Antimicrobial activity of Acalypha siamensis Oliv. ex Gage

Balanitoside as a Natural Adjuvant to Gemcitabine in Lung Cancer Experimental Model

Gemcitabine is a chemotherapeutic drug used to treat cancer; however, it has severe side effects. Therefore, we evaluated the anticancer potency of balanitoside, a folk medicine isolated from the edible fruits of Balanites aegyptiaca, using a mouse model of lung cancer induced by Urethane/butylated hydroxytoluene, either alone or in combination with gemcitabine. The results indicated that balanitoside, when administered alone or in combination with gemcitabine, exhibited antitumor activity against lung cancer by reducing tumor incidence, multiplicity, and average tumor size. It also decreased the proliferation of tumor cells, induced apoptosis, triggered cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase, and caused a marked reduction in cancer stem cell markers, aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH-1) levels, and the CD133 (+ve) cell population. Balanitoside also modulated the levels of oxidative stress markers in lung tissues. The results indicate that balanitoside enhances the antitumor activity of gemcitabine and may represent a natural adjuvant medication for lung cancer.

Therapeutic effects of balanitoside in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic effects of balanitoside in diabetic rats.

METHODS

Twenty-five rats were divided into five groups. Rats in groups 2 to 5 were treated with streptozotocin to induce hyperglycemia. In addition, rats in groups 1 and 2 received 1 mL of distilled water, whereas those in groups 3, 4, and 5 received 10 and 20 mg/kg balanitoside and 6 U/kg insulin, respectively, for 14 days. All rats were sacrificed on day 15, blood samples were collected, and serum levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were measured. The liver was processed for examination under a light microscope.

RESULTS

The results showed a significant decrease in liver protein concentrations in diabetic control rats, compared to those in the normal control rats and rats treated with 10 mg/kg balanitoside (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in ALP levels among all groups. However, a significant increase in ALT and AST levels was observed in the diabetic control rats, compared to those in the normal control rats (p < 0.05). Photomicrographs of the liver of the diabetic control rats showed fat and glycogen droplets, vacuolated nuclei, and loss of cellular boundaries, whereas those of the rats treated with balanitoside or insulin showed a small amount of microvesicular fat droplets and slight infiltration of lymphocytes.

CONCLUSION

The findings of this study suggest the therapeutic effects of balanitoside in the liver of diabetic rats.

Medicinal plants from the genus Acalypha (Euphorbiaceae)--a review of their ethnopharmacology and phytochemistry

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Acalypha is the fourth largest genus of the Euphorbiaceae family with approximately 450-570 species. Several Acalypha species are used as medicinal plants in Africa and in the Mascarene Islands. Almost every part of the plant including the leaves, stem and roots are used as traditional remedies to treat and manage a panoply of ailments. However, there is no updated compilation of traditionally important medicinal plants from the Acalypha genus. The present review therefore, endeavors to provide for the first time an updated compilation of documented ethnopharmacological information in relation to the ethnomedicinal, ethnoveterinary, zoopharmacognosy, phytochemistry and biological activities of medicinal plants from the Acalypha genus which can subsequently open new perspectives for further pharmacological research.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A literature search was performed on Acalypha species using ethnobotanical text books and scientific databases such as Pubmed, Scopus, EBSCO, Google Scholar and other web sources such as records from PROTA, PROSEA, and Botanical Dermatology Database. The Plant List, International Plant Name index and Kew Botanical Garden Plant name databases were used to validate scientific names.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Plants from Acalypha genus are traditionally used in the treatment and/or management of diverse ailments such as diabetes, jaundice, hypertension, fever, liver inflammation, schistosomiasis, dysentery, respiratory problems including bronchitis, asthma and pheumonia as well as skin conditions such as scabies, eczema and mycoses. Approximately 124 species were listed in ethnobotanical studies with some botanical description and others mentioned from different web sources. However, only 40 species have been included in the present review due to the unavailability of ethnopharmacological data on the remaining species. Among the 40 cited species, 30 were traditionally used for the treatment and/or management of approximately 70 human diseases or health conditions. Two species, Acalypha alnifolia and Acalypha fruticosa are used as insecticides and sand fly repellent respectively. Only 2 species (Acalypha fruticosa and Acalypha indica) are used in ethnoveterinary practice and have similar human and veterinary applications. In zoopharmacognosy, only Acalypha ornata has been mentioned. Natives from Africa, Central America, North America, Southern China, India, Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea and Mascarenes islands utilize Acalypha species as ethnomedicine. Traditionally used Acalypha species have been reported to possess at least one of the following biological activities: antimicrobial, anti-diabetic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, larvidal, pupicidal, hepatoprotective, anticancer, leishmanicidal, antihyperglycemic, antihypertensive, anti-venom, analgesic, anthelmintic, antiemetic, laxative, expectorant, diuretic, post-coital antifertility effects and wound healing. A total of 167 compounds have been identified from 19 species, with 16 from eight species were reported to be bioactive.

CONCLUSION

The present review represents 32.3% of species from the Acalypha genus and can be considered as the first compilation of ethnopharmacologically useful plants from this genus. There is a great potential to discover new biologically active phytochemicals from the Acalypha genus because only few species have been studied comprehensively. Therefore, the clinical evaluation of species from this genus is warranted in future studies to confirm the ethnomedicinal claims and for the safety approval of therapeutic applications.

An investigation on the anticandidal activity of some traditional medicinal plants in Turkey

Methanol and chloroform extracts obtained from eight plant species belonging to six families, which were selected depending on their use in Turkish folk medicine, including Mentha longifolia L. (Labiatae), Mentha piperita L. Hudson (Labiatae), Prongos ferulaceae (Umbelliferae), Galium verum L. (Rubiaceae), Salvia limbata C. A Meyer (Labiatae), Artemisia austriaca Jacq. (Artemiceae), Plantago lanceolata L. (Plantaginaceae) and Urtica dioica L. (Urticaceae) were evaluated for their in vitro anticandidal activity. The anticandidal activity of extracts against 99 human pathogenic clinical isolates belonging to 35 Candida albicans, 33 Candida tropicalis and 31 Candida glabrata and standard strains of Candida spp. (C. albicans ATCC 10231, C. glabrata ATCC 80030 and C. tropicalis ATCC 22019) were tested by disc diffusion method and the active extracts were assayed for the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC). Chloroform extracts of plants have no inhibitory effect against both clinical and standard strains of Candida spp., whereas methanol extracts exhibited good activity. Among the plants tested, M. piperita showed the highest anticandidal activity with 12.3 mm inhibition zone and 1.25 mg ml(-1) MIC value against C. albicans, M. longifolia, P. lanceolata and A. austriaca also displayed activity against C. albicans and C. tropicalis.

Antimicrobial, antioxidant and cytotoxic activities and phytochemical screening of some yemeni medicinal plants

The traditional medicine still plays an important role in the primary health care in Yemen. The current study represents the investigation of 16 selected plants, which were collected from different localities of Yemen. The plants were dried and extracted with two different solvents (methanol and hot water) to yield 34 crude extracts. The obtained extracts were tested for their antimicrobial activity against three Gram-positive bacteria, two Gram-negative bacteria, one yeast species and three multiresistant Staphylococcus strains using agar diffusion method, for their antioxidant activity using scavenging activity of DPPH radical method and for their cytotoxic activity using the neutral red uptake assay. In addition, a phytochemical screening of the methanolic extracts was done. Antibacterial activity was shown only against Gram-positive bacteria, among them multiresistant bacteria. The highest antimicrobial activity was exhibited by the methanolic extracts of Acalypha fruticosa, Centaurea pseudosinaica, Dodonaea viscosa, Jatropha variegata, Lippia citriodora, Plectranthus hadiensis, Tragia pungens and Verbascum bottae. Six methanolic extracts especially those of A. fruticosa, Actiniopteris semiflabellata, D. viscosa, P. hadiensis, T. pungens and V. bottae showed high free radical scavenging activity. Moreover, remarkable cytotoxic activity against FL-cells was found for the methanolic extracts of A. fruticosa, Iris albicans, L. citriodora and T. pungens. The phytochemical screening demonstrated the presence of different types of compounds like flavonoids, terpenoids and others, which could be responsible for the obtained activities.

Goniothalamus species: a source of drugs for the treatment of cancers and bacterial infections?

Irrespective of the presence of cytotoxic acetogenins and styryl-lactones in the genus Goniothalamus, only 22 species in the genus Goniothalamus, out of 160 species (13.7%) have so far been investigated. In an effort to promote further research on the genus Goniothalamus which could represent a source of drugs for the treatment of cancers and bacterial infections, this work offers a broad analysis of current knowledge on Goniothalamus species. Therefore, it includes (i) taxonomy (ii) botanical description (iii) traditional medicinal uses and (iv) phytochemical and pharmacological studies. We discuss the molecular mechanisms of actions of acetogenins and styryl-lactones, with some emphasis on the possible involvement of protein kinase, Bax and TRAIL receptors in the cytotoxic effects of styryl-lactones. We also report (v) the growth inhibition of several nosocomial bacteria by Goniothalamus. scortechinii. The crude methanol extract of G. scortechinii showed a good and broad spectrum of antibacterial activity against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria.

Antibacterial activity and in vitro anti-tumor activity of the extract of the larvae of the housefly (Musca domestica)

One of the significant characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine is the use of insects, other terrestrial arthropods and their products as drugs. In the present work, the extract of housefly (Musca domestica) larvae was studied by an agar well diffusion assay and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) determination for detection of antimicrobial activity and by MTT assay method to test its in vitro anti-tumor activity. In our studies, the extract inhibited six tested bacterial pathogens and Escherichia coli Jm109, a gene-modified strain resistant to ampicillin with the MBCs ranging from 200 to 1600 microg/ml, while Gram-positive bacteria were more sensitive than Gram-negative bacteria. The extract showed high in vitro anti-tumor activity against human colon cancer cell line CT26 with the IRs ranging from 62 to 89%. The extract of housefly larvae inoculated with Shigella dysenteriae 51302 exhibited higher antibacterial activity and in vitro anti-tumor activity than that of native larvae, which may indicate the same principle involved in the use of Bombyx mori larvae infected with silk moth fungus Beauveria bassiana and Hepialis larvae infected with Cordiceps fungus in the traditional Chinese medicine. Both extracts did not show any coagulation activity and haemolysis activity against rabbit erythrocytes at 500 and 1000 microg/ml. The results support its use in the traditional Chinese medicine, and warrant the further identification of the active molecule in the housefly larvae.

A Study on Medicinal Plants from Malaysia Focused onAcalypha siamensisOliv.exGage. Isolation and Structure of a New Tetraterpene, Acalyphaser A

As a part of our chemical studies on Malaysian medicinal plants, five Malaysian plant species were evaluated by cytotoxicity assays using P388 murine leukemia cells. Since Acalypha siamensis exhibited the strongest growth inhibition, its constituents were studied as the object of search for bioactive materials. A novel tetraterpene, acalyphaser A (1), was isolated in the course of the purification. Its structure was elucidated on the basis of 1D- and 2D-NMR techniques, and mass spectrometry.