Antibacterial and antifungal activity of methanolic extracts of Salix alba L. against various disease causing pathogens

The present study was aimed to manifest the antibacterial and antifungal activity of methanolic extracts of Salix alba L. against seven Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial pathogens e.g. Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus (1), S. aureus (2), Shigella sonnei, Escherichia coli (1), E. coli (2) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae and three fungal isolates from the air such as Aspergillus terreus, A. ornatus, and Rhizopus stolonifer. Two different serotypes of S. aureus and E. coli were used. The agar well-diffusion method results showed the dose-dependent response of plant extracts against bacterial and fungal strains while some organisms were found resistant e.g. E. coli (1), S. sonnei, A. terreus and R. stolonifer. The highest antibacterial activity was recorded at 17.000±1.732 mm from 100 mg/mL of leaves methanolic extracts against S. pyogenes while the activity of most of the pathogens decreased after 24 h of incubation. The highest antifungal activity was reported at 11.833±1.0 mm against A. ornatus at 50 mg/mL after 48 h of the incubation period. These experimental findings endorse the use of S. alba in ethnopharmacological formulations and suggest the use of methanolic extracts of the said plant to develop drugs to control the proliferation of resistant disease causing pathogenic microbes.

Antimicrobial, antioxidant activity and phytochemical prospection of Eugenia involucrata DC. leaf extracts

The species Eugenia involucrata DC. is a plant native to Brazil and is traditionally used for intestinal problems, however, little research has documented about its biological potential and phytochemical profile. Thus, the objective of this study was to carry out preliminary phytochemical prospecting, antimicrobial and antioxidant potential of E. involucrata extracts. Using the E. involucrata leaves, aqueous and organic extracts were obtained using the following solvents (ethanol, methanol, hexane, acetone, dichloromethane and ethyl acetate). The phytochemical prospecting detected the presence of saponins, steroids, flavonoids and tannins in the extracts. Ethanolic and methanolic extracts presented antimicrobial activity for most of the bacterial strains tested, as well as for yeast Candida albicans, with concentrations between 3.12 and 50 mg/mL. The ethanolic and metanolic extract presented high free radical sequestration potential (>90%). The methanol extract showed an IC50 value statistically equal to that found for the commercial antioxidant BHT (p <0.05). The crude extracts obtained with ethanol and methanol were the most promising. These results suggest that methanolic, ethanolic and aqueous extracts are a promising source of natural bioactive.

Gas Chromatographic analysis of potentially bioactive compounds in leaf and root extracts of Muntingia calabura and their expected antibacterial activities

The study aimed to identify bioactive compounds in <i>Muntingia calabura</i> leaf and root methanolic extracts. The Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS) technique were used to identify bioactive compounds. GC-MS analysis revealed 38 compounds in the leaf and 15 compounds in the root methanolic extracts of <i>M. calabura</i>. The prime potent compound found in leaf extract is 2-{3-[(E)-2-(1H-indol-3-yl)ethenyl]-1,2,4-oxadiazol-5-yl}phenol with 5.78% peak area and cholest-4-en-6-on-3-ol is found in root extracts, has the highest 63.7% peak area and another potent compound Lupeol has 7.3% peak area. The bioactive compounds identified in <i>M. calabura</i> have antibacterial activity against various bacterial strains such as gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, which showed the efficacy of <i>in vivo</i> plant extracts. These findings validate the therapeutic potentiality of <i>M. calabura</i> leaf and root samples. Furthermore, these screened potential bioactive compounds can be used effectively for biomedical and therapeutic applications.

EXPLORING THE ANTIOBESITY AND ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL OF THE METHANOLIC EXTRACT OF CAMELLIA SINENSIS

The escalating problem of obesity has become a cause of great concern in the world today as it leads to adverse effects on human health, including cardiovascular diseases, cancer etc. The major causes of obesity may be attributed to sedentary lifestyle and bad food habits. Conventional modalities to tackle obesity are not free from side-effects. Urgency of a novel, nontoxic means needs to be developed to control obesity. In this study we aim to screen the phytochemical compounds of Camellia Sinensis and evaluate its antiobesity and antioxidant effects. The methanolic extract of Camellia Sinensis was analyzed for its phytochemical screening and assayed for its in-vitro activity against pancreatic lipase, its antioxidant potential and quantitative estimation of flavonoids and phenolics were done. The methanolic extract of Camellia Sinensis strongly inhibited pancreatic lipase by 63% and it also possesses a strong antioxidant effect and there was a significant positive correlation between phenolics, flavonoids and with alkaloid contents. From these results, it could be concluded that methanolic extracts of Camellia Sinensis possesses antipancreatic lipase compounds. It also possesses antioxidant effect. It is suggested that the phytochemical compounds from there plants may be applied for the prevention and treatment of obesity or hyperlipidemia. Keywords: Obesity, Camellia Sinensis, Pancreatic lipase, Antioxidant, Phenolic

Role of Ajwa Date Fruit Pulp and Seed in the Management of Diseases through In Vitro and In Silico Analysis

This study investigated the health-promoting activities of methanolic extracts of Ajwa date seed and fruit pulp extracts through in vitro studies. These studies confirmed potential antioxidant, anti-hemolytic, anti-proteolytic, and anti-bacterial activities associated with Ajwa dates. The EC50 values of fruit pulp and seed extracts in methanol were reported to be 1580.35 ± 0.37 and 1272.68 ± 0.27 µg/mL, respectively, in the DPPH test. The maximum percentage of hydrogen peroxide-reducing activity was 71.3 and 65.38% for both extracts at 600 µg/mL. Fruit pulp and seed extracts inhibited heat-induced BSA denaturation by 68.11 and 60.308%, heat-induced hemolysis by 63.84% and 58.10%, and hypersalinity-induced hemolysis by 61.71% and 57.27%, and showed the maximum anti-proteinase potential of 56.8 and 51.31% at 600 μg/mL, respectively. Seed and fruit pulp inhibited heat-induced egg albumin denaturation at the same concentration by 44.31 and 50.84%, respectively. Ajwa seed showed minimum browning intensity by 63.2%, percent aggregation index by 64.2%, and amyloid structure by 63.8% at 600 μg/mL. At 100 mg/mL, Ajwa seed extract exhibited good antibacterial activity. Molecular docking analysis showed that ten active constituents of Ajwa seeds bind with the critical antioxidant enzymes, catalase (1DGH) and superoxide dismutase (5YTU). The functional residues involved in such interactions include Arg72, Ala357, and Leu144 in 1DGH, and Gly37, Pro13, and Asp11 in 5YTU. Hence, Ajwa dates can be used to develop a suitable alternative therapy in various diseases, including diabetes and possibly COVID-19-associated complications.

Phytocompounds of Bistorta macrophylla (D. Don) Sojak. as bioavailability enhancers of fluconazole and amphotericin B to better manage Candida species infections

Bistorta macrophylla (D. Don) Sojak. is a medicinal plant of high altitude and so far, not been scientifically explored? Since prehistoric times, B. macrophylla has been used to cure stomach pain, pyretic fever, flu, lungs infections, diarrhea, vomiting. The present research was aimed to examine the phytochemicals, antifungal, and synergistic potential of methanolic extracts of B. macrophylla. Methanolic extract of B. macrophylla was found to have high phenolic (191.18 ± 29.18 mg g−1 GAE) and flavonoid (26.71 ± 3.21 mg g−1 RE) content. Methanolic extract also demonstrate strong antifungal action with diameter of zone of inhibition of 17.5±0.5 mm (fungicidal) against both the strains of C. albicans (MTCC277 and ATCC90028). The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of methanolic extract was found to be 62.5 µg ml−1 against C. albicans (MTCC277 and ATCC90028). In addition, the combination of methanolic extract of B. macrophylla with antifungal antibiotics (fluconazole and amphotericin B) showed synergistic interaction with MIC reduction from 4-128 folds against both candida strains. GC-MS analysis of methanolic extract revealed the presence of 15 major phytocompounds with area more than 1%. Molecular docking showed that sucrose and 9,9-Dimethoxybicyclo [ 3.3.1] nona-2,4-dione has highest binding energy of -6.3 and -5.1 KJ/mol against Cytochrome P450 14 alpha-sterol Demethylase (PDB ID: 1EA1) protein respectively. Combination of methanolic extract of B. macrophylla with antifungal antibiotics (fluconazole, amphotericin B) can be used to treat drug-resistant candida.

Assessment cytotoxic assay of Rhizophora plants mangrove using brine shrimp (Artemia salina L) model

Rhizophoraceae is the main family of mangroves as a source of bioactive compounds originating from the coast. Ethnophamacologically Rhizophoraceae has been used in various traditional medicine. Natural sources as anticancer from the Rhizophoraceae family are interesting to know. This study aimed to determine the cytotoxic bioactivity of methanolic extracts of roots, bark, leaves, and fruit/hypocotyl from five species of Rhizophoraceae (Bruguieria cylindrica, B. gymnorrhiza, Ceriops decandra, Rhizophora apiculata, and R. mucronata) from the Langsa mangrove forest, Aceh. The method used in this study was the Brine Shrimp Lethality Test (BSLT) bioassay using Artemia salina Leach at extract concentrations of 1, 10, 100, 500, and 1000 μg/ml. Samples were extracted using the maceration method and methanol as the solvent. The cytotoxic activity of 20 Rhizophoraceae methanol extracts showed that 12 extracts were toxic with an LC50 range of 31.5 - 934.9 μg/ml (based on LC50 ≤ 1000 μg/ml). The two extracts of which the closest to highly toxic (based on LC50 ≤ 30 μg/ml) were C. decandra bark showed LC50 of 31.5 μg/ml, and R. mucronata bark showed LC50 31.8 μg/ml. This shows that Rhizophoraceae extract has potential as a natural anticancer agent. In the five rhizophoraceae species, C. decandra was the most active compared to other species. In the four plant parts, the bark was the most toxic.

Phytochemical evaluation and antioxidant activities in flower and leaves of Cassia fistula and Terminalia arjuna

The plants Cassia fistula and Terminalia arjuna are medicinally important and produce leaves and colourful blossoms that belong to the Caesalpinioideae of the legume family and the family of Combretaceae. The antioxidant, hydrogen peroxide, and phytochemical assessment (qualitative and quantitative) of methanolic and ethanolic extracts of Cassia fistula and Terminalia arjuna flowers and leaves were investigated in this work. In qualitative phytochemical evaluation, the presence of ten different chemicals of varying degrees and classes was observed, and alkaloids, steroids, tannis, glycosides, saponins, flavonoids, and terpinoids were confirmed during qualitative screening. During quantitative analysis, the Cassia fistula L. leaves showed the highest TFC (32.783A ± 0.073) and the TPC was observed highest in Terminalia arjuna flowers (42.800A ± 0.028). The highest DPPH percentage was recorded in C. fistula flowers (21.825A ± 0.069) compared to its lowest value observed in C. fistula leaves (10.660B ± 0.053). The highest hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) scavenging activity among both plants was found in C. fistula (12.526A ± 0.146) and the lowest in its leaves (7.1470B ± 0.045). The methanolic extracts showed promising antioxidant activity. The presence of bioactive components in the leaves and flowers of Terminalia arjuna and Cassia fistula suggests that these flowers and leaves might be used as a phytochemical source and are also effective and safe as natural remedies. The biochemical analysis proved that the extracts of Cassia fistula and Terminalia arjuna plants have glycosides, flavonoids, and alkaloids that play a role in antioxidant activity.

Screening of Chloroform and Methanolic Bark Extracts of Commiphora caudata for its In-vitro Anti-bacterial, Anti-fungal and In-vivo Anti-inflammatory Activity

Herbal medicines and their preparations have been widely used from the thousands of years in developing and developed countries in the primary health care of society and community. They have great demand due its safety, efficacy with minimum side or adverse effects. Commiphora caudata. It’s known as konda mava in kannada, ikkata in Sanskrit and hill mango in English. It’s widely used in the management of various disorders. Hence the identification of bioactive fractions from various parts of selected medicinal plant is important. In the present research work an attempt has been made to screen and assess the antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory activities of Commiphora caudata barks. The barks of selected plant material were collected, authenticated, powdered and subjected for extraction procedure. The extracts were screened for presence of various phytoconstituents. The antibacterial activity of chloroform and methanolic extracts were performed against various strains of bacteria and fungi. The extracts also were investigated for its in-vivo anti-inflammatory activity. The result of investigation concludes that chloroform and methanolic extract of plant were potential to inhibit the growth of selected strains of microorganism and also produced potential anti-inflammatory effect.

ANTI-TYROSINASE AND ANTI-OXIDANT POTENTIAL OF METHANOLIC EXTRACTS OF SELECTED CITRUS BERGAMIA AND FICUS CARICA PARTS

Tyrosinase is a key enzyme in melanogenesis and its high activity leads to increasedpigmentations causing skin disorder like freckles, melanosoma and black spot. Therefore to search for new tyrosinase inhibitors is desirable. In present study, methanolic (MeOH) extracts from leaves, fruit peel and pulp of Citrus bergamia (CB) and, leaves and fruitof Ficus carica (FC) were prepared which were further process for fractional ethyl alcohol (EA), n-hexane (n-Hx) and chloroform (CHCl3)extractions (total 20 extracts) aiming to test their anti-tyrosinase potential, in-vitro. Our results confirmed that all MeOH FC and CB extracts showed significant anti-oxidant activity with IC50 range of 461.9 ± 16.1µg/ml to 2324.4 ± 116.1 µg/ml. Moreover, CB and FC all 20 extracts have significant anti-tyrosinase activity with IC50 range of 13.9 ± 0.5 µg/ml to 320.5 ± 3.3 µg/ml. Interestingly, CB MeOH-EA peel and leaf extracts showed tyrosinase inhibition (IC50) 13.9 ± 0.5 µg/ml and 17.2 ± 0.8 µg/ml, respectively) is better than all other tested extracts and positive control kojic acid (IC50=18.75±5.29µg/ml). Thus, CB MeOH-EA peel extract with lowest IC50 value among all the tested extracts and kojic acid is proposed as potent candidate to control tyrosinase rooted hyperpigmentation.