Xylopia aethiopica Seeds from Two Countries in West Africa Exhibit Differences in Their Proteomes, Mineral Content and Bioactive Phytochemical Composition

Phylogenetic insights and antimicrobial biosynthetic potential of Serratia sp. XAFb12 and Pseudomonas sp. XAFb13 from Xylopia aethiopica

The extensive distribution of Xylopia aethiopica across the continent of Africa has firmly established its medicinal value in diverse disease management. While its phytochemistry is well established, the diversity, molecular, biochemical, and antimicrobial-biosynthetic characterizations of culturable bacterial endophytes residing in fruits of X. aethiopica have not been studied previously. Additionally, danger continues to loom the global health care and management due to antibiotic resistance; hence, the discovery of microbial natural products especially from endophytes could offer a lasting solution to the quest for novel antimicrobial compounds. In this study, we isolated two bacterial endophytes Serratia sp. XAFb12 and Pseudomonas sp. XAFb13 from fresh X. aethiopica fruit. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing, Vitex biochemical test, Gram staining, and 16S rRNA gene analysis were used to confirm their phenotypic and genotypic profiles. Phylogenetic tree analysis reveals their divergence in a separate branch, indicating their uniqueness. The crude extract of both strains showed inhibition against all tested bacterial and fungal pathogens. The minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) ranged from 2.5 to 10%. Chemical analysis of the crude extracts using gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) revealed the most abundant compounds to be hydrocinnamic acid, 2-piperidinone, 5-isopropylidene-3,3-dimethyl-dihydrofuran-2-one, and diethyl trisulfide. The bacterial endophytes linked to X. aethiopica were described in this study for the first time in relation to clinically significant pathogens. Our findings imply that crude extracts of the endophytic bacteria from X. aethiopica could be potentially employed as antibiotics. Hence, it is crucial to characterize the active ingredient in further detail for future pharmaceutical applications.

Effect of some local plant extracts on fatty acid composition of fish (Alestes baremoze) during smoking and sun drying in the Far-North region of Cameroon

The objective of this study was to assess the antioxidant activities of three plant extracts (Moringa oleifera leaves, Xylopia aethiopica fruits, and Allium cepa leaves) and to evaluate their effects on the preservation of fish polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) during smoking and sun-drying processes. PUFAs are highly prone to oxidation during fish processing. The plant extracts were analyzed for their polyphenol contents and were evaluated for their total antiradical capacity. The polyphenol components of each plant were characterized. The hydroethanolic and aqueous extracts were added to the fish at concentrations of 3, 6, 9, and 12 g/L and 10, 20, 30, and 40 g/L, respectively. Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) was used as a positive control at a concentration of 2 g/L to compare the antioxidant effects of the plant extracts. The treated fish was subjected to smoking or sun drying and the fatty acid composition of the fish lipid extract was assessed. The results showed that the total polyphenolic, flavonoid, and tannin contents varied significantly from one plant extract to the other (p < .05). The radical scavenging and FRAP increased significantly with the concentration of the plant extracts (p < .05). An HPLC analysis of the extracts led to the preliminary identification of four hydroxycinnamic acids in M. oleifera and X. aethiopica, one anthocyanin and one flavone glycoside in M. oleifera, and four flavan-3-ols in X. aethiopica. Moreover, eight flavonols were preliminarily identified in the three plants. Compared to the control product, these plant extracts significantly protected fish PUFAs from oxidation (p < .05). The aqueous extract of A. cepa at 40 g/L better preserved omega-3 in fish during smoking and sun drying than the control product. Incorporating the three plant extracts during smoking and sun-drying processes can effectively preserve the PUFAs in fish. Therefore, these plants are viable sources of natural antioxidants in the preservation of fish products.

Ethnomedicinal Uses, Phytochemistry, and Anticancer Potentials of African Medicinal Fruits: A Comprehensive Review

Africa is home to diverse medicinal plants that have been used for generations for the treatment of several different cancers and, presently, they are gaining interest from researchers as promising approaches to cancer treatment. This review aims to provide a comprehensive review of dietary and medicinal African fruits including their traditional uses, botanical description, ethnobotanical uses, bioactive phytochemical compositions, and anticancer properties investigated to date in vitro, in vivo, and in clinical studies. Data on recent updates concerning the traditional uses and anticancer properties of these fruits were collected from a myriad of available publications in electronic databases, such as Web of Science, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, SpringerLink, and Google Scholar. The results suggest that approximately 12 native or commercially grown African fruits belonging to different plant species, including Tribulus terrestris, Xanthium strumarium, Withania somnifera, Xylopia aethiopica, Abelmoschus esculentus, Carissa macrocarpa, Carpobrotus edulis, Syzygium cumini, Kigelia Africana, Annona muricata, Persea americana, and Punica granatum, have been reported for their potential as treatment options for the management of cancer. We further found that approximately eight different fruits from native plant species from Africa, namely, Sclerocarya birrea, Dovyalis caffra, Parinari curatellifolia, Mimusops caffra, Carpobrotus edulis, Vangueria infausta, Harpephyllum caffrum, and Carissa macrocarpa, have been widely used for the traditional treatment of different ailments but somehow failed to gain the interest of researchers for their use in anticancer research. In this review, we show the potential use of various fruits as anticancer agents, such as Tribulus terrestris, Xanthium strumarium, Withania somnifera, Xylopia aethiopica, Abelmoschus esculentus, Carissa macrocarpa, Carpobrotus edulis, Syzygium cumini, Kigelia Africana, Annona muricata, Persea americana, and Punica granatum; unfortunately, not enough reported research data have been published to gain thorough mechanistic insights and clinical applications. Additionally, we discuss the possibility of the utilization of potential phytochemicals from fruits like Persea americana and Punica granatum in anticancer research, as well as future directions.

Antiproliferative activity of semisynthetic xylopic acid derivatives

Two ent-kaurene diterpenoids, ent-15-β-acetyloxy-kaur-16-en-19-oic acid (xylopic acid) 1 and ent-7-oxo-kaur-16-en-19-oic acid 2 were isolated from the fruits of Xylopia aethiopica. Chemical manipulation of xylopic acid yielded ent-kaurane derivatives 3, 4, 5, and 6. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis, including 1 D- and 2 D-NMR spectroscopies. The antiproliferative activities of compounds 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 were tested on breast MCF7 and SkBr3, endometrial Ishikawa, ovarian BG-1, mesothelioma IST-MES1 and hepatocellular HepG2 human tumor cells, and on mammalian MRC-10 fibroblast cells. Ketone 2 showed significant antiproliferative activity against MFC7 human breast cancer cells (IC₅₀ = 3 ± 1 µM) and A549 pulmonary adenocarcinoma (8 ± 1 µM), that was higher than the well-known anti-cancer agent cisplatin (IC₅₀ = 19 ± 3 and 15 ± 4 µM, respectively).

Potent Cytotoxicity of Four Cameroonian Plant Extracts on Different Cancer Cell Lines

In this study, the potential cytotoxicity of four plant extracts originated from Cameroon: Xylopia aethiopica (XA), Imperata cylindrica (IC), Echinops giganteus (EG) and Dorstenia psilurus (DP) were examined in vitro. We tested the anti-proliferative activity of the methanolic extracts of these compounds using MTT assay on seven different human cancer cell lines: HeLa, MDA-MB-231, A549, HepG2, U-87, SK-OV-3 and HL60. Induction of cell death was assessed by cell cycle analysis, apoptosis was determined by Annexin V-FITC binding and caspase 3/7 activity. As well, changes in mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and cell migration were tested. The genetic toxicity, using the alkaline comet assay, was evaluated. The studied extracts inhibited the cell proliferation of all tested cancer cell lines with concentration dependent effect over time. All of these extracts mainly induced apoptosis of HeLa cells by the accumulation of hypodiploid cells in the sub-G0/G1 phase and increasing the activity of caspase 3/7, as well they showed potential MMP disturbance and expressed a marked inhibitory effect on cell migration. Assessment of probable genetic toxicity by these extracts revealed no or minimum incidence of genetic toxicity. Therefore, the studied plant extracts are exhibiting potent anticancer activity based upon marked induction of tumor-cell death.