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Antibacterial acticvity of Alkaloids extracted from Adhatida vasica
Abstract
Adhatoda vasica, a popular Indian medicinal plant known locally as Adulsa in
Maharashatra has been explored for various biological activities. The present paper
gives an account of the antimicrobial activity of alcoholic extracts and alkaloids
extracted from this plant which have not been studied extensively. The hot and cold
Methanolic extracts of Adhatoda vasica and alkaloids isolated from the hot methanolic
extract, were evaluated for antimicrobial activity against clinically important bacteria
such as Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Staphylococcus aureus NTCC 3750,
Escherechia coli ATCC 25922, Proteus mirabilis, a Clinical isolate, Salmonella typhi
NTCC 786, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Candida albicans MTCC 183 and
Cryptococcus neoformans NCIM 3542. In vitro antimicrobial activity was performed
using agar cup diffusion method. Both the (hot and cold) methanolic extracts of
Adhatoda vasica were found to be active only against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa, but
alkaloids isolated from these extracts` exhibited excellent antimicrobial activity against
organisms investigated
The influenza viruses are major etiologic agents of human respiratory infections, and inflict sizable health and economic burden. The present study reports the in vitro antiviral effect of Justicia adhatoda crude extracts against influenza virus by Hemagglutination (HA) reduction in two different layouts of simultaneous and post treatment assay. The aqueous and methanolic extracts were used for antiviral activity in the non-cytotoxic range. Methanolic extract showed 100% reduction in HA in the simultaneous and post
treatment assays at the concentration of 10mg/ml. The aqueous extracts at concentrations of 10mg/ml and 5mg/ml reduced the HA to 33% and 16.67%, respectively, in the simultaneous assay. These results suggest that extracts have strong anti-influenza virus activity that can inhibit viral attachment and/or viral replication, and may be used as viral prophylaxis.
The development of new antimicrobial agents against resistant pathogens is of increasing interest. Therefore, the ethanolic extract from medicinal plant has been used traditionally as folk medicine over a period of time. The antimicrobial activity of Adhatoda vasica was assessed against some pathogen viz. Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus by Agar disc diffusion method the antimicrobial activity was measured at different concentration of 100 g, 200 g, 300 g, 400 g, and 500 g. The plant material was extracted by using Soxhlet extractor with ethanol solvent and ethanolic extract was screened phytochemically for the presence of secondary metabolites like alkoloids, phenolics, glycosides, tannins, flavonoids, saponins etc.
Adhatoda zeylanica Medic, syn A. vasica (Linn.) Nees (Vasaka), a popular Indian medicinal plant, has long been used commonly in Ayurvedic system of medicine. The plant has been found to possess diverse number of pharmacological activities. The present paper gives an account of updated information on its phytochemical and pharmacological activities. The review reveals that wide range of phytochemical constituents have been isolated from the plant and it possesses important activities like antitussive, antibacterial, abortifacient, anti-inflammatory and antiulcer. Various other activities like radiomodulation, hypoglycaemic, cardiovascular protection, antitubercular, antiviral, hepatoprotective, antimutagenic and antioxidant have also been reported. These reports are very encouraging and indicate that herb should be studied more extensively for its therapeutic benefits. Clinical trials using vasaka for a variety of combinations in different formulations should also be conducted.
Benzophenanthridine alkaloids, fagaronine 4, O-methylfagaronine 5, nitidine 1, allonitidine 3 and methoxydihydronitidine 2 have been shown to posses inhibitory activity against reverse transcriptase of RNA tumor viruses. The enzyme inhibition (50%) by these alkaloids was found in the range of 6-60 microgram per milliliter of the reaction mixture when polynucleotide-oligodeoxynucleotide complexes were used as template primers. The results suggested that the benzophenanthridine alkaloids interacted with the template primers (particularly of the A:T base pairs) and not with the enzyme proteins. Kinetics reaction of the reverse transciptase inhibition showed that the alkaloids stopped the DNA polymerase synthesis instantly, probably by interacting with the template primer.
The plant alkaloid, berberine sulphate, inhibited the growth of Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia and Trichomonas vaginalis in BI-S-33 medium, and induced morphological changes in the parasites. Exposure of E. histolytica to berberine caused a clumping of chromatin in the nucleus, and the formation of autophagic vacuoles and aggregates of small vacuoles in the cytoplasm. In berberine-treated G. lamblia, an irregularly-shaped vacuole appeared in the cytoplasm and gradually enlarged during culture. The trophozoites became swollen and deposits of glycogen were seen in the cytoplasm. Trichomonas vaginalis was also affected by the berberine; autophagic vacuoles increased in number soon after exposure, and one large vacuole, which was characteristic of treated cells, appeared. These observations demonstrate that, in vitro, this drug was effective against E. histolytica, G. lamblia and T. vaginalis. Another alkaloid, coptisine, was inactive against the three parasites.
The fruits of Piper longum used in traditional remedies against intestinal distress have been tested for their efficacy against experimental caecal amoebiasis of rats. The ethanolic extract, hexane fraction, n-butanol soluble fraction exerted in vitro amoebicidal action at 1000 micrograms/mL and the chloroform fraction at 500 micrograms/mL. The ethanolic extract and piperine, a pure compound, from this plant material cured 90% and 40% of rats with caecal amoebiasis, respectively.
Natural products have served as a major source of drugs for centuries, and about half of the pharmaceuticals in use today are derived from natural products. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the continuing central role of natural products in the discovery and development of new pharmaceuticals. In this context, selected examples of important natural product-derived drugs are cited, focusing on some of the most recent introductions to the clinical setting, and a brief overview of some of the important recent developments and remaining challenges in the process of discovering and developing bioactive natural products is provided. Interest in natural products research is strong and can be attributed to several factors, including unmet therapeutic needs, the remarkable diversity of both chemical structures and biological activities of naturally occurring secondary metabolites, the utility of bioactive natural products as biochemical and molecular probes, the development of novel and sensitive techniques to detect biologically active natural products, improved techniques to isolate, purify, and structurally characterize these active constituents, and advances in solving the demand for supply of complex natural products. Opportunities for multidisciplinary research that joins the forces of natural products chemistry, molecular and cellular biology, synthetic and analytical chemistry, biochemistry, and pharmacology to exploit the vast diversity of chemical structures and biological activities of natural products are discussed.
A preliminary antiplasmodial and phytochemical screening of four Kenyan medicinal plants was carried out. The medicinal plants were extracted and tested for in vitro antiplasmodial activity against chloroquine-sensitive (K67) and chloroquine-resistant (ENT36) strains of Plasmodium falciparum. Out of 16 extracts, 12 were active against ENT36 strain while seven were active against K67 strain, that is, IC50 < or = 50 micrograms/ml. The most active extracts on both strains were those of leaves of Phyllanthus reticulatus Poir, and Suregada zanzibariensis Baill. (Euphorbiaceae) with IC50 < or = 10 micrograms/ml. The stembark of Terminalia spinosa Engl. (Combretaceae) and the stems of Dissotis brazzae Cogn. (Melastomataceae) had IC50 < or = 10 micrograms/ml for strains K67 and ENT36, respectively. A preliminary phytochemical analysis of these plants revealed the presence of different classes of primary and secondary metabolites.
The use of and search for drugs and dietary supplements derived from plants have accelerated in recent years. Ethnopharmacologists, botanists, microbiologists, and natural-products chemists are combing the Earth for phytochemicals and "leads" which could be developed for treatment of infectious diseases. While 25 to 50% of current pharmaceuticals are derived from plants, none are used as antimicrobials. Traditional healers have long used plants to prevent or cure infectious conditions; Western medicine is trying to duplicate their successes. Plants are rich in a wide variety of secondary metabolites, such as tannins, terpenoids, alkaloids, and flavonoids, which have been found in vitro to have antimicrobial properties. This review attempts to summarize the current status of botanical screening efforts, as well as in vivo studies of their effectiveness and toxicity. The structure and antimicrobial properties of phytochemicals are also addressed. Since many of these compounds are currently available as unregulated botanical preparations and their use by the public is increasing rapidly, clinicians need to consider the consequences of patients self-medicating with these preparations.
A NEW alkaloid has been isolated by us in the crystalline form from the leaves of Adhatoda vasica Nees (Indian Patent No. 62349 of November 21, 1957. Patent application No. 64603 of July 9, 1958). The alkaloid, which has been named vasicinone, has been found to be a much weaker base than vasicine, an alkaloid which is already known to be present in this plant. Elementary analysis gave, C = 65.33, H = 4.93, N = 13.65 per cent. The molecular weight (Rast) was found to be about 210 and the molecular formula C11H 10N2O2. The alkaloid was found to be identical with 2,3-(α-hydroxytrimethylene)-4 quinazolone which had been prepared earlier by the oxidation of vasicine with 30 per cent hydrogen peroxide 1,2.
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