholic extract of fruit pulp. Phytochemical screening of the plant has shown the presence of phenolic compounds, fatty acids, flavonoids, tannins and glycosides. Phenolic content was measured using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and was calculated as gallic acid equivalents. Antiradical activity of hydro alcoholic extract was measured by DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl) assay and was compared to ascorbic acid. Ferric reducing power of the extract was also evaluated by Oyaizu method. In the present study, three methods were used for evaluation of antioxidant activity. First two methods were for direct measurement of radical scavenging activity and third method to evaluate the reducing power. Results indicate that hydro alcoholic fruit pulp extracts have marked amount of total phenols which could be responsible for the antioxidant activity. These in vitro assays indicate that this plant extract is a significant source of natural antioxidant, Cassia fistula fruit pulp extract shows lower activity in DPPH and total phenol content as compared with standard which might be helpful in preventing the progress of various oxidative stresses.

Anticonvulsant activity of raw and classically processed Vacha (Acorus calamus Linn.) rhizomes.

The rhizome of Vacha (Acorus calamus) has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for the treatment of various ailments, such as epilepsy, headache, eye disorders, insomnia, loss of memory, etc. Previous studies demonstrated that Vacha rhizome is having significant anticonvulsant activity against various induced seizures models in experimental animals. Ayurvedic pharmacopoeia of India has advocated Shodhana (purificatory procedures) to be done prior to its use. In the present study a comparative anticonvulsant activity of raw and Shodhita (classically processed) Vacha rhizomes were screened against Maximal Electro Shock (MES) seizure model to assess the effect of classical purificatory procedure on pharmacological action of Vacha. Phenytoin was used as standard antiepileptic drug for comparison. Pretreatment with both raw and classically processed Vacha samples exhibited significant anticonvulsant activity by decreasing the duration of tonic extensor phase. Further classically processed Vacha statistically decreased the duration of convulsion and stupor phases of MES-induced seizures. The results obtained from the present study clearly confirmed the anticonvulsant activity of raw Vacha and subjecting to classical Shodhana procedure did not alter the efficacy of Vacha rhizomes instead it enhanced the activity profile of the Vacha.

In vitro antibacterial and antifungal activities of Cassia fistula Linn. fruit pulp extracts.

Aim of the study is to assess the antimicrobial activity Cassia fistula fruit pulp extracts on some bacterial and fungal strains. Hydro alcohol and chloroform extracts of Cassia fistula fruit pulp were evaluated for the potential antimicrobial activity. The antimicrobial activity was determined in both the extracts using the agar disc diffusion method. Extracts were effective on tested microorganisms. The antibacterial and antifungal activities of solvent extracts (5, 25, 50, 100, 250 µg/mL) of C. fistula were tested against two gram positive, two gram negative human pathogenic bacteria and three fungi, respectively. Crude extracts of C. fistula exhibited moderate to strong activity against most of the bacteria tested. The tested bacterial strains were Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Escherichia coil, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and fungal strains were Aspergillus. niger, Aspergillus. clavatus, Candida albicans. The antibacterial potential of the extracts were found to be dose dependent. The antibacterial activities of the C. fistula were due to the presence of various secondary metabolites. Hence, these plants can be used to discover bioactive natural products that may serve as leads in the development of new pharmaceuticals research activities.

Antimicrobial and antifungal activities of Cordia dichotoma (Forster F.) bark extracts.

Cordia dichotoma Forst.f. bark, identified as botanical source of Shlesmataka in Ayurvedic pharmacopoeias. Present study was carried out with an objective to investigate the antibacterial and antifungal potentials of Cordia dichotoma bark. Antibacterial activity of methanol and butanol extracts of the bark was carried out against two gram negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and two Gram positive bacteria (St. pyogenes and Staphylococcus aureus). The antifungal activity of the extracts was carried out against three common pathogenic fungi (Aspergillus niger, A.clavatus, and Candida albicans). Zone of inhibition of extracts was compared with that of different standards like Amplicilline, Ciprofloxacin, Norfloxacin and Chloramphenicol for antibacterial activity and Nystain and Greseofulvin for antifungal activity. The extracts showed remarkable inhibition of zone of bacterial growth and fungal growth and the results obtained were comparable with that of standards drugs against the organisms tested. The activity of extracts increased linearly with increase in concentration of extract (mg/ml). The results showed the antibacterial and antifungal activity against the organisms tested.

Pharmacognostic evaluation of leaf of Cordia macleodii Hook., An ethnomedicinally important plant.

Plants of ethnomedicinal importance have contributed for the development of many new pharmacologically effective molecules/chemical entities to modern medicine. India, the country having one of the richest biodiversity of its flora in its forest, with numerous tribal inhabitants, is able to contribute a lot from ethnomedicine to the ailing humanity. Cordia macleodii Hook. (Boraginaceae), an ethnomedicinal plant has been highlighted for its wound healing, aphrodisiac and hepatoprotective activities. It is a medium-sized tree, known as Panki/Shikari by the tribals, rarely found in the forests of Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. So far, the plant has been studied neither for its pharmacognostical characters nor for its pharmacological actions except its hepatoprotective activity. Hence, it has been selected for a detailed investigation which includes pharmacognostic study of its leaf to find out the diagnostic characters and preliminary physicochemical analysis. Results of the study will help in identifying the plant pharmacognostically. Presence of alkaloids, glycosides and tannins were found during the study.

A comparative anti-inflammatory activity of raw and processed Kupeelu (Strychnos nux-vomica Linn.) seeds on albino rats.

Seeds of Kupeelu (Strychnos nux-vomica Linn.), a known poisonous drug, is used extensively in various Ayurvedic formulations with great therapeutic significance. Ayurveda recommends the administration of Kupeelu only after passing through specific purificatory procedures in different media like cow's urine (Go mutra), cow's milk (Go dugdha), cow's ghee (Go ghrita), Kanji (thin gruel) etc. Strychnos nux vomica seeds are extensively advocated for nervous debility, paralysis, and weakness of limbs, sexual weakness, dyspepsia, and dysentery and in rheumatism where it can be assumed that besides other properties, Kupeelu may have some sort of anti-inflammatory activity too. In the present study, the powder of raw and processed Kupeelu seeds (processed / purified with Kanji i.e sour gruel) as test drugs were assessed for anti-inflammatory activity by employing Carrageenan and Formaldehyde induced hind paw oedema in Wistar strain albino rats at a dose of 22.5 mg/kg body weight orally. This study reveals that both raw and purified Kupeelu showed presence of highly significant anti-inflammatory activity against formaldehyde induced hind paw oedema, but did not have similar activity against Carrageenan induced hind paw oedema.

Validation of a neutron activation analysis method using k0-standardization.

A neutron activation analysis method using k0-standardization has been adopted for multielement analysis using our research reactors. Gold has been used as the comparator. The input parameters, used for calculation of elemental concentration, such as subcadmium to epithermal neutron flux ratio (f), the epithermal neutron flux shape factor (alpha), and the absolute efficiency of the detector (epsilon) have been determined. The values of k0-factors and Q0 (the ratio of resonance integral to thermal neutron cross section) have been taken from the literature. The validity of applying this method in our laboratory is evaluated by analyzing the elemental concentrations with respect to the certified values in eight reference materials of different origin obtained from USGS, IAEA and NIST. The percent deviation of the measured elemental concentrations are found to be within +/- 15% to that of the certified values whereas the percent relative standard deviation ranged from 2% to 10% for most of the elements analyzed.

Heavy metal concentration and distribution in a dated sediment core of Nainital Lake in the Himalayan region.

The concentrations and distribution of the elements, including heavy metals such as As, Ba, Br, Co, Cr, Cs, Fe, Ga, K, Mn, Na, Rb, Sc, Sr, Th and Zn, were investigated in dated sediment cores of Nainital Lake located in the Himalayan region, in Uttar Pradesh state of India, which is considered as a remote background area. The concentrations of the elements were measured by instrumental neutron activation analysis using the k0 method. The International Atomic Energy Agency certified reference material SL-3 was used to evaluate the accuracy of the method. The normalized data for a series of elements were used to understand the source of loading. Elements like Br, Co, Cr, Fe, K, Mn and Zn show a negative correlation with increasing depth whereas elements like As, Ba, Cs, Na and Rb show a positive correlation with increasing depth. By considering the concentration for the bottom segments of the core as close to the baseline concentration, recent flux values for different elements were calculated. An increase in the flux value was observed for Br, Cr, Fe, K, Mn and Zn, which can be attributed to anthropogenic contribution in recent years.

Use of gold as monostandard for the determination of elemental concentrations in environmental SRMs and Ganga river sediments by the k0 method.

Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) using the k0 method by employing gold as monostandard has been used for the determination of 18 elements (As, Ba, Br, Cl, Cr, Co, Cs, Dy, Fe, Hf, Ga, In, La, Mn, Na, Rb, Sc and Th) in standard reference materials (SRMs) of environmental origin and four sediment samples collected from the Ganga river in northern parts of India. Data obtained for SRMs agree within +/- 5-10% with the certified values for most elements. Merits and demerits of the k0 method are discussed. An attempt has been made to identify the sources of heavy metal pollutants in the sediment samples and study the mobility pattern for toxic heavy metals originating from the tanneries along with the river flow.

Multielement analysis in cereals and pulses by k0 instrumental neutron activation analysis.

The concentrations of some elements in a few varieties of cereals and pulses are determined by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis using a single comparator method (k0-standardised NAA method). A total of 15 elements are measured. The method was validated by analysing the Standard Reference Material (SRM-1571) of NIST; the results are within +/-10% of the reported values for the majority of the elements. The measured concentrations of major and minor elements are analysed in terms of the average intake of mineral content and the role of these elements in terms of the nutritional value.