Introduction: Frankincense has been used traditionally for the inhibition of microbial growth and for the treatment of rheumatic diseases. Despite this, frankincense extracts are yet to be tested for the ability to inhibit the growth of the bacterial triggers of autoimmune inflammatory diseases. Methods: Solvent extracts prepared from commercially obtained frankincense were analysed for the ability to inhibit the growth of bacterial species associated with initiating rheumatoid arthritis (P. mirabilis), ankylosing spondylitis (K. pneumoniae) and multiple sclerosis (A. baylyi, P. aeruginosa) by disc diffusion assay, and quantified by MIC determination. Toxicity was determined by Artemia franciscana bioassay.The most potent inhibitory extracts were investigated using non-targeted GC-MS head space analysis (with screening against a compound database) for the identification and characterisation of individual components in the crude plant extracts. Results: Methanolic and aqueous frankincense extracts inhibited the growth of all bacterial species. The growth inhibition of these extracts was particularly notable against P. mirabilis and K. pneumoniae, with MIC values generally ≤ 1000 µg/mL for both reference and clinical bacterial strains. Indeed, the MIC values of the methanolic extract against P. mirabilis, and for the aqueous extract against K. pneumonia, were as low as 59.6 and 75.2 µg/mL respectively. The methanolic and aqueous extracts also inhibited the growth of A. baylyi and P. aeruginosa. However, with the exception of the growth inhibition of A. baylyi by the aqueous extract (MIC=4313 µg/mL: moderate inhibitory activity), the MICs against these bacteria was indicative of only low inhibitory activity. The ethyl acetate, chloroform and hexane extracts also inhibited the growth of all bacterial species, albeit with low efficacy (MIC values generally >5000 µg/mL against all bacterial species). All frankincense extracts were non-toxic in the Artemia franciscana bioassay, with LC 50 values substantially above 1000 µg/mL. Non-biased GC-MS headspace analysis of the methanolic and aqueous extracts putatively identified a high diversity of monoterpenoids and sesquiteriterpenoids. Conclusion: The lack of toxicity and the inhibitory activity of the methanolic and aqueous frankincense extracts against microbial triggers of rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis indicates their potential in the treatment and prevention of these diseases.
I am pleased to bring you volume 6, issue 3 of Pharmacognosy Communications. In my previous editorial, I highlighted some format changes which the journal has recently implemented, aimed at improve the presentation of each manuscript and increasing the publications exposure. In particular, Pharmacognosy Communications now includes 'Graphical Abstracts' which allow authors to provide potential readers with a quick understanding of the importance and relevance of the study. We now also include a concise 'Research Highlights' section with each manuscript. This is a short section containing 4-6 dot points that summarise the core findings of the study. We are also giving authors the opportunity to include author profiles, with or without accompanying photographs of the authors. I request that authors consider these changes and develop quality, visually appealing sections to help highlight their valuable work and to make it more readily accessible. It is through innovations such as these that we aim to increase the exposure and citation of Pharmacognosy Communications publications, and thus to build a credible impact factor for the journal.
Introduction: Myrrh has been used traditionally for the inhibition of microbial growth and for the treatment of rheumatic diseases. Despite this, myrrh extracts are yet to be tested for the ability to inhibit the growth of the bacterial triggers of autoimmune inflammatory diseases. Methods: Solvent extracts prepared from commercially obtained myrrh resin were analysed for the ability to inhibit the growth of bacterial species associated with initiating rheumatoid arthritis (P. mirabilis), ankylosing spondylitis (K. pneumoniae) and multiple sclerosis (A. baylyi, P. aeruginosa) by disc diffusion assay, and quantified by MIC determination. Toxicity was determined by Artemia franciscana bioassay. The most potent inhibitory extract was investigated using non-targeted GC-MS head space analysis (with screening against a compound database) for the identification and characterisation of individual components in the crude plant extracts. Results: Methanolic myrrh extract inhibited the growth of all bacterial species tested. The growth inhibition of this extract was particularly notable against P. mirabilis and K. pneumoniae, with MIC values substantially < 1000 µg/mL for both reference and clinical bacterial strains. Indeed, the MIC values of the methanolic extract against P. mirabilis reference and clinical strains were 572 and 463 µg/mL respectively. The methanolic extract also inhibited the growth of A. baylyi (MIC approximately 3000 µg/mL) and P. aeruginosa (MIC approximately 1800 µg/mL). However, the MICs against these bacteria was indicative of only moderate inhibitory activity. The aqueous, ethyl acetate,
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