Isolation and biological evaluation of novel Tetracosahexaene hexamethyl, an acyclic triterpenoids derivatives and antioxidant from Justicia adhatoda.

Forty five extracts fraction of nine selected Indian medicinal plants, based on their use in traditional systems of medicine were analyzed for their antioxidant potential. All the extracts were investigated for phenol content value calculated in Gallic acid equivalents (% of GAE) and antioxidant potential. Moreover, total phenolic content (% dw equivalents to gallic acid) of all plant extracts were found in the range of 3.04 to 24.03, which correlated with antioxidant activity. The findings indicated a promising antioxidant activity of crude extracts fractions of three plants (Justicia adhatoda, Capparis aphylla and Aegle marmelos) and required the further exploration for their effective utilization. Results indicated that petroleum ether fraction of J. adhatoda out of three plants also possesses the admirable antioxidant abilities with high total phenolic content. Following, in vitro antioxidant activity-guided phytochemical separation procedures, twelve fractions of petroleum ether extract of J. adhatoda were isolated by silica gel column chromatography. One fraction (Rf value: 0.725) showed the noticeable antioxidant activity with ascorbic acid standard in hydroxyl radical scavenging assays. The molecular structures elucidations of purified antioxidant compound were carried out using spectroscopic studies ((1)H NMR, (13)C NMR and MS). This compound was reported from this species for the first time. The results imply that the J. adhatoda might be a potential source of natural antioxidants and 2,6,10,14,18,22-Tetracosahexaene, 2,6,10,15,19,23-hexamethyl is an antioxidant ingredient in J. adhatoda.

Safety and efficacy of green foliage in the treatment of fungal infections and associated clinical conditions.

Forty five crude extracts of nine selected medicinal plants, based on their use in respiratory and other disorders in traditional systems of medicine were analyzed for their potential activity against three pathogenic species of Aspergillus. The presence of phenols, tannins, flavanoids, terpenoid, steroids, alkaloids and saponins in the different extracts was established. The crude extracts were examined for antifungal activity in concentration ranging from 5000.0 to 19.53 µg/ml using microbroth dilution assay in which twenty two extracts exhibited the anti-Aspergilli activity. The petroleum ether extract of Justicia adhatoda and water extract of Commelina bengalensis exhibited the maximum activity against Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus niger. Their in vitro minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were found to be 156.0-312.0 µg/ml by microbroth dilution and spore germination inhibition assays. In disc diffusion assay, at concentration of 10 µg/disc of some crude extracts showed significant activity against Aspergilli. The toxicity (in vitro and in vivo) of bio-active fractions was evaluated, in which the extracts isolated from J. adhatoda were found to be non-toxic. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) studies were performed for various extracts (petroleum ether, chloroform and acetone) of J. adhatoda which resulted in the identification of several bioactive compounds. The antifungal activity along with acute toxicity, cyto-toxicity as well as genotoxicity of extract fractions from J. adhatoda justifies the use of such screening in the expedition for new drugs.

Investigations towards new antidiabetic drugs from fungal endophytes associated with Salvadora oleoides Decne.

The nature has provided abundant natural resources which can be explored for their medicinal uses. The present study was undertaken to investigate the antidiabetic and hypolipidemic activity of various extract's fractions obtained from mycelia of seventeen endophytic fungi in different solvents (methanol, acetone and aqueous) isolated from Salvadora oleoides Decne (Salvadoraceae) in glucose loaded fasting and alloxan induced diabetic Wistar albino rats. Only four extracts namely; unidentified fungus (aqueous), Aspergillus sp.JPY2 (methanol), Aspergillus sp.JPY1 (methanol) and Phoma sp. (acetone) significantly reduced blood glucose levels as revealed by glucose tolerance test. It has been observed that in alloxan induced diabetic rats, the maximum reduction in blood glucose level was after 5 hours in the acute treatment experiment and on14th day in sub acute treatment at a dose of 250mg/kg of body weight (P<0.05). The reduction in blood glucose in long term treatment experiment was ranged from 11.3% to 28.04%, whereas standard drug tolbutamide reduced the blood glucose level up to 40%. In long term treatment, unidentified fungus (aqueous) extract showed significant improvement in parameters like body weight and lipid profile of alloxan induced diabetic rats. The gas chromatography mass spectrometer (GCMS) analysis of bioactive fraction (aqueous) of unidentified fungus and methanolic extract fraction of Aspergillus sp.JPY1 revealed that the main constituents were 2, 6-di-tert-butyl-p-cresol and Phenol, 2, 6-bis (1, 1-dimethylethyl)-4-methyl respectively. The results have also suggested that the above four bioactive fractions have good margin of safety and did not show any lethal effects on the animals up to the doses of 1000mg/kg b.w. along with safe doses up to 500 µg/ ml to human erythrocytes.

Analysis toward innovative herbal antibacterial and antifungal drugs.

The antimicrobial activities of four medicinal plants Argemona mexicana, Achyranthes aspera, Catharanthus roseus, and Syzygium cumini were evaluated against Escherichia coli, Vibrio cholerae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus vulgaris, Bacillus subtilis, Salmonella typhi and three Aspergillus species. Extracts from Achyranthes aspera and Catharanthus roseus showed the highest antimicrobial potential (MIC 0.375-0.750 mg/ml) while extract from Argemona mexicana and Syzygium cumini, showed less activity. In disc diffusion assay, only eight out of twenty extracts showed antimicrobial activity at a concentration of 25.0 µg/ disc. The GCMS investigation reveals the existence of 2-bornanone; 1, 2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, bis (2-methylpropyl) ester; hexadecanoic acid, methyl ester and hexatriacontane in water extract fraction of C. roseus. The present research article provides a review of some medicinal plants incorporating antimicrobial drugs, together with recent advances in emerging therapeutics in clinical development and related patents for exploitation of herbal medicine.

Cassia occidentalis L.: a review on its ethnobotany, phytochemical and pharmacological profile.

Cassia occidentalis L. is an annual or perennial Ayurvedic plant which is used in several traditional medicines to cure various diseases. This weed has been known to possess antibacterial, antifungal, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, anticancerous, antimutagenic and hepatoprotective activity. A wide range of chemical compounds including achrosin, aloe-emodin, emodin, anthraquinones, anthrones, apigenin, aurantiobtusin, campesterol, cassiollin, chryso-obtusin, chrysophanic acid, chrysarobin, chrysophanol, chrysoeriol etc. have been isolated from this plant. The presented review summarizes the information concerning the botany, ethnopharmacologyquery, phytochemistry, biological activity and toxicity of the C.occidentalis plant.