Thonningia sanguinea Extract: Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Activities Supported by Chemical Composition and Molecular Docking Simulations

The current study was designed to investigate the antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of Thonningia sanguinea whole-plant extract. The total phenolic content was determined using Folin–Ciocalteu reagent and found to be 980.1 mg/g, calculated as gallic acid equivalents. The antioxidant capacity was estimated for the crude extract and the phenolic portion of T. sanguinea, whereupon both revealed a dose-dependent scavenging rate of DPPH• with EC50 values of 36.33 and 11.14 µg/mL, respectively. Chemical profiling of the plant extract was achieved by LC-ESI-TOF-MS/MS analysis, where 17 compounds were assigned, including ten compounds detected in the negative mode and seven detected in the positive mode. The phenolic portion exhibited promising cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 and HepG2 cells, with IC50 values of 16.67 and 13.51 μg/mL, respectively. Phenolic extract treatment caused apoptosis in MCF-7 cells, with total apoptotic cell death 18.45-fold higher compared to untreated controls, arresting the cell cycle at G2/M by increasing the G2 population by 39.7%, compared to 19.35% for the control. The apoptotic investigation was further validated by the upregulation of proapoptotic genes of P53, Bax, and caspases-3,8 9, and the downregulation of Bcl-2 as the anti-apoptotic gene. Bcl-2 inhibition was also virtualized by good binding interactions through a molecular docking study. Taken together, phenolic extract exhibited promising cytotoxic activity in MCF-7 cells through apoptosis induction and antioxidant activation, so further fractionation studies are recommended for the phenolic extract for specifying the most active compound to be developed as a novel anti-cancer agent.

Effect of Aqueous Extract of Thonningia sanguinea on Blood Electrolytes of Broilers Chickens

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effect of aqueous extract of Thonningia sanguinea on blood electrolytes of broiler chickens. To do this, two hundred (200) 15-day-old Hubbard broiler chickens were divided into 2 batches of 100 chickens each. The chickens in the control group (Batch C) received unsupplemented water while those in the test group (Batch E) received water supplemented with 10 g / L of aqueous extract of T. sanguinea for one week. Then, the zootechnical parameters such as weight growth, weight gain, consumption index and the level of serum electrolytes were determined. The results of the study showed that the aqueous extract of Thonningia sanguinea improved weight growth, weight gain and consumption index. At the same time, the results also showed that T. sanguinea did not significantly (p <0.05) affect the level of blood electrolytes of broilers chickens. From the results obtained in the present study, the aqueous extract of Thonningia sanguinea could be used to improve poultry productivity without damage on blood electrolytes. Keywords: Thonningia sanguinea; chicken broilers; Blood electrolytes; Zootechnical parameters

Development and Validation of a UHPLC-DAD Method for the Quantitative Analysis of Major Dihydrochalcone Glucosides from Thonningia sanguinea VAHL

Thonnigia sanguinea is a plant widely used in traditional African medicine against a variety of diseases. The obligate parasite is growing throughout tropical African forests and utilizes a large variety of hosts. Dihydrochalcone glucoside derivatives isolated from the subaerial parts of this plant were identified as potential antidiabetic lead compounds. In this study, an ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatographic method coupled with a photodiode array detector was developed for the quantitation of six major dihydrochalcone derivatives. The analytes were baseline separated in complex samples within 14 minutes on a Phenomenex Luna Omega 1.6 µm C18 column using a mobile phase consisting of water and acetonitrile (each + 0.01% trifluoroacetic acid) in gradient elution. Method validation confirmed the selectivity, linearity (R2 ≥ 0.9992), precision (inter-day ≤ 1.98%, intraday ≤ 2.00%), and accuracy (recovery rates of 97.4 – 106.3% for all analytes). At 280 nm, the LODs and LOQs were found to be lower than 1.42 and 4.30 µg/mL, respectively. Eight plant batches from the northern Angolan province of Uíge (collected in the wild or bought on markets) were extracted with methanol using an ultrasound-assisted extraction protocol and subsequently analyzed with the validated method. Results indicated high contents of dihydrochalcone glucosides in all eight samples. Most notably, the two bioactive constituents thonningianin A and B were present in fairly large amounts (2.42 – 5.35 w%).

Chemical studies on the parasitic plant Thonningia sanguinea Vahl

A detailed first-time report on plant sterols and one flavanone characterized from Thonningia sanguinea provides significant evidence for its ethnomedicinal usage.

Therapeutic activity of Thonningia sanguinea aqueous extract, Vahl on an experimental colibacillosis in chicken

Broiler breeding is faced with serious diseases, including colibacillosis, which is the leading cause of antibiotic therapy and the second leading cause of mortality in poultry after salmonellosis. It is caused by avian pathogens of E. coli. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of the aqueous extract of Thonningia sanguinea on certain therapeutic parameters in broiler chickens during experimental colibacillosis compared to a usual antimicrobial against colibacillary diarrhea (colistin). For each parameter, three lots of chicken meat were used: two treated batches, one with the plant extract and the other with colistin and one untreated contaminated batch (control). The study was spread over two weeks and for one week each chicken in the treated batch absorbed 500 mg of plant extract daily. The results show that the aqueous extract of this plant causes an improved clinical index, increased mean weight gain, reduced organ damage, elimination of germs in affected organs, and decreased mortality compared to the control group. On all the parameters, other than the moisture content, the plant extract had a more beneficial effect than colistin. Under these conditions, this plant could be used as a veterinary product to control avian colibacillosis.