Natural Products Journal, The - Volume 3, Issue 4, 2013

The aim of this study was to determine the major boactive constituents, trans-cinnamic acid and transcinnamaldehyde, and anti-oxidative activities of 50% aqueous methanol and water extracts of Cinnamomum burmannii Blume stem bark. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to analyse the extracts. The content of trans-cinnalmadeyde quantified in the 50% aqueous methanol and water extracts were 50.14 μg/mg and 12.83 μg/mg of dry extract, respectively. The content of trans-cinnamic acid quantified in the water extract was 49.7 μg/mg of dry extract. Trans-cinnamic acid was not detected in the 50% aqueous methanol (v/v) extract. The extracts demonstrated in vitro antioxidative effects with the 50% aqueous methanol extract being more potent than the water extract.

New cyclohexyl epoxide and crotepoxide were isolated from the fruits of Piper attenuatum. The structure of the new metabolite was characterized as (2-benzoyl-1, 6-epoxy-3, 4, 5,-trihydroxy cyclohexyl) methanol benzoate along with crotepoxide using spectroscopic techniques.

The present study was performed to investigate the enzyme inhibitory and antidiabetic activities of the constituents isolated from Callistemon lanceolatus. The leaves of C. lanceolatus were extracted with successively with petroleum ether, dichloromethane and methanol. The dried dichloromethane and methanol extracts were subjected to fractionation and chromatographic separation, which led to the isolation of seven compounds: 3-epi-betulinic acid (1), 3- epi-ursolic acid (2), oleanolic acid (3), ursolic acid (4), lup-12, 20(29)-diene-3α-ol-28-oic acid (5), heptacosenone (6) and kaempferol (7). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic studies as well as by comparison with the data available in the literature. Among these isolates, compounds 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7 were evaluated for in vitro enzyme inhibition effect. Compounds 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7 showed 38.34, 52.59, 62.4, 54.95 and 32.43 % α-amylase inhibition respectively and 49.27, 53.34, 84.2, 67.98 and 52.25 % α-glucosidase inhibition respectively at the concentration of 50 μg/kg. Compounds 3, 4 and 7 were also showed antidiabetic activity in streptozotocin-nicotinamide induced diabetic mice at the dose of 10 mg/kg.

Phytochemical investigation of the methanolic extract of the aerial parts of Artemisia absinthium Linn. (Asteraceae) yielded four new phytoconstituents characterized as stigmast-5,22-dien-3β-ol-21-oic acid-3β-glucopyranosyl-2'- octadec-9''-enoate (1); lanost-24-en-3β-ol-11-one-28-oic acid-21,23 α-olide-3β-D-glucopyranosyl-2'-dihydrocaffeoate-6'- decanoate (2); tricosan-14-on-1,4-olide-5-eicos-9'-enoate (3) and 3,11-dimethyldodecan-1,7-dioic acid-1-β-D-glucopyranosyl-6'- octadec-9''-enoate (4). The structures of these phytoconstituents have been elucidated on the basis of spectral data analysis and chemical reactions.

Aedes aegypti is vector of Dengue and Yellow Fevers, a mosquito of public health importance. It is the most broadly disseminated urban species of mosquito in the world. Larval insecticide is one of the alternatives to control the mosquito dissemination. Temephos and Bacillus turinghiensis subsp. israelensis (Bti) are the larvicidal most used in the world to combat A. aegypti mosquito. In face of larvae resistance to Temephos and the high cost of Bti production in large scale, research programs on insecticides often focus on alternative compounds and natural products as rich sources of larvicides. In this work we describe significant larvicidal activity research of plant and algae extracts, essential oils and isolated compounds against A. aegypti.

The mineral content of commercially available different types of teas (premium black, flavored black, green and fruit tea) and the infusions produced from them with different type of water (distilled, spring and tap) were determined. Studied teas differed in contents of elements between their raw materials and infusions. Iron and copper exhibited the lowest efficiency of extraction by hot waters. There was a marked influence of the kind of water quality used for brewing on the release of Co, Ni, Zn and Mn. In most cases, tap water gave the highest released percentage. For the most popular black tea brand (Lipton yellow label) the efficiency of metal extraction decreased in the order: Co > Mn > Ni > Zn > Cu > Fe. The content of Pb in the infusions was very low or below the detection limit of ICP MS method. Citrus tea infusion has relatively high content of Cu, Co and Ni and could be a good source of these trace elements.

Plants are an important source of synthetic and herbal agents used in several pharmaceutical industries. Some of the prominent plant-derived compounds have played a major role in the development of several clinically useful anticancer agents such as vinblastine, vincristine, topotecan and paclitaxel (taxol). Himalayan plants, grown in high altitude are the rich source of various secondary metabolites such as anthraquinones, flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids, etc. This review article covers the active constituents isolated from several anticancerous plants of Himalaya and their effect against several anticancer cell lines.

Problem statement: Bauhinia tomentosa is a medicinal plant popularly used as herbal remedy for various ailments in Ayurveda. However, the scientific basis for its medicinal use especially in pain and inflammation remains unknown. Therefore, the present study was designed to evaluate analgesic and antioxidant potential of the ethanol, methanol and aqueous extract of Bauhinia tomentosa (stem). Approach: The analgesic activity was determined for its central and peripheral pharmacological actions using Eddy’s hot plate method and acetic acid-induced writhing test in mice respectively. The ethanol, methanol and aqueous extracts were also investigated for its antioxidant potential through 1, 1- diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging and Nitric Oxide (NO) scavenging assays. Results: Methanol and aqueous extract at the doses 200, 400 mg/kg and ethanol extract at high dose (400 mg/kg) significantly (p<0.05) inhibited number of writhing as well as increase in mean latency time. The ethanol extract at low dose (200 mg/kg) showed centrally anti-nociceptive effect but not peripherally. In acetic acid-induced writhing test, the ethanol, aqueous and methanol extract at the dose of 400 mg/kg produced a maximum of 81.21%, 79.18% and 72.5 % inhibition whereas reference drug Indomethacin showed a maximum inhibition of 79.26 % respectively. A dose dependent scavenging of DPPH radical scavenging has been observed with IC50 values of the methanol, ethanol and aqueous extracts were found to be 65.50, 167.4 & 85.85 μg/ml whereas the IC50 value for the reference ascorbic acid was 52.34 μg/ml. Extracts were also found to possess good nitric oxide scavenging potential with IC50 value of 220.43, 150.45 and 310.25 μg/ml of ethanol, methanol and aqueous extracts while IC50 value of standard ascorbic acid was found to be the 125.10 μg/ml respectively.