One way to evaluate the toxicity of natural extracts of medicinal plants is the Allium cepa assay. This in vitro test is very useful as a first-tier analysis of cytotoxicity and genotoxicity, because of the simplicity, low relative cost, versatility and minimum laboratory

The study evaluated the effects of Pterocarpus mildbraedii leaf extracts on myocardial infarction induced by isoproterenol (ISO) in Wistar albino rats with a view to ascertain the value of its use in the management of heart-related diseases. Fresh plant leaves were collected, identified, extracted, fractionated and the aqueous layer partitioned with ethyl acetate. GC-MS was carried out on the ethyl acetate fraction (EAF) and unknown compounds were identified by comparing measured mass spectral data with those in NIST 14 Mass Spectral Library. Twenty-five adult rats were divided into five groups of 5 rats each. Groups I &II were the control groups. Rats in groups III-V were pretreated with 50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg of EAF and 1.8 mg/kg of propranolol respectively for 21 days. Myocardial infarction was then induced in all the rats (except those in Group I) with the intraperitoneal injection of ISO (85 mg/kg) for 2 days. Afterwards, the rats were sacrificed and blood samples, heart homogenate and samples for histological studies were aseptically collected. Activities of cardiac biomarkers, lipid profile, enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants were evaluated using standard methods. GC-MS analysis showed that the most abundant components of the plant are propionic acid, 2,3-dimethylphenyl ester, catechol, octyl-β-D-glucopyranoside, phenol and n-Hexadecanoic acid. Administration of ISO caused significant elevation of the activities of cardiac biomarkers (troponin-T concentrations, creatine kinase-MB and lactate dehydrogenase) while rats pretreated with EAF had significantly lower levels of the biomarkers. Moreover, alterations in lipid profile, enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants brought about by the administration of ISO were ameliorated. Histological examinations revealed lesser degree of myocardial injury in pre-treated rats.

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Background: This study was aimed at analysing the phytochemicals in Chrysophyllum albidum cotyledon extract and their in vitro antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Methods: The Chrysophyllum albidum cotyledon methanol extract (CCME) was phytochemically screened, and flavonoids and phenol contents, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory assays were carried out on the extract using standard procedures. Results: Phytochemicals analysis revealed the presence of steroids, tannins, flavonoid, saponin, triterpenes and xanthoproteins. The phenolic concentration, total flavonoids concentration and sugar concentration were found to be 26.720.048 μg of Tannic Acid Equivalent (TAE /mg, 23.121.92 μg of Rutin Equivalent (RTE)/mg (10.491.12 μg of Quercetin Equivalent (QE)/mg) and 778.3812.82 μg of glucose/ml respectively. The extract demonstrated significant (P<0.05) inhibitory effect compared with the standards as potent antioxidant with DPPH IC50 of 550.52 ± 82.83 μg/ml, lipid peroxidation (45.85 % – 65.85 %), Ferric reducing power showed linear correlation to the standard and the anti-inflammatory potential with (22.06 % – 26.37 %) percentage protection of the human red blood membrane stability and the percentage inhibition of denaturation of albumin (3.42 % – 7.32 %). Conclusion: The study showed that C. albidum cotyledon methanol extract is a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent to oxidative stress and pathological disease caused by reactive species.

Cancer is the second reason for death worldwide. Conventional therapies for cancer include surgery, cytotoxic chemotherapy, immunotherapy and radiation therapy which are used as single or combinatorial therapy have some side effects (Dutta et al., 2019). Today, many plant-derived compounds "phytochemicals" have been identified that have anti-tumour properties. For example, induction of apoptosis and inhibition of cell proliferation which finally decrease the risk of cancer make these components useful for cancer treatment (Sultana et al., 2021).A simple search on Google Scholar on 21 June 2018 with the key "Allium test" produced 3170 hits, showing the wide use of the test in a variety of different investigations.A few examples are studies examining the effects of toxic plants (Pesnya et al., 2017), nanoparticles (Yekeen et al., 2017, synthetic plant hormones such as etephon (Yavuz and Kiliç, 2017), industrial waste (Dutta et al., 2018), aquatic environmental samples (Zotina et al., 2015), etc. The lethality of the test sample in a simple zoological organism like the brine shrimp (Artemia salina) has been utilised by many researchers and has proven to be a useful ARTICLE INFO