BackgroundIn the Indian ayurvedic system of medicine, Nymphaea nouchali is used for the treatment of diabetes, cutaneous diseases, inflammation, liver disorders, urinary disorders, menorrhagia, blenorrhagia, menstruation problem, as an aphrodisiac, and as a bitter tonic. However, despite its traditional usage as an antimicrobial agent, there is no information regarding its effectiveness in infections caused by pathogenic microbes. Hence, we evaluated 70% ethanol extract of the seeds of N. nouchali for its antimicrobial activity.MethodsThe antimicrobial activity of the extract at five different concentrations was tested against few common human pathogenic microorganisms by agar disc diffusion assay. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration of the extract was determined by the modified resazurin method. Streptomycin (10 μg/ml) and amphotericin B (10 μg/ml) were used as standards for antibacterial and antifungal study respectively. Few phenolic compounds were identified and quantified by standard HPTLC technique.ResultsThe zone of inhibition was extremely great for P. aeruginosa (25 mm), S. aureus (20 mm) and C. albicans (19 mm). MIC value was the least at 0.03 mg/ml for bacteria: K. pneumoniae, S. dysenteriae and E. coli and 0.31 mg/ml for fungi: C. albicans and T. mentagrophytes. Moreover, through HPTLC analysis few phenolic compounds were quantified, among which catechin content was found to be the highest (3.06%), followed by gallic acid (0.27%) and quercetin (0.04%).ConclusionsThe results therefore clearly indicates that the crude extract from N. nouchali seeds could be used as a potential source of natural antimicrobial agent owing to the presence of the phytoconstituent catechin in abundance along with other active compounds and supports the traditional use of the plant in the treatment of infections.
Objective: Andrographis paniculata (Family: Acanthaceae) is a well-known medicinal plant used in the Indian traditional system of medicine for the treatment of many chronic diseases. The present study was aimed to quantify secondary metabolites, determine antioxidant, and anticancer activity of ethanol extract of A. paniculata leaves. Methods: Leaf sample was macerated with ethanol solvent. Alkaloids, terpenoids, saponins, phenols, and flavonoids were quantified with standard calibrations. The antioxidant potential was tested using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. In vitro anticancer activity was evaluated using human epithelial type 2 (HEp-2) cell line. 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay was used to estimate the cytotoxicity of the extracts. Apoptotic and necrotic effects were characterized by DNA fragmentation assay and fluorescence microscopy using the dual acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EB) staining method. Results: The phytochemical analysis reveals the presence of alkaloids, saponins, phenols, flavonoids, terpenoids, and steroids. Alkaloids, terpenoids, saponins, phenol, and flavonoid content were recorded as follows: 9.84%, 8.42%, 13.94%, 44.37 mg gallic acid equivalent/100 g, and 904 mg quercetin equivalent/100 g, respectively. The antioxidant activity from DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP assays showed dose-dependent inhibition of free radicals. In cell viability tests, cell death with increasing extract concentration was observed. DNA fragmentation and AO/EB stain confirmed apoptosis and necrosis in extract-treated cells. Conclusion: The results indicate that A. paniculata is a promising source for the development of antioxidant and anticancer drugs.
Nymphaea nouchali Burm. f. (Family – Nymphaeaceae) is a well-known medicinal plant used in the Indian ayurvedic system of medicine for treating diabetes. The seeds especially have been prescribed for diabetes. The hydroalcoholic extract of N. nouchali seeds has been demonstrated to possess anti-hyperglycemic effects in diabetic rats, but the functional mechanism remains unknown. The nuclear receptor, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) is noted to play an important role in glucose and lipid homeostasis. This study was hence focused in evaluating the effect of the extract on PPARγ activation, adipocyte differentiation, and glucose consumption in 3T3-L1 cells. Cell viability was assessed by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT), followed by adipogenesis assay using Oil Red O technique. Glucose consumption of preadipocytes and adipocytes in the presence of the extract was also determined. Real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed to identify the expression of genes involved in glucose consumption in the adipocytes. MTT assay confirmed the extract to be nontoxic, and Oil Red O staining confirmed enhanced adipocyte differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells in a dose-dependent manner. The extract also increased the expression of PPARγ target gene, which in turn enhanced the expression of GLUT-4. The data, therefore, suggests that N. nouchali seed extract promotes adipocyte differentiation and glucose consumption by inducing PPARγ activation, which in turn increases mRNA GLUT-4 expression and subsequently enhances insulin-responsiveness in insulin target tissues.
Many medicinal plant extracts have been known since ancient times to possess antioxidant activity to scavenge free radicals and anti-diabetic activity to control diabetes. In this study, seeds of Syzygium cumini were extracted in ethanol and hexane solvents. Primary and secondary metabolites were quantified. DPPH assay, nitric oxide scavenging (NOS) assay and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays were employed to study antioxidant activity. α-amylase inhibitory assay (AAI), yeast glucose uptake assay (YGU) and haemoglobin glycosylation inhibitory (HGI) assays were adapted to determine anti-diabetic properties. The results from the assays and the IC50 values (18.35 µg/ml in DPPH, 943.8 µg/ml in NOS, 871.3 µg/ml in FRAP, 886 µg/ml in AAI, 764 µg/ml in YGU, and 1495.1 µg/ml in HGI assay) indicate that S. cumini seed ethanol extract has higher antioxidant and anti-diabetic efficiency than the hexane extract. Our findings suggest that the rich phytochemical content of S. cumini seeds and its good antioxidant and anti-diabetic activity may be responsible for its popularity and wide traditional use and can be exploited to develop antioxidant and anti-diabetic drugs.
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