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Sterculia and Brachychiton: A comprehensive overview on their ethnopharmacology, biological activities, phytochemistry and the role of their gummy exudates in drug delivery
Abstract
Objectives:
Sterculia and Brachychiton are two related genera (Malvaceae) containing more than 300 species. Most of these species are ornamental trees that are native to Australia and widely cultivated in many countries. Different members of the two genera were used by various cultures for medicinal and economical purposes. This review sheds light on the medicinal values and chemical composition of various species of these two genera.
Key findings:
Sterculia and Brachychiton species were used traditionally for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders, microbial infection, skin diseases, inflammation and many other conditions. The seeds of various species were roasted and eaten by many traditional tribes. Plants from the two genera revealed their anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, antiulcer, insecticidal and analgesic activity. These activities may be attributed to the presence of a wide range of secondary metabolites as flavonoids, phenolic acids, coumarins, terpenoids particularly sesquiterpenes and triterpenes in addition to sterols and fatty acids. Moreover, the gummy exudates obtained from some members of these genera played an important role in different pharmaceutical dosage forms and drug-delivery systems.
Conclusions:
More research is recommended on other species of Sterculia and Brachychiton to discover new molecular entities with potential biological and economic values.
... The plant, which varies in size from being a small shrub to up to 20 m in height, was introduced in Jordan and is an attractive ornamental tree along roadsides. Although Sterculia diversifolia is a synonym for Brachychiton populneus according to the global plants database [4], variation based on the botanical examination of the seeds and follicles led some researchers to speculate that Brachychiton may be treated as an independent genus [5]. ...
... MNPs have also been used efficiently as antimicrobial agents; an example is the use of AgNPs synthesized using Salvia spinosa plant extract [10]. The phytochemicals flavonoids, sterols, saponins, triterpenoids, phenols, tannins, and coumarins are reported to be abundant in Sterculia diversifolia extracts, many of which are helpful in the treatment of microbial infections, inflammations, hyperglycemia, cancer, and skin problems because they have antioxidant and antibacterial properties [1,5,[16][17][18]. The domestication of the certified genotypes of Sterculia diversifolia grown in Jordan will have its influence on the bioconstituents of plant extracts. ...
Efficacy of Sterculia diversifolia Leaf Extracts: Volatile
Compounds, Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activity, and
Green Synthesis of Potential Antibacterial Silver Nanoparticles
... S. villosa is a deciduous small to large tree found in tropical and subtropical countries, including Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and southern China (Hossain M. K. et al., 2012;Hossain et al., 2016). This plant has received special importance for its antiinflammatory ethnomedicinal value besides many other traditional uses (Namsa et al., 2009;Thabet et al., 2018). Along with different bioactive molecules such as chrysoeriol, chrysoeriol 7-O-β-D-glucoside, diosmetin, etc., anti-inflammatory lupeol (23) (Figure 8) has also been reported from S. villosa (Seetharaman, 1990;Das et al., 2017). ...
Inflammatory diseases are considered major threats to human health worldwide. In Bangladesh, a number of medicinal plants have been used in traditional medicine from time immemorial in the treatment of diverse diseases, including inflammatory disorders. This assignment aims at providing the status of the medicinal plants of Bangladesh which are traditionally used in the management of inflammatory disorders and are investigated for their anti-inflammatory prospects using different preclinical studies and future research directions. The information of medicinal plants assembled in this review was obtained from a literature search of electronic databases such as Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and ScienceDirect up to December, 2020 from publications on plants investigated for their anti-inflammatory activities, in which the place of plant sample collection was identified as Bangladesh. Keywords for primary searches were “anti-inflammatory,” “Bangladeshi,” and “medicinal plants.” Criteria followed to include plant species were plants that showed significant anti-inflammatory activities in 1) two or more sets of experiments in a single report, 2) same or different sets of experiments in two or more reports, and, 3) plants which are traditionally used in the treatment of inflammation and inflammatory disorders. In this study, 48 species of medicinal plants have been reviewed which have been used in traditional healing practices to manage inflammatory disorders in Bangladesh. The mechanistic pathways of the in vivo and in vitro study models used for the evaluation of anti-inflammatory properties of plant samples have been discussed. Selected plants were described in further detail for their habitat, anti-inflammatory studies conducted in countries other than Bangladesh, and anti-inflammatory active constituents isolated from these plants if any. Medicinal plants of Bangladesh have immense significance for anti-inflammatory activity and have potential to contribute toward the discovery and development of novel therapeutic approaches to combat diseases associated with inflammation. However, the plants reviewed in this article had chiefly undergone preliminary screening and require substantial investigations including identification of active molecules, understanding the mechanism of action, and evaluation for safety and efficacy to be followed by the formulation of safe and effective drug products.
... Various species of this genus including Sterculia villosa, Sterculia foetida, Sterculia lychnophora, Sterculia rupestris have been thoroughly investigated for attenuation of hyperglycemia in different in vivo animal models. 12,13 Preliminary phytochemical study on S. diversifolia revealed the presence of carbohydrates, coumarins, alkaloids, glycosides, saponins, tannins, flavonoids, steroids, terpenoids and vitamin-C. 14 Medicinally, S. diversifolia bears antimicrobial, antioxidant, cytotoxic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anti-pyretic, anti-glycation, immunomodulatory, insecticidal, larvicidal, leishmanicidal, anthelmintic, anticonvulsant and CNS depressant activities. ...
Objective:
To investigate Sterculia diversifolia G. Don for potential anti-diabetic activity in the in vivo mouse model of alloxan-induced hyperglycemia.
Methods:
Sterculia diversifolia (S. diversifolia) was subjected to extraction and isolation techniques and structural characterization of the isolated compounds were performed using spectroscopic methods. The acute toxicity test was performed by orally administering S. diversifolia in doses of 500-2000 mg/kg. For the assessment of anti-hyperglycemic activity, S. diversifolia bark and leaves extracts were administered orally in doses of 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg, along with metformin (150 mg/kg, i.p) as positive control, after confirmation of alloxan (150 mg/kg, i.p.) induced hyperglycemia in BALB/c mice. Serum biochemical parameters were monitored for the period of study.
Results:
The phytochemical studies showed the presence of quercetin and kaempferol in S. diversifolia. The IC50 values in the in vivo acute toxicity study revealed the safety margin of S. diversifolia bark (1166.66 mg/kg) and leaves (683.34 mg/kg) extracts. A significant attenuation of alloxan induced hyperglycemia was produced by S. diversifolia extracts at 50 mg/kg (P < 0.05), 100 mg/kg (P < 0.05, < 0.01), and 150 mg/kg (P < 0.05, < 0.01, < 0.001) during 1-4 h, which was comparable to metformin (P < 0.001). Significant (P < 0.001) improvement appeared in blood hemoglobin, protein, cholesterol, triglycerides, urea, creatinine, HDL, and LDL of the stem bark and leaves extracts treated diabetic mice.
Conclusion:
These findings connote the usefulness of S. diversifolia as an anti-diabetic in traditional medicine and this might be attributed to the presence of quercetin and kaempferol, among other phytochemicals.
... The antioxidant property may be due to the presence of sterculia gum and alginate in the polymer matrix. Both, these natural polysaccharides, sterculia gum and sodium alginate have been found to have antioxidant activity [62,63]. It may also be helpful in wound healing during brain injury beside the nerve repair occurred by the citicoline drug, a nerve repair agent. ...
As the brain injury causes persistent neurological disorders that lead to the loss of neuron functions. The blood-brain-barrier limits the bioavailability of drugs required in therapeutic level. Hydrogel dressing can provide the localized drug release to the injured brain tissues that can reduce the limitations of the other drug delivery formulations. In the present article, sterculia gum and alginate polysaccharides were explored to form hydrogel dressing by radiation method for use in brain drug delivery. These dressings were characterized by AFM, XRD, FTIR, and ¹³C-NMR. The content of the artificial cerebrospinal fluids absorbed by sterculia-alginate dressing was 19.60 ± 0.35 gram. The release of citicoline drug, a nerve regenerative agent, occurred in controlled manner through Fickian mechanism and followed first order kinetic model. The porous dressings were permeable to O2 and H2O and were biocompatible and antioxidant. Since the hydrogel dressings were prepared by radiation method so the resultant material was pure and sterile and could be explored for its application in brain drug delivery during brain injury.
... According to botanists and pharmacologists, traditional medicine is the primary source of information on medicinal plants [3,9,11]. Therefore, introducing new conventional medicinal plants to the pharmacology and substituting the already used plants with more widespread ones is one of the top priorities of pharmaceutics [1,10]. Taiga covers 75% of Yakutia. ...
In this study, the authors analyzed the ethnopharmacological use of 55 medicinal plant species (herbalists, healers, and shamans) by the population of Central and Eastern Yakutia. The results indicate that the most commonly used plants belong to the Asteraceae, Rosaceae , and Lamiaceae families. In Eastern Yakutia, the population most widely uses Dryopteris fragrans, Pinus pumila, Dracocephalum palmatum , and Juniperus sibirica . The population of Central Yakutia uses the species of Artemisia and Thymus genera, as well as Veronica incana and Phlojodicarpus sibiricus species. The most commonly used medicine forms are decoctions, infusions, and tinctures (60%). They are generally made from grass or leaves. The survey indicates that 34.5% of the plants are used as anti-inflammatory or invigorating means. The qualitative analysis shows that 48% of the plants accumulate phenolic compounds.
... Pharmacological study of extracts from S. foetida possessed anticancer (El-Sherei et al., 2016), antibacterial (Vital et al. 2010), anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities (Mujumdar et al. 2000); anti-diabetic and anti-hyperlipidemic effects (Hussain et al. 2014). Phytochemical survey of S. foetida concentrated flavonoids (Anjaneyulu and Murty 1981;Dubey and Tiwari 1991;Xia, Song et al. 2009;Shamsundar and Paramijothi, 2010;El-Sherei et al. 2016;Thabet et al. 2018) as the main ingredients. Moreover, triterpenoids and steroids (Anjaneyulu and Murty, 1981;Dubey and Tiwari, 1991) and fatty acids (Bao et al., 2003;Vipunngeun and Palanuvej, 2009;Kale, Darade and Thakur 2011) were reported. ...
From the leaves of Sterculia foetida L., one new oleanane-type triterpenoid, named stercufoetin A (1) together with four known ones, vergatic acid (2), β-amyrin (3), oleanolic acid (4) and maslinic acid (5) were purified by diversely chromatographic methods. Their structures were proposed by HR-APCI-MS and NMR experiments. Compounds (2–5) were notified for the first time from this species. Compound 1 showed weak cytotoxic effect against three human cancer cell lines (MCF-7, HepG2 and HeLa) using SRB assay.
... The seed stage of the plant growth cycle is critical to plant establishment [1], yet relatively few studies have investigated seed-derived chemicals beyond their important role in plant a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 development. Seed exudates are known to have natural bioactive compounds that consist of complex mixtures of molecules [2], and are recognized for their protective role against soil pathogens during germination [3][4][5], affecting microbial growth [6][7][8][9][10][11], allelopathic interactions [12], and pharmaceutical and industrial product development [13][14][15]. In contrast to root exudate studies where the importance of chemicals in the interactions between plants, soil and microbes are well known [16][17][18], the significance of seed exudates in the spermosphere is still not well-studied and few investigations have been made on the extent of these bioactive compounds in plant species considered invasive or weedy. ...
Plant seed exudates are composed of complex mixtures of chemicals with potential for bioactive compounds with antimicrobial properties. This study focused on kochia (Kochia scoparia), one of many weedy plant species considered invasive in many agricultural systems. Extraction of compounds in water yielded an exudate mass equivalent to 7% of the original seed mass used. Water-soluble exudates were tested against 16 known plant pathogens in disk diffusion assays and kochia exudates were found to inhibit Colletotrichum graminicola, the fungal causative agent of anthracnose and stalk rot in maize. The narrow range of fungi found as targets suggested the mechanism of inhibition may be specific rather than broadly antifungal. A decline in viability of cells over four orders of magnitude occurred within six hours of exposure to exudate. The minimum inhibitory concentration was 3.125 mg L⁻¹. Hyphae formation in C. graminicola appeared inhibited following exposure to the exudate. Small molecular weight compounds as determined by GC/MS analysis showed high relative amounts of the sugars fructose, galactopyranose, glucose, and sorbitol, along with moderate proportions of organic acids and amino acids. Protein content averaged 0.7% in the standard concentration (100 mg mL⁻¹) used for inhibition assays. Size fractionation of the exudate and subsequent disk diffusion assays revealed bioactive fractions with compounds in the MW range <5 kDa. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to show promising bioactivity against C. graminicola that was associated with water-extractable compounds from a common weed species. The results suggest that seeds of persistent plant species with long-lived seed banks like kochia may have potential for use in the discovery of compounds active in inhibiting fungal pathogens.
... S. taiva was reported to contain bioactive calamenene-type sesquiterpenoids, avinin A, and epi-tavinin A, which showed antiproliferative activities against the A2780 ovarian cancer cells (Dai et al. 2012). Further detailed information on medicinal uses or ethnopharmacological ingredients of the genus Sterculia can be found in some reviews (Al Muqarrabun and Ahmat 2015;El-Sherei et al. 2016;Thabet et al. 2018). ...
Several members of the genus Sterculia have a great potential as a candidate for the identification of new drug lead molecules, but lack of their genomic information can be a hindrance for the verification of the genetic background for future use. To obtain genomic resources, RNA-seq transcriptome analysis was conducted using leaves of Sterculia lanceolata, a member of the genus Sterculia, resulting in a total of 28,088,794 clear reads with a length of 3,692,930,973 bp. De novo assembly generated 7857 (3,559,905 bp) non-redundant unigenes with an average length of 453 bp. Among 1893 unigenes assigned by the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) Orthology (KO) database, a total of 1158 were mapped into 328 different metabolic pathways. The biosynthesis of secondary metabolites (KO01110) pathway was the second highest hits with 159 unigenes, of which 72 are known to be involved in terpenoid, phenylpropanoid, and flavonoid biosynthesis. The search for simple sequence repeats (SSRs) identified a total of 899 SSRs. Nineteen polymorphic SSR markers were developed, of which polymorphism information content (PIC) values ranging from 0.10 to 0.49. Both Principal Coordinates Analysis (PCoA) and neighbor joining analysis using allelic data formed three clusters among 15 Sterculia species. The cluster of genotypes formed in the PCoA shows the genotypes in close proximity to those in neighbor joining tree. Taken together, our results provide a valuable source for genetic studies and also for molecular studies to unravel underlying mechanisms involved in medicinal properties of Sterculia L.
... Brachychiton is a small genus with 30 species native to Australia (Guymer 1988). Due to the bottle shape of the trunk of some species, the genus is well-known as the "bottle tree" (Thabet et al. 2018). Members of Brachychiton were included under Sterculia but the detailed study of their morphological features has strongly reinforced the separation of Brachychiton members from Sterculia genus (Guymer 1988). ...
The volatile constituents of the leaves and flowers of Brachychiton rupestris and Brachychiton discolor (Malvaceae) were characterized by GC-FID and GC-MS. A total of 92 compounds were identified. The major component of B. rupestris leaves was α-farnesene (34.57%) while in the flowers it was n-heptacosane (29.5%). (8Z, 11Z, 14Z)-heptadecatrienal (21.2%) in the leaves and palmitic acid (83.49%) in the flowers represent the abundant ingredients of B. discolor. Unsupervised pattern recognition techniques of multivariate data analysis exemplified by hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principle component analysis (PCA) relying upon chromatographic results effectively discriminate the two related species. Also, both investigated species were assessed for their cytotoxic and antimicrobial efficacy. Results revealed that B. discolor flowers showed the highest cytotoxicity against human lung carcinoma (A-549) cell lines with IC50 equals 7.98 μg/mL, whereas B. discolor leaves exhibited the highest antimicrobial potency against all tested microorganisms namely Streptococcus pneumonia, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli as well as Aspergillus fumigatus and Geotrichum candidum (MICs between 0.98 and 15.63 µg/mL) except for Salmonella typhi.
This chapter describes antipyretic and analgesic activities of trees like Brachychiton populneus, Ceiba speciosa, Eucalyptus citriodora, Murraya exotica, Pinus roxbrghii, Pterospermum acerifolium, Putranjiva roxburghii, Salix babylonica, Salix tetrasperma, Tectona grandis, and Zizyphus mauritiana.
Cyperus articulatus (CA) rhizomes have demonstrated different properties on nervous system. However, the leaves still have not studied to treat epilepsy. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of CA ethanolic extract on pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) induced seizures in mice as well as measuring its antioxidant activity in vivo and in vitro. Mice were divided into five groups: (1) control (PTZ 80 mg/kg; i.p.), (2) PTZ-Diazepam (1 mg/kg; i.p.), (3–5) PTZ-CA 50, PTZ-CA 150 and PTZ-CA 300 (50, 150 and 300 mg/kg of CA extract, 30 min prior to each PTZ injection). The PTZ-CA 150 group showed lower seizure scores (P < 0.01), latency (P < 0.01), frequency (P < 0.01) and duration (P < 0.01) than control group. The antioxidant activity of CA extract scavenged DPPH radical showed IC 50 = 16.9 ± 0.1 μg/mL and TEAC = 2.28 ± 0.08, mmol trolox/g of extract, the content of gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were significantly high (P < 0.01) at dose of 150 mg/kg (82 ± 1.2 ng/g tissue; 1.0 ± 2.2 mol/g tissue, respectively). The present research demonstrated that CA extract possesses a potential effect to prevent PTZ induced seizures, antioxidant activity in addition to increase GABA levels.
Objective:
To evaluate the efficacy of Pistacia atlantica Desf. oleoresin essential oil on peptic ulcer
(PU) and its antibacterial effect on metronidazole-resistant Helicobacter pylori, as well as chemical composition of the essential oil.
Methods:
The essential oil was standardized using gas chromatography mass spectrometry
(GC/MS) analysis. Acute toxicity of the essential oil was assessed in animal model. In vitro anti-Helicobacter
pylori activity was performed through disc diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration method.
For gastroprotective assay, rats received Pistacia atlantica Desf. essential oil (25, 50 and
100 mg/kg orally) 1 h before induction of ulcer by ethanol. Macroscopic (ulcer index and protection rate) and
microscopic examination were performed.
Results:
The GC/MS analysis of the essential oil led to the identification of twenty constituents and
α-pinene is predominant constituent. The essential oil was safe up to 2000 mg/kg. All Helicobacter pylori
strains were susceptible to the essential oil and the MIC ranged from 275 to 1100 μg/mL. The ulcer
index for treated groups was significantly reduced compared to control (P < 0.001) with EC(50) value of
12.32 mg/kg. In microscopic examination, Pistacia atlantica attenuated destruction and necrosis of gastric tissue.
Conclusion:
Current study exhibited protective effect of standardized Pistacia atlantica essential oil
against ethanol-induced gastric ulcer and its antibacterial activity on Helicobacter pylori. α-pinene
might be the responsible agent.
Context
Visceral Leishmaniasis is a protozoan disease caused by Leishmania donovani parasite. The genus Sterculia (Malvaceae) possesses ethnobotanical potential against this protozoan infection.
Objective
Determining the potential role of methanol bark extracts from Sterculia villosa Roxb (SVE) and its phytoconstituents against Leishmania donovani promastigotes.
Materials and methods
SVE was analyzed by TLC, UV-Vis, IR spectroscopy and biochemical assays. Antileishmanial potential of SVE (0.5 to 130 μg/mL for 72 h) was characterized by MTT assay. Fluorescent microscopy was performed to validate the IC50 dose. To determine the effect of SVE on promastigotes, ROS and superoxide generation, lipid peroxidation and DNA fragmentation assays were performed. Molecular aggregation of compounds was determined by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). Extent of cytotoxicity of SVE at IC50 dose was determined against RAW 264.7 macrophages, peritoneal macrophages and murine RBCs. In vivo cytotoxicity of SVE was evaluated in BALB/c mice.
Result
SVE exhibited reverse dose dependent antileishmanial activity when 130-0 µg/mL doses were tested against promastigotes. The IC50 and IC70 values were found to be 17.5 and 10 µg/mL respectively. SVE at IC50 dose demonstrated elevated level of ROS, superoxide, lipid peroxidation and DNA fragmentation against promastigotes with no cytotoxicity. AFM analysis suggested increasing size of molecular aggregation (31.3 nm < 35.2 nm < 2.93 µm) with increase in concentration (10 µg < 17.5 µg < 130 µg).
Discussion and conclusion
The study elucidates the antileishmanial potential of SVE against Leishmania donovani promastigotes by exerting oxidative stress and DNA damage. In a nutshell SVE can be explored as an immunotherapeutic candidate against leishmaniasis and other infectious diseases.
We conducted a comparative study of two oils extracted from Brachychiton populneus seeds and seed fibers grown in Tunisia. Oil yields from seed and seed fiber were 29.95 and 5.30%, respectively. GC-MS analysis showed that the most abundant fatty acid was linoleic acid (37.91%) followed by oleic acid (30.67%) in seeds. In seed fiber, the most abundant were oleic acid (62.04%) and linoleic acid (11.90%). Sterculic acid (7.27%), a rare fatty acid, was detected in seed oil. Moreover, carotenoid and chlorophyll levels were approximately two-fold higher in seed-fiber oil (39.66 and 1.9 mg/kg) than in seed oil (19.48 and 0.78 mg/kg). Tocol contents were more than 10-fold higher in fiber-seed oil (979.31 mg/100 g) than in seed oil (83.2 mg/100 g). Furthermore, thermal behavior (TGA and DSC) in both oils, and the antioxidant activity, phenolic content, and oxidative stability at different temperatures in seed oil were evaluated. The results of this study suggest that B. populneus seed oil may have an important role in non-food applications and that seed-fiber oil is a source of high-value compounds.
Objective: To evaluate Brachychiton acerifolius leaf extracts as antidiabetic potential agent and to identify the main active constituents using bioactivity guided fractionation.
Methods: In vitro antioxidant activity was evaluated for B. acerifolius different extracts using DPPH assay and vitamin C as control. Antidiabetic activity was then determined using STZ-induced rats treated daily with ethyl acetate and 70% ethanol leaf extracts for 4 weeks at a dose of 200 g/kg body weight against gliclazide reference drug. Blood glucose, α-amylase, lipid profile, liver function enzymes and oxidative stress markers were assessed along with histopathological study for liver and pancreatic tissues. Isolation and structural elucidation of active compounds were made using Diaion and Sephadex followed by spectral analyses.
Results: The results indicated that ethyl acetate and ethanol leaf extracts exhibited the strongest antioxidant activity compared to that of vitamin C (IC50 0.05, 0.03 and 12 mg/mL, respectively). Both extracts showed potent anti-hyperglycemic activity evidenced by a significant decrease in serum glucose levels by 82.5% and 80.9% and α-amylase by 45.2% and 53.6%, as compared with gliclazide 68% and 59.4%, respectively. Fractionation of ethanol extract resulted in the isolation of 9 flavonoids including apigenin-7-O-α-rhamnosyl(1→2)-β-d-glucuronide, apigenin-7-O-β-d-glucuronide, apigenin-7-O-β-d-glucoside and luteolin-7-O-β-d-glucuronide.
Conclusions: This study highlights the potential use of B. acerifolius leaf extract enriched in flavones for the treatment of diabetes that would warrant further clinical trials investigation.
In recent years, there has been increasing interest for the use of hydrocolloids, particularly for the gums, these fact due to need to incorporate new natural sources from plants that for their physical, chemical and biological properties are excellent component to development of better drugs and food. Karaya gum is the most important hydrocolloid from India, this gum is an exudates from Sterculia urens tree, in despite of actually there are reports about their applications, structure and physical properties, these information is disperse. The main of this paper is provide an overview about the origin, the mechanic and rheological properties, chemical and structure and the several uses in food and pharmaceutical industries as drug delivery system and thickener, gelling, emulsifier, stabilizer and encapsulating agents.
Andrographis paniculata is an annual herb and widely cultivated in Southeast Asian countries for its medicinal use. In recent investigations, A. paniculata was found to be effective against Type 1 diabetes mellitus (Type 1 DM). Here, we used a non-genetic out-bred Sprague-Dawley rat model to test the antidiabetic activity of A. paniculata against Type 2 diabetes mellitus (Type 2 DM). Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (¹H-NMR) spectroscopy in combination with multivariate data analyses was used to evaluate the A. paniculata and metformin induced metabolic effects on the obese and obese-diabetic (obdb) rat models. Compared to the normal rats, high levels of creatinine, lactate, and allantoin were found in the urine of obese rats, whereas, obese-diabetic rats were marked by high glucose, choline and taurine levels, and low lactate, formate, creatinine, citrate, 2-oxoglutarate, succinate, dimethylamine, acetoacetate, acetate, allantoin and hippurate levels. Treatment of A. paniculata leaf water extract was found to be quite effective in restoring the disturbed metabolic profile of obdb rats back towards normal conditions. This study shows the anti-diabetic potential of A. paniculata plant extract and strengthens the idea of using this plant against the diabetes. Further classical genetic methods and state of the art molecular techniques could provide insights into the molecular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus and anti-diabetic effects of A. paniculata water extract.
The genus Sterculia is represented by 200 species which are widespread mainly in tropical and
subtropical regions. Some of the Sterculia species are classified under different genera based
on special morphological features. These are Pterygota Schott & Endl., Firmiana Marsili,
Brachychiton Schott & Endl., Hildegardia Schott & Endl., Pterocymbium R.Br. and Scaphium
Schott & Endl. The genus Sterculia and the related genera contain mainly flavonoids, whereas
terpenoids, phenolic acids, phenylpropanoids, alkaloids, and other types of compounds
including sugars, fatty acids, lignans and lignins are of less distribution. The biological
activities such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities have
been reported for several species of the genus. On the other hand, there is confusion on the
systematic position and classification of the genus Sterculia. However, the wide range of the
reported flavonoids in the present review is quite significant and can act as a guide for further
studies from the chemosystematic point of view. Also the value of the genus Sterculia and
its related genera in the traditional medicine and their effective biological activities led to the
possibilities of finding new sources of drugs for prospect applications.
Pangdahai is a traditional Chinese drug, specifically described in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia as the seeds of
Sterculia lychnophora
Hance. Here, we separated
S. lychnophora
husk and kernel, analyzed the nutrient contents, and investigated the inhibitory effects of
S. lychnophora
ethanol extracts on cariogenic properties of
Streptococcus mutans
, important bacteria in dental caries and plaque formation. Ethanol extracts of
S. lychnophora
showed dose-dependent antibacterial activity against
S. mutans
with significant inhibition at concentrations higher than 0.01 mg/mL compared with the control group (
p
<
0.05
). Furthermore, biofilm formation was decreased by
S. lychnophora
at concentrations > 0.03 mg/mL, while bacterial viability was decreased dose-dependently at high concentrations (0.04, 0.08, 0.16, and 0.32 mg/mL). Preliminary phytochemical analysis of the ethanol extract revealed a strong presence of alkaloid, phenolics, glycosides, and peptides while the presence of steroids, terpenoids, flavonoids, and organic acids was low. The
S. lychnophora
husk had higher moisture and ash content than the kernel, while the protein and fat content of the husk were lower (
p
<
0.05
) than those of the kernel. These results indicate that
S. lychnophora
may have antibacterial effects against
S. mutans
, which are likely related to the alkaloid, phenolics, glycosides, and peptides, the major components of
S. lychnophora
.
Because local anesthetics are known to inhibit both sodium and potassium channels, and anesthetic properties have been attributed to the former effect, we compared their effects with those of tetrodotoxin (TTX), a selective Na+ channel inhibitor with anesthetic activity, and 4-aminopyridine (4-AP), a selective potassium channel blocker with convulsive activity, on transmitter release during rest and in response to field (axonal) stimulation using the microvolume perfusion method and isolated prefrontal cortex and spinal cord slice preparations loaded with the radioactive transmitters [3H]dopamine ([3H]DA) and [3H]noradrenaline ([3H]NA). It is also known that local anesthetics may exert analgesic effect and, rarely, some adverse effects on the central nervous system (CNS).
The aim of the present study was to investigate and compare the analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity of hydroalcoholic extracts of bark and leaves of Acacia ferruginea DC. Hydroalcoholic extracts of bark and leaves were evaluated for analgesic activity using hot plate method and acetic acid-induced writhing test. While the anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated by carrageenan - induced paw oedema method. Hydroalcoholic extract of bark at the dose of 50mg/kg (6.10 ± 0.30) and leaves at a dose of 100mg/kg (5.72 ± 0.39) after 45 min. exhibited significant (P<0.001) analgesic activity in hot plate test which was comparable to Tramadol (6.11 ± 0.31) at a dose of 10mg/kg. However, in acetic-acid induced writhing test, hydroalcoholic extract of both bark (90%) and leaves (90.91%) showed maximum protection from acetic acid at the dose of 100mg/kg as compared to standard drug (50.91%) at a dose of 5mg/kg. In the evaluation of anti-inflammatory activity, hydroalcoholic extract of leaves at a dose of 400mg/kg had significantly (74.68%) inhibited the inflammation as comparable to indomethacin (82.8%) after 3h. of induction of carrageenan. It is concluded that hydroalcoholic extract of bark has central analgesic effect and leaves has peripheral analgesic effect respectively. Both the hydroalcoholic extracts of bark and leaves had significantly reduced the paw oedema at a dose of 400 mg/kg and exhibited anti-inflammatory activity.
Crude methanolic extract and other fractions of Sterculia villosa barks were investigated for their antimicrobial, cytotoxic and antioxidant activity in this study. Antimicrobial activity of different extract was evaluated by measuring the diameter of the zone of inhibition against gram-positive & gram-negative bacteria and fungi using Ciprofloxacin as a standard antimicrobial agent. Free radical scavenging activity for the same extracts was determined by DPPH assay where BHT was used as positive control and Cytotoxicity was determined by Brine Shrimp nauplii where the minimum inhibitory concentration was assessed by serial dilution technique. Mild antimicrobial activity was found; crude methanolic extract showed effect against all the organisms, while other extracts showed effect for some of the organisms. The LC50 value for cytotoxicity assay was found 0.3, 2.95, 3.76, 35.33 & 55.98 μg/ml for CSV, PESV, CTSV, DCMSV & EASV extracts respectively where LC50 value of Vincristine Sulfate was 0.544 μg/ml. Ethyl acetate fraction showed good antioxidant properties and except Pet Ether fraction all other extracts showed considerable antioxidant activity. The bark of Sterculia villosa can be considered for further research for finding potent compounds of antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity.
Antibacterial activity using broth and disc diffusion methods, and phytochemical screening was carried out on crude stem bark extracts of Sterculia setigera, a plant used ethnomedically by various communities in Nigeria. These extracts showed low antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus mirabilis and Klebsiella pneumonia. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, phenolics/tannins in acetone and methanol extracts, and triterpenoid in boiling petroleum ether extract.
Objective: Phytochemical investigation of aerial parts of Justicia acuminatissima (Acanthaceae) was directed to isolation of triterpenes and steroids Methods: Chromatographic fractionation, spectroscopic characterization, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities of the constituents were carried out by standard methods. Results: β-Sitosterol, stigmasterol, lupeol, friedelin, β-friedelinol, α-amyrin, β-amyrin, betulin, erythrodiol, betulinic acid, glycosylated sitosterol, glycosylated stigmasterol, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, α-glucose, β-glucose, and sucrose were described for the first time in J. acuminatissima. Some of these phytoconstituents have not been yet described in the genus Justicia. Dichloromethane fraction exhibited high antimicrobial action against all tested microorganisms. Ethyl acetate fraction exhibited high antimicrobial action against E. coli and C. albicans. Dichloromethane and ethyl acetate fractions, mixture of β-sitosterol and stigmasterol, lupeol, and mixture of glycosylated β-sitosterol and glycosylated stigmasterol exhibited significant reduction in rat paw edemas. Conclusion: Aerial parts of J. acuminatissima mainly provided steroids and triterpenes. Some fractions and phytoconstituents exhibited high antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities. Glycosylated sterols exhibited low antimicrobial activity, but high anti-inflammatory activity, indicating a significant effect of the glycosylated residue on their biological activities.
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in researching and developing new antimicrobial agents from various sources to combat the emergence of the microbial resistance. Therefore, a greater attention was paid on antimicrobial activity screening and evaluating methods. Several bioassays are well known and commonly used such as disk-diffusion, well diffusion and broth or agar dilution, but others are not widely used such as flow cytofluorometric and bioluminescent methods because they require specified equipment and further evaluation for reproducibility and standardization, even if they can provide a rapid results of the antimicrobial agent’ effects and a better understood of their impact on the viability and cell damage inflicted to the tested microorganism. In this present review article, an exhaustive list of in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility testing methods and detailed information on their advantages and limitations are reported.
Egypt has been plagued by many neglected tropical diseases since Pharaonic time. These diseases are Schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis, lymphatic filariasis, leishmaniasis and fascioliasis beside the epidermal parasitic skin diseases. Indeed, theses diseases still persist as public health problem in the country by the influence of demographic, socioeconomic and environmental obstacles. This study seeks for understanding the contribution of each factor in each obstacle in neglected tropical diseases perpetuation which in turn could help the governorate in planning integrated control strategies. It was found that poverty, unregulated urbanization and inadequate sanitation are important socioeconomic factors that have great effect on the transmission dynamics of the diseases. The environmental factors which affect the epidemiology of these diseases in the country are scarcity of water, construction of dams, land reclamation for agriculture beside the climate factors. Unfortunately, the panic increase in the population growth rate minimizes the efforts done by the governorate to elevate the public health services. These conditions also affect the transmission of epidermal parasitic skin diseases including scabies, head lice and hookworm-related cutaneous larva migrans. The control programs and the recommendations to combat the diseases were discussed. The present study showed that the ecological factors affecting each neglected tropical disease in Egypt are somewhat similar which makes it worthy to develop an integrated control approaches aiming at improving the leading factors of neglected tropical diseases circulation in the country.
Objective: To evaluate the antibacterial activity of essential oil from Trigonella foenum-graecum seeds powder, and identify the compounds from the extracted oil.
Methods: The seeds powder of Trigonella foenum-graecum was subjected to Clevenger extractor. Seven strains of bacteria were used to test antibacterial activity of the extract. The activity against bacteria was tested by disk diffusion method using Whatman No. 1 filter paper. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry analysis was performed with an Agilent7890/5975B-gas chromatography/mass selective detector.
Results: The hydrodistillation of seeds powder yielded 0.285% (v/w) of oil. Disk diffusion of the oil showed bactericidal activity against both Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria of tasted strains. The inhibition zone ranged from (8 ± 0) mm to (15.0 ± 0.7) mm depending on microbial strains. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry analysis showed 14 different compounds. The total compounds represented 80.96% of the oil.
Conclusions: The antibacterial activity is due to the effects of different biological active compounds present in the extract. Identification of the compounds may help to develop new effective antimicrobial agent(s). Further researches on purification, characterization and toxicology of the active compounds are needed.
The antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, membrane stabilization and antiatherothrombosis activities of crude ethanol extract of leaves of Sterculia villosa Roxb. has been investigated. In antimicrobial assay by disc diffusion method, the extract showed mild to moderate antimicrobial activity with zone of inhibition ranging from 11-14 mm and 7-13 mm for test bacteria and fungi, respectively where the growth of Salmonella paratyphi and Pityrosporium ovale was strongly inhibited. In the in-vitro anti-atherothrombosis test, the crude extract exhibited 19.62% clot lysis as compared to the standard, streptokinase (81.53%). Moreover, the extract inhibited protein denaturation and haemolysis by 48% and 69.49% in the in-vitro anti-inflammatory and membrane stabilization test, respectively. Preliminary phytochemical screenings with the crude extract revealed the presence of alkaloids, glycosides, tannins, flavonoids, reducing sugars and gums.
Ethanolic extract of Sterculia villosa barks were studied for anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic activity. The acute oral toxicity showed that the ethanolic extract of S. villosa barks was safe until 4000mg/kg body weight and no macroscopical organ abnormalities were observed in acute oral models. The investigations on Albino (Wistar) rats at dosage of 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg of ethanolic extract of Sterculia villosa barks were made for aniti-inflammatory action by using carrageenan induced paw edema and cotton pellete granuloma technique. The results of the study suggested significant dose dependent activity of extracts as compared to control group for both acute and chronic inflammation. Ethanolic extract also showed significant antidiabetic activity at dose dependent manner compared to diabetic untreated group.
Objective: To investigate the insecticidal activity of the essential oil of Thymus transcaspicus (T. transcaspicus) against Anopheles stephensi (An. stephensi).
Methods: An. stephensi were exposed to 31, 63, 125 and 250 µg/L of essential oil of T. transcaspicus for 24 h.
Results: The most toxicity was observed at 250 µg/L of essential oil with the LC50 values of 134.1 µg/L after 24 h.
Conclusions: The essential oil of T. transcaspicus exhibited strong insecticidal activity against An. stephensi which can be attributed to its constituent especially carvacrol and thymol phenols.
Background: Chongkukjang is a traditional Korean fermented product prepared from soybeans and reported to have multiple biological functions, including antidiabetic, antiinflammatory, and neuroprotective effects. Influenza is a respiratory disease caused by influenza viruses and continues to be a worldwide threat with a high potential to cause pandemics. Besides vaccination, only two classes of drugs are available for antiviral treatment against these pathogens.
Methods: We tested the inhibitory activity of an ethyl acetate extract from Chongkukjang toward influenza A virus neuraminidase.
Results: All 10 compounds extracted from Chongkukjang showed neuraminidase inhibitory activity. Extracts A3 and A8, with high neuraminidase content, had the best inhibitory activities. The in vivo antiinfluenza virus activities of the ethyl acetate, A3, and A8 extracts as well as commercially available genistein were evaluated using H1N1 (A/NWS/33) to test mice survivability after virus challenge. The Chongkukjang extracts did not reduce mortality, but the A3 and A8 extracts delayed the median time to death after influenza A virus infection of mice.
Conclusion: Our results suggest that the Chongkukjang extracts may have potential as a therapeutic agent to treat influenza virus infection.
Current study is to develop the colon targeted matrix tablet using the natural polysaccharide sterculia gum as carrier and model drug ciprofloxacin HCl. The matrix tablets were prepared by wet granulation technology using the various proportions of sterculia gum with carbopol 934 P, sterculia gum and ethyl cellulose polymer blends. Granules of all formulations were evaluated for rheological, post compressional properties and in vitro dissolution study in different pH buffers of pH 1.2 , pH 7.4 , pH 6.8 (saline phosphate buffer) without and with 4% rat cecal content in order to mimic GIT condition . Formulation SGC2 to SGC4 and SGE7 to SGE9 has released 13.6% to 38.9% in the initial 5h and released more amount of drug in stomach and small intestine than colon. Formulation SGC5 containing 45% of sterculia gum and 25% carbopol 934 p and Formulation SGE10 containing 45% of sterculia gum and 25% ethyl cellulose has released minimum 10.91 % to 13.04 % in the initial 5h and sustained the drug release up to 24 h and at the end of study released 75% to 79.99%. Formulations with 4% rat cecal content at the end of 24 h study drug released is 90.44% to 95.33% indicating higher amount of drug release is due to enzymatic break down of sterculia gum in the matrix tablet. Hence the above results conclude that the formulation SGC5 and SGE10 are potential in targeting the drug to colon to treat irritable bowel disease. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/icpj.v1i11.12064 International Current Pharmaceutical Journal 2012, 1(11): 376-383
The anti-nociceptive, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activities of Sterculia tragacantha were evaluated in this study. The extract was also subjected to acute toxicity and phytochemical tests. It was demonstrated that pretreatment of mice with the extract significantly inhibited acetic acid induced pain and carrageenan-induced paw edema. Daily dosing of 300 and 600 mg kg-' of the extract significantly suppressed granuloma formation in mice. The extract showed significant anti-oxidant activity. Phytochemical screening showed that the extract contained alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, glycosides and saponins. It was concluded that Sterculia tragacantha used in the present study, possesses anti- inflammatory, anti-nociceptive and anti-oxidant activities.
Ethnopharmacological relevance:
Pseudospondias microcarpa (A. Rich) Engl. is a plant used for managing various diseases including central nervous system disorders.
Aim of the study:
This study explored the anticonvulsant activity of P. microcarpa hydroethanolic leaf extract (PME) as well as possible mechanism(s) of action in animal models.
Methods:
Effects of PME was assessed in electroconvulsive (the maximal electroshock and 6-Hz seizures) and chemoconvulsive (pentylenetetrazole-, picrotoxin-, isoniazid-, 4-aminopyridine-, and strychnine-induced seizures) models of epilepsy. In addition, effect of the extract on the nitric oxide pathway and GABAA receptor complex was evaluated.
Results:
The extract (30, 100 and 300mgkg(-1), p.o.) significantly delayed the onset as well as decreased the duration and frequency of pentylenetetrazole-, picrotoxin- and strychnine-induced seizures. In addition, PME pre-treatment significantly improved survival in the 4-aminopyridine- and isoniazid-induced seizure tests. Furthermore, the extract protected against 6-Hz psychomotor seizures but had no effect in the maximal electroshock test. The anticonvulsant effect of PME (100mgkg(-1), p.o.) was also reversed by pre-treatment with flumazenil, L-arginine or sildenafil. However, L-NAME or methylene blue (MB) augmented its effect.
Conclusion:
Results show that PME has anticonvulsant activity and may probably be affecting GABAergic, glycinergic, NMDA, K(+) channels and nitric oxide-cGMP pathways to exert its effect.
Ethnopharmacological relevance:
Root powder of Achyranthes aspera Linn. (A. aspera) belongs to family Amaranthaceae is used in Indian traditional medicine for the management of epilepsy and its efficacy is widely acclaimed among the different rural communities.
Aim of the study:
The present study was aimed to establish the possible anticonvulsant effect of A. aspera methanolic root extract using acute anticonvulsant models and to evaluate the acute toxicity and neurotoxic potential A. aspera extract.
Material and methods:
A. aspera methanolic extract was standardized with respect to betaine using HPTLC. The maximal electroshock (MES), pentylenetetrazol (PTZ), picrotoxin and bicuculline induced seizure models were used to evaluate the anticonvulsant potential of standardized A. aspera root extract. The GABA content in cortex and hippocampus of extract treated mice was evaluated using HPLC. Moreover, the animals were also evaluated for acute toxicity study and neurotoxicity test.
Results:
A significant enhancement in the seizure threshold was observed by A. aspera extract (5 and 10mg/kg) treated mice in PTZ, picrotoxin and bicuculline models as compared to saline treated mice respectively, whereas the extract failed to show protection in MES induced seizures. Moreover, A. aspera treatment (5 and 10mg/kg) significantly enhances the GABA levels in hippocampus and cortex as compared to saline treated group. A. aspera root extract was devoid of any sign of acute toxicity as well as neurotoxicity.
Conclusions:
A. aspera root extract exhibits significant anticonvulsant effect by facilitation of GABAergic neurotransmission in the brain.
Extracts of Feretia apodanthera Del. (Rubiaceae) have been extensively used in traditional Cameroonian medicine to treat a variety of diseases, including some neurological disorders. The present study was aimed to tests the anticonvulsant properties of the aqueous extract and the alkaloid fraction of the stem barks of Feretia apodanthera. The anticonvulsant investigation was carried out against bicuculline-, picrotoxin-, pentylenetetrazol-, Methyl-β-carboline-3-carboxylate-, N-Methyl-D-aspartate-, 4-aminopyridine-, and maximal electroshock-induced seizures or turning behavior in mice. The aqueous extract protected mice against bicuculline-, picrotoxin-, pentylenetetrazol-, Methyl-β-carboline-3-carboxylate-, N-methyl-D-aspartate −, 4-aminopyridine- and maximal electroshock-induced seizures or turning behavior. Also, N-Methyl-D-aspartate-, 4-aminopyridine- and maximal electroshock- induced seizures or turning behavior, were significantly antagonized by the alkaloid fraction (80 mg/kg) from Feretia apodanthera. The total protection of mice provided by the aqueous extract against convulsions induced by pentylenetetrazol or picrotoxin was anagonized by flumazenil, a specific antagonist of the benzodiazepine site in the GABAA receptor complex.
The aqueous extract of Feretia apodanthera (but not the alkaloid fraction) increased the brain GABA content and inhibited the GABA transaminase activity.
In conclusion, Feretia apodanthera was revealed possessing anticonvulsant effects in mice, likely via the GABAergic neurotransmission.
:
: Fresh leaves of the plant were collected and dried at room temperature and pulverized into powder form and 200 g of this powder was dissolved first in hexane for 72 h and the extract was filtered and the filtrate was concentrated while the substrate was further dissolved in chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol at different times and similar procedure adopted as for the hexane. The organic solvents were used based on order of increasing polarity. Graded concentrations of the solvent extracts were prepared and used for the study. Pilot toxicity test was carried out to determine safety dose using hematology and serum chemistry as indices of toxicity. Thereafter anti-inflammatory and analgesic studies were conducted using standard tests such as carrageenan, histamine-induced-edema, tail flick test and acetic writhing test. Phytochemical screening of the plant was also conducted.
: Phytochemical screening of the powdered material showed that alkaloid, flavonoid and reducing sugar were present while tannin, cardiac glycosides, saponins and anthraquinones were absent. Pilot toxicity test using aqueous extract at 100 mg/mL concentration showed that no mortality was recorded although the animals that received 3,000 mg/kg dose exhibited slight dullness after 48 h. No significant changes were also observed for the packed cell volume, hemoglobin, white blood cell counts, platelet counts, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, blood urea nitrogen, albumin, globulin except for the 200 and 3,000 mg/kg doses that caused significant increase in the level of total protein. The n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and methanol extracts of
: The different leaf extracts of
In recent years, there have been extensive developments associated with the application of natural, derivatized and semi-synthetic biopolymers for the localized and prolonged delivery of active pharmaceutical ingredients at the mucosal interface. Naturallyderived gums and mucilages are biomacromolecular assemblies employed for traditional (films and tablets) as well as advanced (nanomedicine and conjugated systems) bioactive delivery paradigms. These natural biomaterials are stable, easily available, economical, non toxic and associated with less regulatory issues as compared to their synthetic counterpart. Additionally, these biopolymers could be easily tailored via graft-polymerization, functionalization, conjugation, and polyelectrolyte formation in order to render specific properties such as mucoadhesivity. In this chapter, gums and mucilages along with their modified derivatives have been discussed accompanied by gums- and mucilages-derived mucoadhesive drug delivery systems. Additionally, the mechanistic phenomena dictating their mucoadhesive performance will be described with special reference to the constituent functional groups and their role in muco-tethering and -penetration. A representative list of gums and mucilages include, but not limited to, alginic acid, agar, carrageenans, and laminarin (marine origin); gum arabic, gum karaya, locust bean gum, gum ghatti, khaya gum, tragacanth, albizia gum, guar gum, starch, cellulose, larch gum and pectin (plant origin); and curdian, pullulan, xanthan, dextran, zanflo, emulsan, Baker’s yeast glycan, lentinan, schizophyllan, scleroglucan and krestin (microbial origin).
A straight chain ester, nonacosanoic acid, methyl ester was isolated for the first time from acetone extract of Sterculia guttata. Saponification of petroleum ether extract of Sterculia gutatta was carried out. Unsaponifiable matter was further purified by repeated column chromatography followed by repeated mixed solvent crystallization to afford docosanol. The structures of both the compounds were confirmed by spectral analysis.
Methanolic and aqueous extracts of S. tragacantha leaves showed a significant antiulcer activity in rats on ulcers induced by indomethacin, stress and reserpine. The extracts also exhibited anti-cholinergic, antispasmodic and smooth muscle relaxant properties on isolated smooth muscle preparations.
The present study describes the preliminary study of seeds of Sterculia guttata with extraction and characterization of seed oil. In preliminary study, screening of seeds by phytochemical tests, cold solvent extractions of non-polar, semi-polar and polar solvent, volatile matter, moisture content and steam distillation experiments were carried out. The oil was extracted using soxhlet apparatus and was found that S. guttata seed were rich in oil content, which was 37.74 % by weight. Some of the physical and chemical characteristics of the oil such as acid value, saponification value, unsaponifiable matter, specific gravity, iodine value, viscosity, refractive index and peroxide value were determined. The values of theses parameters were compared with some most common vegetable oil. The results showed that Sterculia guttata seed oil is not edible oil.
The yield, purity, intrinsic viscosity and anti-inflammatory activity of crude water- soluble polysaccharides (W-SP) extracted from boat-fruited sterculia seeds were compared with those extracted by mild alkali (A-SP) from water-insoluble residues and the remaining insoluble fraction (IMP). Among the three fractions, only W-SP showed clearly anti-inflammatory activity. The extraction of W-SP was optimized with regards to temperature, duration and solid to liquid ratio. The W-SP extracts were further fractionated into a neutral polysaccharide (W-SPN) and an acidic one (W- SPA) by anion-exchange chromatography, each accounted for 19.6% and 60.8% of the W-SP respectively. The molecular weight of W-SPN and W-SPA were 1,125,000 Da and 586,800 Da as determined by high performance size exclusion chromatography. W-SPN was rich in glucose, with small amounts of galactose and arabinose; whereas W-SPA consisted mainly of uronic acid (40%) along with rhamnose, arabinose, galactose, and small amounts of xylose and glucose. The antiinflammatory activity of W-SPN and W-SPA was tested using ear edema induced by dimethylbenzene and cotton pellet-induced granuloma tissue in murine models. The results showed W-SPA possessed a potent dose-dependent anti-inflammatory activity. The results from the current study provided a scientific basis for the traditional use of this plant as a medical remedy for its anti-inflammation effects.
A new in-situ mucoadhesive nasal gel formulation has been developed using a natural mucoadhesive polymer obtained from bark of Sterculia foetida Linn. The mucoadhesive strength and viscosity of this natural mucoadhesive polymer was found to be higher in comparison to the synthetic polymers, namely HPMC and carbopol 934 which are conventionally used for a similar purpose. Nasal mucosa has been considered as a potential administration route to achieve faster and higher level of drug absorption because it is permeable to more compounds than the gastrointestinal tract due to lack of pancreatic, gastric enzymatic activity and neutral pH of the nasal mucus, less dilution by gastrointestinal contents, relatively large surface area available for absorption, the highly vascularized epithelial layer and avoidance of first pass effects thus improve bioavailability of drug and as a safe and sustained release nasal delivery System to control migraine. Migraine is a recurrent incapacitating neurovascular disorder characterized by attacks of debilitating pain associated with photophobia, phonophobia, nausea and vomiting. In the present study nasal in-situ gel is prepared for treatment of migraine using zolmitriptan drug. The in-situ gelation was achieved by the use of pluronic F127 which exhibit thermoreversible gelation property. The purpose of the present work was to prepare in-situ nasal gel of zolmitriptan by cold technique for improved drug residence time in nasal cavity and characterized by gelation temperature, permeation studies, pH, drug content, rheological studies, gel strength, drug polymer interaction, and stability study.
The local anesthetic and tissue effects of the leaf extract and fractions of S. tragacantha were evaluated in this study. The extract 10 and 0.03 mg mL -1 produced 100 and 86% anesthesia, respectively while lignocaine 0.1 and 0.03 mg mL -1 produced 94.4 and 69.4% anesthesia respectively. The fractions showed concentration dependent local anaesthetic effect with fraction 5 being the most active fraction. Fractions 5 and 7 were more potent than lignocaine. Histological examination of skin sections of mice taken on days 1 and 5 post injection of S. tragacantha extract did not reveal any sign of tissue reaction. Ali fractions contained alkaloids and flavonoids. Three fractions (F 5, F 6 and F 7) contained saponins. This study showed that the extract and fractions of S. tragacantha exhibited local anesthetic activity. The alkaloids and saponins contained in the leaves of S. tragacantha may be responsible for this activity.
Apart from industrial uses of Sterculia spp., the seeds are used for human food. Hence, the nutritional composition of seeds of Sterculia foetida and S. urens from 4 localities was studied. The results showed that carbohydrates ranged from 18-48%, crude protein from 9.63-30.81%, ascorbic acid from 2.3-5.2 mg/100g and fat from 24-32.5%. Appreciable amounts of minerals were also present. Tannin content was found to be appreciably low.
Plants which are used by traditional healers in Tanzania have been evaluated to obtain preliminary data of their toxicity using the brine shrimps test. The results indicate that 9 out of 44 plant species whose extracts were tested exhibited high toxicity with LC50 values below 20μg/ml. These include Aloe lateritia Engl. (Aloaceae) [19.1μg/ml], Cassia abbreviata Oliv. (Caesalpiniaceae) [12.7μg/ml], Croton scheffleri Pax (Euphorbiaceae) [13.7μg/ml], Hymenodactyon parvifolium Brig (Rubiaceae) [13.4μg/ml], Kigelia Africana L. (Bignoniaceae) [7.2μg/ml], and Ocimum suave Oliv. (Labiatae) [16.7μg/ml]. Twelve plants gave LC50 values between 21 and 50μg/ml, 11 plants gave LC50 values between 50 and 100 μg/ml, and 18 plants gave LC50 values greater than 100 μg/ml.
The crude extract of Sterculia tragacantha was subcutaneously infiltrated at the scrotum and left flank of West African dwarf goat prior to orchidectomy and non invasive flank procedures respectively. To assess the local anaesthetic efficacy of the extract post orchidectomy, the pain threshold, changes in vital parameters and blood glucose were monitored. Post flank infiltration, the durations of local anaesthesia, degree of analgesia and distances of tissue diffusion of the extract were monitored. Data obtained in the extract group were compared with those of lignocaine group and a control group. Mean heart rate (HR) of the extract group were significantly (p<0.05) lower than HR obtained in the control group at 30 and 120 min while mean respiratory rate (RR) of extract group was significantly (p<0.05) lower than RR of control group at 30, 120 and 240 min. Post orchidectomy, glucose values of extract group were significantly (p<0.05) lower than those in control group. The mean post operative pain scores in extract group were significantly (p<0.05) lower than those obtained in control group. Duration of local anaesthesia at the flank due to lignocaine infiltration was significantly (P<0.05) longer compared to that due to the extract. Avoidance responses to pain exhibited post flank infiltration of the extract and lignocaine were not significantly (p>0.05) different. Similarly, the rate and distances of tissue diffusion of the extract and lignocaine were not significantly different (p>0.05). On scrotal infiltration, S. tragacantha extract significantly attenuated post operative rise in the vital parameters and blood glucose. The extract was as efficacious as lignocaine when infiltrated on the flank. These results showed that an active component with potent local anaesthetic activity could be isolated from the extract if further purified.
Despite the progress made in medical research for the past decades, the treatment of many serious diseases is still problematic. Inflammation is the response of living tissues to injury. It involves a complex array of enzyme activation, mediator release, extravasations of fluid, cell migration, tissue breakdown and repair. Inflammation has become the focus of global scientific research because of its implication in virtually all human and animal diseases. As a result of adverse effects such as gastric lesions caused by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), tolerance and dependence induced by opiates, the use of these drugs as antiinflammatory agents have not been successful in all cases. Therefore, new anti-inflammatory drugs lacking these side effects are being researched as alternatives to NSAID and opiates. Attention is being focused on the investigation of the efficacy of plant-based drugs used in the traditional medicine because they are cheap, have little side effects. Hence, in the present review the various animal models used for preclinical screening anti-inflammatory activity herbs was compiled.
The methanolic crude extract and different fractions of Sterculia villosa bark were investigated for their possible analgesic activity in experimental animal models. Analgesic activity was evaluated using acetic acid
induced writhing inhibition and radiant heat tail-flick methods in swiss albino mice. In peripheral method of antinociception, the methanolic crude extract (400 mg/kg) and petroleum ether fraction (400 mg/kg) showed significant analgesic activity having 50.76% and 51.72% (P < 0.001) of writhing inhibition, respectively compared to standard aspirin (71.03% inhibition). In the radiant heat tail-flick method of central anti nociception, the methanolic crude extract (400 mg/kg) and petroleum ether fraction (400 mg/kg) of S. villosa showed significant analgesic activity having 71.25% (P < 0.001) and 66.77% (P < 0.001) elongation of reaction time, respectively at 30 minutes after administration of sample compared to the standard morphine (144.4% elongation). The findings of the studies demonstrated analgesic activity of the bark of S. villosa which could be the therapeutic option against pain.