Background/objectiveZingiber officinale Roscoe (ginger) (Zingiberaceae) has been cultivated for thousands of years both as a spice and for medicinal purposes. Ginger rhizomes successive extracts (petroleum ether, chloroform and ethanol) were examined against liver fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride in rats.ResultsThe evaluation was done through measuring antioxidant parameters; glutathione (GSH), total superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA). Liver marker enzymes; succinate and lactate dehydrogenases (SDH and LDH), glucose-6-phosphatase (G-6-Pase), acid phosphatase (AP), 5'- nucleotidase (5'NT) and liver function enzymes; aspartate and alanine aminotransferases (AST and ALT) as well as cholestatic markers; alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT), total bilirubin were estimated. Liver histopathological analysis and collagen content were also evaluated. Treatments with the selected extracts significantly increased GSH, SOD, SDH, LDH, G-6-Pase, AP and 5'NT. However, MDA, AST, ALT ALP, GGT and total bilirubin were significantly decreased.ConclusionsExtracts of ginger, particularly the ethanol one resulted in an attractive candidate for the treatment of liver fibrosis induced by CCl4. Further studies are required in order to identify the molecules responsible of the pharmacological activity.
The protective and therapeutic effects of Argyreia speciosa Sweet (Convolvulaceae) against ethanol-induced gastric ulcer in rats were evaluated. Ethanolic and water extracts of the aerial plant parts (200 mg/kg body weight) were orally administered daily for seven days prior to or after ulceration with one oral dose of 1 mL absolute ethanol on 24-h empty stomachs. Rats were divided into eleven groups. Group 1 served as control. To groups 2 and 3 each extract was administered. Groups 4 to 6 received each extract or ranitidine (100 mg/ kg body weight) prior to ulcer induction. Groups 7 to 9 received each extract or ranitidine post ulcer induction. Groups 10 and 11 were gastric ulcerative rats after one hour and one week of ethanol induction. The evaluation was done through measuring ulcer indices: stomach acidity and volume, lesion counts, mucus, and prostaglandin E 2 contents. Oxidative stress marker, i. e. malondialdehyde, glutathione, and superoxide dismutase, were estimated. Certain marker enzymes for different cell organelles, i. e. succinate and lactate dehydrogenases, glucose-6-phosphatase, acid phosphatase, and 5'-nucleotidase, were evaluated. The work was extended to determine the collagen content and the histopathological assessment of the stomach. Gastric ulcer exhibited a signifi cant elevation of the ulcer index, antioxidant levels, collagen content, and the marker enzymes. The water extract attenuated these increments and was more potent as a protective agent, while the ethanol extract exhibited stronger therapeutic potency. In conclusion, A. speciosa acted as antiulcer agent. More detailed studies are required to identify the compounds responsible for the pharmacological effect.
P LANTS have been used as a source of traditional medicine to treat many diseases and conditions for many years. They considered as excellent source of phytochemicals which showed antioxidant and anticancer activities. The aim of the present study is to investigate the chemical composition and to determine the anticancer activity of Salicornia fruticosa (Chenopodiaceae) methanolic extract. S. fruticosa proved to be a source of isorhamnetin and its glycosides and showed anticancer activities. Seven major flavonoids were isolated and identified from the cytotoxic methanolic extract. The isolated compounds were identified, as quercetin 3',4'-dimethyl ether (1), isorhamnetin (2), isorhamnetin 3-O-rhamnoside (3), isorhamnetin 3-O-glucoside (4), isorhamnetin 3-O-rutinoside (5), isorhamnetin 3-O-neohesperidoside (6), isorhamnetin 3-O-rhamnosyl(1-2)arabinoside (7), by chromatographic analysis, chemical and spectroscopic tools (acid hydrolysis, UV, 1 H and 13 C NMR). Compounds 1 and 3-7 were isolated for the first time from the plant under investigation. The evaluation of cytotoxic activity of the methanolic extract against HCT-116, HepG2, A549 and MCF-7 human cancer cells, by MTT assay, revealed the higher potency of S. Fruticosa extract with IC 50 [2.6. 10.9, 37.9, 5.4 (mg/ml)] respectively, comparable to that of doxorubicin. The obtained results suggested that the investigated plant could be used for future development of naturally occurring anticancer agent. Subclinical and clinical trials on polar fractions of S. fruticosa are mandatory to pave the way for its use in treatment of cancer diseases (HCT-116, HepG2, A549 and MCF-7).
A new naturally occurring flavonol diglycoside, tamarixetin 3-O-β-glucopyranoside-7-O-α-rhamnopyranoside, was isolated along with two known flavonol diglycosides from the aerial parts of Tephrosia purpurea (L.) Pers. (Fabaceae). Bioassay guided fractionation of the light petroleum extract afforded two bioactive 5-deoxyflavones, pseudosemiglabrin and glabratephrin. Both showed cytotoxicity to the Hepg2 hepatic human cell line with IC 50 values of 0.87 and 4.03 μg/mL, respectively. The isolated compounds were characterized by spectroscopic (UV, 1 H, 13 C, HMQC and HMBC NMR) and spectrometric (EI-MS, ESI-MS) analyses.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.