Comparative assessment on in vitro antioxidant activities of ethanol extracts of Averrhoa bilimbi, Gymnema sylvestre and Capsicum frutescens

Natural compounds as safe therapeutic options for ulcerative colitis

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease of unknown etiology. Several conventional treatments for UC such as corticosteroids, immunosuppressive agents, tumor necrosis factor antagonist, integrin blockers, and interleukin antagonist, and salicylates are available but are associated with the various limitations and side-effects. None of the above treatments helps to achieve the ultimate goal of the therapy, i.e., maintenance of remission in the long-term. Natural remedies for the treatment of UC show comparatively less side effects as compared to conventional approaches, and affordable. The current review presents details on the role of herbal drugs in the treatment and cure of UC. Google, PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus portals have been searched for potentially relevant literature to get the latest developments and updated information related to use of natural drugs in the treatment of UC. Natural products have been used over centuries to treat UC. Some of the essential herbal constituents exhibiting antiulcerogenic activity include gymnemic acid (Gymnema sylvestre), shagoal (Zingiber officinale), catechin (Camellia sinensis), curcumin (Curcuma longa), arctigenin (Arctium lappa), and boswellic acid (Boswellia serrata). Although many plant-derived products have been recommended for UC, further research to understand the exact molecular mechanism is still warranted to establish their usefulness clinically.

Comprehensive Review on Phytochemicals, Pharmacological and Clinical Potentials of Gymnema sylvestre

Gymnema sylvestre is a plant included in Apocynaceae family and is located in many regions of Asia, Africa and Australia. This plant is widely used as a traditional therapy for different purposes. Even now it is being used as a dietary supplement due to its numerous therapeutic uses. It is known to have blood glucose lowering potential and, thus, is widely used in traditional and Ayurvedic systems of medicine. It renders glucose lowering activity due to the presence of phytochemicals, such as gurmarin, gymnemic acid as well as gymnemasaponins. Gymnema sylvestre is also known to have anti-oxidant, antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, gastro and hepatoprotective, anticancer and lipid-lowering activities. This review discusses in details on different pharmacological and clinical potentials of Gymnema sylvestre and its chemical constituents associated with its therapeutic potentials.

Phytochemical profile and free radical nitric oxide (NO) scavenging activity of Averrhoa bilimbi L. fruit extract

Averrhoa bilimbi L. belongs to family Oxalidaceae. Traditionally, people use this plant (root, bark, leaves and fruits) for treating several illnesses include itches, boils, syphilis, whooping cough, hypertension, fever and inflammation. The aim of the study was to evaluate the nitric oxide (NO) scavenging activity and GC-MS analysis of A. bilimbi L. fruit extract. Averrhoa bilimbi L. fruits were collected for the preliminary phytochemical analysis, antioxidant scavenging activity and biologically important compounds were identified by GC-MS analysis. The preliminary phytochemicals, GC-MS, total phenolic content and NO scavenging activity of the plant were analysed. In the present investigation, the A. bilimbi L. fruit extract has major phytochemicals. Among the 151 compounds identified in GC-MS, 15 compounds are found to have diverse biological activity. We also observed that the A. bilimbi L. fruit extract has high level of total phenolic compounds at a concentration of 209.25 GAE mg/g. Presence of phenolic compound apparently explains the antioxidant activity of the plant. Antioxidant activity of A. bilimbi L. fruit extract is proven from its high level of NO scavenging activity of potent IC50 value of 108.10. From the above study, it is apparent that the A. bilimbi L. fruit extract is a rich source of phytochemicals (natural products) with biological activity. The GC-MS report on this fruit proves that natural products have pharmacologically and biologically active compounds. A high phenolic content is observed in our study. A. bilimbi L. fruit extract is also found to have NO scavenging activity in our study.

Enhanced Synthesis of Curculigoside by Stress and Amino Acids in Static Culture of Curculigo orchioides Gaertn (Kali Musli)

Background:

Curculigo orchioides Gaertn (Kali musli; Family: Hypoxidaceae) is an endangered medicinal plant used for many medicinal purposes such as impotency, aphrodisiac, tonic, jaundice, and skin ailments. Its hepatoprotective, antioxidant, and anti-cancerous potential have also been evaluated by many scientists.

Objective:

The objective of this study is to enhance the curculigoside content in tissue culture of C. orchioides.

Materials and Methods:

The present study deals with the enhancement of an active compound of C. orchioides by incorporating various concentration of phenylalanine (Phe), tyrosine, (20, 40, 60, and 80 mg/100 ml), chromium (Cr) and nickel (Ni) (1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 ppm) into Zenk media in controlled and aseptic conditions.

Results:

Plant secondary metabolites are unique sources for pharmaceuticals, food additives, flavors, and industrially important biochemicals. Accumulation of such metabolites often occurs in plants subjected to stresses including various elicitors or signal molecules. A significantly remarkable enhancement in all induced samples was noted. Curculigoside content was maximum in the 6-week-old tissue induced with 3 ppm of Cr (7.63%) followed by 4 weeks tissue of tissue fed with 4 ppm of Ni (5.66%) and 4-week-old tissue fed with tyrosine 7.5 mg/100 ml (2.38%) among all samples used. These results suggest that tyrosine is better enhancer than Phe in the biosynthetic pathway of curculigoside. The presence of curculigoside in all extracts was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, high-performance thin layer chromatography analysis with standard compound of curculigoside and histology of treated samples.

Conclusion:

This investigation was carried out for the 1^st time, and it is a significant step in understanding the biochemistry of curculigoside. The developed protocol will be beneficial for marketing in pharmaceutical industries.

SUMMARY

Curculigo orchioides Gaertn (Kali musli; Family: Hypoxidaceae) is an endangered medicinal plant used for many medicinal purposes such as impotency, aphrodisiac, tonic, jaundice, and skin ailments.

It was observed that dry matter % was maximum in 6-week-old tissue fed with 2.5 mg/100 ml of tyrosine and diminished beyond this concentration among all samples used

The nickel (Ni) and chromium (Cr) stress has enhanced the curculigoside in considerable amount in nontoxic range, in tissue culture of C. orchioides.

Curculigoside content was maximum in 6-week-old tissue induced with 3 ppm of Cr (7.63%; 11-fold enhancement) followed by 4 weeks tissue of tissue fed with 4 ppm of Ni (5.66%) and 4-week-old tissue fed with tyrosine 7.5 mg/100 ml (2.38%) among all samples used. Histological studies confirmed the enhanced production of curculigoside.

Abbreviations Used: Phe: Phenylalanine, PAL: Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, mM: mille Molar, Cr: Chromium, Ni: Nickel, HPTLC: High-performance thin layer chromatography

Antioxidant activities of ficus glomerata (moraceae) leaf gall extracts

An excess production or decreased scavenging of reactive oxygen species (ROS) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of diverse metabolic disorders such as diabetes, cancer, atherosclerosis and neurodegeneration. Hence the antioxidant therapy has gained an utmost importance in the treatment of such diseases linked to free radicals. The medicinal properties of plants have been investigated and explored for their potent antioxidant activities to counteract metabolic disorders. This research highlights the chemical composition and antioxidant potential of leaf gall extracts (aqueous and methanol) of Ficus glomerata (F. glomerata), which is extensively used in the preparation of traditional medications to treat various metabolic diseases. The presences of phenolics, flavonoids, phytosterols, terpenoids and reducing sugars were identified in both the extracts. In comparison to the aqueous extract, the methanol extract had the highest total phenolic and flavonoid content at 370 ± 3.2 mg of gallic acid equivalent per gram of dry weight (mg GAE/g dw) and 155 ± 3.2 mg of quercetin equivalent per gram of dry weight (mg QUE/g dw), respectively. The antioxidant activities of leaf gall extracts were examined using diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH), Nitric oxide scavenging, hydroxyl scavenging and ferric reducing power (FRAP) methods. In all the methods, the methanolic extract showed higher antioxidant potential than the aqueous extract. A higher content of both total phenolics and flavonoids were found in the methanolic extract and the significantly high antioxidant activity can be positively correlated to the high content of total polyphenols/flavonoids of the methanol extract. The results of this study confirm the folklore use of F. glomerata leaf gall extracts as a natural antioxidant and justify its ethnobotanical use. Further, the results of antioxidant properties encourage the use of F. glomerata leaf gall extracts for medicinal health, functional food and nutraceuticals applications. Future work will be interesting in knowing the chemical composition and better understand the mechanism of action of the antioxidants present for development as drug for its therapeutic application.

Prophylactic effects of quercetin and hyperoside in a calcium oxalate stone forming rat model

Quercetin and hyperoside (QH) are the two main constituents of the total flavone glycosides of Flos Abelmoschus manihot, which has been prescribed for treating chronic kidney disease for decades. This study aimed to investigate the effect of QH on calcium oxalate (CaOx) formation in ethylene glycol (EG)-fed rats. Rats were divided into three groups: an untreated stone-forming group, a QH-treated stone-forming group (20 mg/kg/day) and a potassium citrate-treated stone-forming group (potassium citrate was a worldwide-recognized calculi-prophylactic medicine). Ethylene glycol (0.5 %) was administered to the rats during the last week, and vitamin D3 was force-fed to induce hyperoxaluria and kidney calcium oxalate crystal deposition. 24 h urine samples were collected before and after inducing crystal deposits. Rats were killed and both kidneys were harvested after 3 weeks. Bisected kidneys were examined under a polarized light microscope for semi-quantification of the crystal-formation. The renal tissue superoxide dismutase and catalase levels were measured by Western blot. QH and potassium citrate have the ability to alkalinize urine. The number of crystal deposits decreased significantly in the QH-treated stone-forming group as compared to the other groups. Superoxide dismutase and catalase levels also increased significantly in the QH-treated stone-forming group, as compared with the untreated stone-forming group. QH administration has an inhibitory effect on the deposition of CaOx crystal in EG-fed rats and may be effective for preventing stone-forming disease.

Differential expression of superoxide dismutase genes in aphid-stressed maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings

The aim of this study was to compare the expression patterns of superoxide dismutase genes (sod2, sod3.4, sod9 and sodB) in seedling leaves of the Zea mays L. Tasty Sweet (susceptible) and Ambrozja (relatively resistant) cultivars infested with one of two hemipteran species, namely monophagous Sitobion avenae F. (grain aphid) or oligophagous Rhopalosiphum padi L. (bird cherry-oat aphid). Secondarily, aphid-elicited alternations in the antioxidative capacity towards DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical in insect-stressed plants were evaluated. Comprehensive comparison of expression profiles of the four sod genes showed that both insect species evoked significant upregulation of three genes sod2, sod3.4 and sod9). However, aphid infestation affected non-significant fluctuations in expression of sodB gene in seedlings of both maize genotypes. The highest levels of transcript accumulation occurred at 8 h (sod2 and sod3.4) or 24 h (sod9) post-infestation, and aphid-induced changes in the expression of sod genes were more dramatic in the Ambrozja cultivar than in the Tasty Sweet variety. Furthermore, bird cherry-oat aphid colonization had a more substantial impact on levels of DPPH radical scavenging activity in infested host seedlings than grain aphid colonization. Additionally, Ambrozja plants infested by either hemipteran species showed markedly lower antioxidative capacity compared with attacked Tasty Sweet plants.