Summary Introduction: Leucosidea sericea finds applications in the treatment of herpes and HIV. Objective: The aim of the current study was to evaluate the antioxidant activity and determine the total flavonoid contents (TFCs) and total phenolic contents (TPCs) of hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, acetone and methanol crude extracts obtained from leaves and stem-bark of L. sericea. Methods: Maceration and hot solvent extraction methods were used to obtain various crude extracts. DPPH and ferric reducing power assays were used to evaluate the antioxidant activity. Colorimetric aluminium chloride and Folin-Ciocalteu methods were used to determine the TFCs and TPCs, respectively. Results: The methanol leaf extract showed highest radical scavenging activity of 82.00±0.93% at a concentration of 3000 µg/ml followed by ethyl acetate leaf extract and methanol stem-bark extract with 79.40±5.21 and 75.16±1.15%, respectively. Acetone stem-bark extract showed highest ferric reducing power of 0.539±0.004 at 700 nm at a concentration of 100 µg/ml followed by hexane leaf extract and hexane stem-bark extract with 0.474±0.014 and 0.437±0.013 at 700 nm, respectively. Ethyl acetate stem-bark extract showed highest TFCs of 655.6±0.1111 mg QE/g of DW of the extract followed by acetone stem-bark extract with 450.0±0.00711 mg QE/g of DW of the extract. Acetone stem-bark extract showed highest TPCs of 891.9±0.657 mg TAE/g of the DW of extract followed by methanol stem-bark extract with 878.3±0.029 mg TAE/g of DW of the extract. Conclusion: The antioxidant activity of various solvent extracts from leaves and stem-bark of L. sericea was evaluated. L. sericea could be a source of potent antioxidants.

The plant Alpinia officinarum of the ginger family originated in China and is used throughout South and South-East Asian countries to flavor food and as a traditional medicine to treat a variety of diseases. This review summarizes the biological, pharmacological and phytochemical properties of extracts and subsequently isolated compounds from A. officinarum. In vitro and in vivo studies of both extracts and pure compounds indicate a wide variety of potent bioactivities including antiinflammatory, antibacterial, antioxidant, antiobesity, anticancer, enzyme inhibitory and remarkable antiviral properties. The latter is particularly promising in the face of emerging, virulent respiratory diseases in Asia and the Middle East.

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A total of nine yoghurt samples purchased from the Kingdom of Lesotho were evaluated for their pH, titratable acidity, syneresis and sensory profiles following standard procedures. The pH, titratable acidity and syneresis of these nine samples were found to be in the range of 3.94-4.22, 0.69-1.81 and 1.76-35.15%, respectively. The sensory profiles such as appearance, texture, aroma, flavour, taste and overall acceptability of these nine samples were found to be in the range of 2.5-4.5, 2.2-3.3, 2.5-4.1, 1.7-4.0, 2.1-4.3 and 2.3- 3.9, respectively. The pH of all nine yoghurt samples was complying in accordance with FDA specifications. The percentages of titratable acidity of some yoghurt samples were complying in accordance with FDA specifications and some samples were not. On the other hand, some samples have remarkably high syneresis. Our study showed that the pH, titratable acidity, syneresis and sensory profiles of these yoghurt samples were significantly different (p<0.05). Sensory properties, particularly, flavour, taste and aroma of yoghurt samples are needed to be improved for a better consumer overall acceptability. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of this kind on yoghurt samples from the Kingdom of Lesotho.

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Dillenia suffruticosa or ‘Simpur bini’ is known to have ethnomedicinal properties and had been used traditionally to heal wounds, relieve fever and rheumatism. There has been limited studies carried out on this species, therefore, this study aims to evaluate the phytochemical contents, antioxidant and antibacterial activities of aqueous extract, methanol extract and its fractions obtained from the leaves of D. suffruticosa. The dried leaves were extracted using methanol before successive solvent partitioning was carried out on the extract using hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and diethyl ether. In addition to this, aqueous decoction was conducted. The antioxidant activities were determined using Total Phenolic Content (TPC), Total Flavonoid Content (TFC) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate (DPPH) free radical scavenging methods. Phytochemical screening had shown that most of the extracts and fractions contained alkaloids, steroids, phenolics, flavonoids and saponins. The diethyl ether and ethyl acetate fractions showed higher TPC and TFC values. The diethyl ether and ethyl acetate fractions also showed higher antioxidant activities determined via DPPH assay. Antibacterial activities determined using disc diffusion assay showed the methanol extract and its fractions had antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, with the diethyl ether fraction having comparable activity with the standard antibiotic streptomycin. However, inhibition against Bacillus subtilis was only observed in hexane, chloroform and diethyl ether fractions. No inhibition was observed against Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This study identified the diethyl ethyl and ethyl acetate fractions of D. suffruticosa leaves as potential sources of bioactive compounds. Further investigations on the bioassay-guided isolation of bioactive compounds of this species may lead to the discovery of new pharmaceutical or effective antimicrobial agents.

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Hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanolic extracts from leaves and stem-bark of Rhamnus prinoides were evaluated for their antioxidant activity by DPPH radical scavenging assay. The leaves extracts showed scavenging activity ranging from 03.33±0.89 to 55.03±3.40 µg mL-1 while the stem-bark extracts showed relatively strong scavenging activity ranging from 03.65±1.02 to 59.55±2.27 µg mL-1. The IC 50 values of R. prinoides hexane leaves extract (RPHELS), R. prinoides chloroform leaves extract (RPCHLS), R. prinoides ethyl acetate leaves extract (RPEALS), R. prinoides methanolic leaves extract (RPMELS), R. prinoides hexane stem-bark extract (RPHESB), R. prinoides chloroform stem-bark extract (RPCHSB), R. prinoides ethyl acetate stem-bark extract (RPEASB) and R. prinoides methanolic stembark extract (RPMESB) were found to be >3000, >3000, >3000, 950.42, ~1500, 710.50, ~1000 and 902.78 µg mL-1 , respectively. The positive control ascorbic acid showed an IC 50 value of <200 µg mL-1. From this study, we concluded that the extracts from R. prinoides showed promising antioxidant activity. R. prinoides finds therapeutic applications in the traditional medicine. Further research is required to commercialize products from this plant.