Nontargeted Metabolite Profiling of the Most Prominent Indian Mango (Mangifera indica L.) Cultivars Using Different Extraction Methods.

Aroma has a crucial role in assessing the quality of fresh fruit and its processed versions, which serve as reliable indications for advancing local cultivars in the mango industry. The aroma of mango is attributed to a complex of hundreds of volatile, polar, and nonpolar metabolites belonging to different chemical classes like monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, nonterpene hydrocarbons (alkanes), alcohols, esters, fatty acids, aldehydes, lactones, amides, amines, ethers, and many more. This study looked at the volatile, nonpolar, and polar metabolites from 16 mango cultivars to determine their relative quantities and intervarietal changes using hexane, ethanol, and solid-phase microextraction (SPME), followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. In total, 58 volatile compounds through SPME, 50 nonpolar metabolites from hexane extract, and 52 polar metabolites from ethanol extract were detected from all of the cultivars, belonging to various chemical classes. Through the SPME method, all 16 mango cultivars except Dashehari and Neelum exhibited abundant monoterpenes with maximum concentration in Kesar (91.00%) and minimum in Amrapali (60.66%). However, the abundance of fatty acids and sesquiterpenes was detected in Dashehari (37.91%) and Neelum (74.80%), respectively. In the hexane extract, 23 nonterpene hydrocarbons exhibited abundance in all 16 mango cultivars except Baneshan, with a higher concentration in Dashehari (95.45%) and lower in Ratna (77.63%). The ethanol extraction of 16 mango cultivars showed a higher concentration of esters, aldehydes, alcohols, and amides in Jamadar (52.16%), Dadamio (74.30%), Langra (64.38%), and Kesar (37.10%), respectively. There have been a lot of metabolite variations observed and analyzed using hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) based on the similarity of various chemical compounds. Cluster analysis revealed the true similarity and pedigree of different mango cultivars, viz., Neeleswari, Dashehari, Neelum, Alphonso, Baneshan, Sonpari, and Neeleshan. They occupied the same cluster during analysis.

Biological and phytochemical characterization of Phragmanthera regularis (Loranthaceae) from Ethiopia.

Phragmanthera regularis is a hemi-parasitic shrub. It is known for treating various health ailments. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity, toxicity, and chemical characterization of the leaf extracts of P regularis collected from the Schinus molle host plant in Ethiopia. The antimicrobial properties of crude extracts obtained with chloroform, ethyl acetate, methanol, and water solvents were assayed against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The methanol extract significantly inhibited the growth of S. aureus, E. coli and P. aeruginosa were resistant to any of these solvent extracts. The methanol extract was tested at 175, 550, and 2000 mg/kg body weight doses in white mice and did not reveal any toxicity. The LC-MS qTOF analysis detected flavonoids, phenolic acids, and alkaloids in the crude methanol extract. Further study is needed to investigate the effectiveness of these compounds against S. aureus.

Biological activities of Viscum tuberculatum aqueous leaf extract.

CONTENT: Plant-based natural products have served as sources of remedies against pathogenic microorganisms. Although the biological activities of Viscum (Santalaceae) species are widely recognized, there is no scientific evidence for Viscum tuberculatum A. Rich. in Ethiopia. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the antimicrobial, acute toxicity, anti-inflammatory properties and phytochemical constituents of an aqueous extract of V. tuberculatum from Ethiopia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The antibacterial activity of the aqueous leaf extract of V. tuberculatum was tested against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of this extract were determined using the broth macrodilution method. The acute toxicity and anti-inflammatory effects of the extract were investigated using standard procedures on female and male white albino mice, aged 8 and 10 weeks, respectively. The phytochemical constituents of V. tuberculatum were determined using LC-MS QTOF. RESULTS: The MIC and MBC values against S. aureus were found to be 6.25 and 100 mg/mL. The LD50 value was more than 2000 mg/kg body weight of the mouse. The 400 mg/kg dose exerts 87% inhibition after 5 h of carrageenan injection. Twenty-five different metabolites, mainly flavonoids, phenolic acids and alkaloids, were identified. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate the potential antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory potential of the aqueous extract of V. tuberculatum.

Ethnomedicinal plants used for snakebite treatments in Ethiopia: a comprehensive overview.

Traditional medicine plays an important role in the daily lives of people living in rural parts of Ethiopia. Despite the fact that Ethiopia has a long history of using traditional medicinal plants as an alternative medicine source, there is no checklist compiling these plants used for snakebite treatment. This review collected and compiled available knowledge on and practical usage of such plants in the country. A literature review on medicinal plants used to treat snakebites was conducted from 67 journal articles, PhD dissertation and MSc theses available online. Data that summarize scientific and folk names, administration methods, plant portion used for treatment and method of preparation of recipes were organized and analyzed based on citation frequency. The summarized results revealed the presence of 184 plant species distributed among 67 families that were cited for treating snakebite in Ethiopia. In this literature search, no single study was entirely dedicated to the study of traditional medicinal plants used for the treatment of snakebite in Ethiopia. Most of the species listed as a snakebite remedy were shrubs and climbers (44%) followed by herbs (33%) and trees (23%). Fabaceae was the most predominant family with the greatest number of species, followed by Solanaceae and Vitaceae. Remedies are mainly prepared from roots and leaves, through decoctions, infusions, powders and juices. Most remedies were administered orally (69%). The six most frequently mentioned therapeutically important plants were Nicotiana tabacum, Solanum incanum, Carissa spinanrum, Calpurnia aurea, Croton macrostachyus and Cynodon dactylon. Authors reviewed the vegetal substances involved in snakebite management and their action mode. In addition to screening the biologically active ingredients and pharmacological activities of these plant materials, future studies are needed to emphasize the conservation and cultivation of important medicinal plants of the country.

Ethnomedicinal plants used for snakebite treatments in Ethiopia: a comprehensive overview

Traditional medicine plays an important role in the daily lives of people living in rural parts of Ethiopia. Despite the fact that Ethiopia has a long history of using traditional medicinal plants as an alternative medicine source, there is no checklist compiling these plants used for snakebite treatment. This review collected and compiled available knowledge on and practical usage of such plants in the country. A literature review on medicinal plants used to treat snakebites was conducted from 67 journal articles, PhD dissertation and MSc theses available online. Data that summarize scientific and folk names, administration methods, plant portion used for treatment and method of preparation of recipes were organized and analyzed based on citation frequency. The summarized results revealed the presence of 184 plant species distributed among 67 families that were cited for treating snakebite in Ethiopia. In this literature search, no single study was entirely dedicated to the study of traditional medicinal plants used for the treatment of snakebite in Ethiopia. Most of the species listed as a snakebite remedy were shrubs and climbers (44%) followed by herbs (33%) and trees (23%). Fabaceae was the most predominant family with the greatest number of species, followed by Solanaceae and Vitaceae. Remedies are mainly prepared from roots and leaves, through decoctions, infusions, powders and juices. Most remedies were administered orally (69%). The six most frequently mentioned therapeutically important plants were Nicotiana tabacum, Solanum incanum, Carissa spinanrum, Calpurnia aurea, Croton macrostachyus and Cynodon dactylon. Authors reviewed the vegetal substances involved in snakebite management and their action mode. In addition to screening the biologically active ingredients and pharmacological activities of these plant materials, future studies are needed to emphasize the conservation and cultivation of important medicinal plants of the country.(AU)