Butea superba Roxb. Extract Ameliorates Scopolamine-Induced Cognitive and Memory Impairment in Aged Male Rats

Butea superba Roxb. (B. superba) is a herb that has been used for rejuvenation, to improve sexual performance, or to prevent erectile dysfunction function. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder that is the main cause of progressive dementia. This study aimed to investigate the amelioration for cognitive and memory dysfunction of B. superba ethanolic extract (BSE), a possible mechanism of action, and its toxicity. The results from the Y-maze test, novel object recognition test, and passive avoidance test exhibited that the administration of BSE at 50 mg/kg (BSL) and 200 mg/kg (BSH) could ameliorate scopolamine-induced cognitive impairment in all behavior testing. Moreover, BSE could prevent the cognitive deficit in a dose-dependent manner in a passive avoidance test. Furthermore, BSE inhibited acetylcholinesterase’s (AChE) ex vivo activity in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. Also, the in vitro and ex vivo antioxidative effects of BSE revealed that BSE had free radical scavenging activities in both DPPH and FRAP assay. Furthermore, male rats treated with BSE at 200 mg/kg/day for two weeks could significantly increase serum testosterone compared with control ( P < 0.05 ). The GC-MS analysis and previous studies revealed that BSE contained propanoic acid, 3,3′-thiobis-, didodecyl ester, oleic acid, gamma-sitosterol, and stigmasterol which may play an important role in cognitive and memory impairment prevention. The toxicity test of BSE in rats at 50 and 200 mg/kg/day for two weeks showed that relative organ weight, serum creatinine, ALT, ALP, and CBC levels of both treated groups were not significantly different compared to the CON ( P > 0.05 ). These results suggest that BSE may not be toxic to the vital organ and blood. In conclusion, BSE has the potential to be developed as a health supplement product or medicine for AD prevention and treatment.

A relative study of diversity of endophytic fungi in a Lianas Butea superba from Belpahari and their seasonal variation

Fungal endophytes from Butea superba were studied collecting from Belpahari of Jhargram district of West Bengal during three seasons-winter, summer and monsoon. A total of 159 plant tissue segments were resided by endophytic fungi among 225 tissue segments and endophytic fungi of the number of 201 were isolated from 159 various tisue specimens such as leaf, petiole and stem. The fungal isolates belong to the genera as many as 25, along with 5 unidentified fungi and few sterile mycelia. Beltrania sp., Lasiodiplodia sp., Fusarium sp., Penicillium sp., Pestalotiopsis sp. were found most commonly and dominantly found out of all isolates. Majority of the endophytic isolates were during winter season and least in summer. Colonization frequencies in winter, summer and monsoon are 73.33%, 60% and 78.66% respectively. This difference in CF % might be due to variation of moisture content in various seasons inside it and variation of absorbable nutrient contents in forest floor. It has been observed that microenvironment and microclimate were determining factors for assuring endophytic biodiversity.

QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF INORGANIC ACID, BASIC RADICALS, AND ESTIMATION OF BIOMOLECULES IN THE FLOWER EXTRACT OF BUTEA SUPERBA ROXB.

Objective: Medicinal plants have different chemicals in their roots, stem, leaves, flowers, and fruits. In human history, medicinal plants play a vital role in the traditional medicine because of herbal plants have a great nutritive value, and some of them are also used in medicine. The efficacy of medicinal plants is mainly allied with their components such as secondary metabolites and inorganic acid, and basic radicals considered that prolonged intake can cause health problems if the heavy metals such as mercury, cadmium, and other impurities are the threshold concentrations.Methods: In the present study, the flower extract of Butea superba was analyzed for the inorganic acid and basic radicals and the estimation of total saponins, terpenoids, and alkaloids. The above protocols were done using standard methods.Results: The flower extract of B. superba revealed that the inorganic acid radicals such as chromate, phosphate, and sulfate and the basic radicals such as lead, arsenic, and ferrous showed that positive results. The percentage of total saponins, terpenoids, and alkaloids were compared in the following order, saponins<terpenoids<alkaloids as 4.181±0.017%<79.833±0.351%<107.823±0.105%, respectively.Conclusion: The present study revealed that the inorganic acid and basic elements of B. superba flower extract. The estimation of secondary metabolites such as total saponins, terpenoids, and alkaloids proved that the flower extract of B. superba is used to treat many diseases.

The Use of Cycleave PCR for the Differentiation of the Rejuvenating Herb Species Pueraria candollei (White Kwao Khruea), Butea superba (Red Kwao Khruea), and Mucuna macrocarpa (Black Kwao Khruea), and the Simultaneous Detection of Multiple DNA Targets in a DNA Admixture

Kwao Khruea, the tuberous roots of Pueraria candollei Graham ex Benth. (White Kwao Khruea), Butea superba Roxb. (Red Kwao Khruea), and Mucuna macrocarpa Wall. (Black Kwao Khruea), are used as rejuvenating herbs in traditional medicine in many tropical countries. Although Kwao Khruea has attracted strong interest because of its rejuvenation properties, each species is used for specific purposes and effects. P. candollei shows estrogenic effects in females. In contrast, B. superba and M. macrocarpa show androgenic effects in males. The potential misidentification of dried tuberous roots of various Kwao Khruea species might cause problems in the drug market, especially when they are reduced into powders. A cycleave PCR, which is based on the sequence of chloroplast matK gene, was developed to differentiate P. candollei, B. superba, and M. macrocarpa. The results showed that cycleave PCR is able to identify specific Kwao Khruea species. A multiplex cycleave PCR was optimized for the simultaneous detection of two different DNA targets in a DNA admixture. The specificity of this technique was confirmed by its ability to distinguish M. macrocarpa from five related Mucuna species. Cycleave PCR can be a specific, sensitive, and rapid method for the identification of medicinal plants and crude plant samples.