Symbols and Symbolism: The Representamen of Infelicities in Chigozie Obioma’s The Fishermen (2015)

Abstract

The use of medicinal plants has grown over the years, this is due to the popular culture that already exists and to the increase in people's knowledge about the benefits of these plants. Dillenia indica popularly known as elephant apple or april flower is considered a medicinal plant that, according to studies, has antidepressant, antileukemic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-diabetic, antihyperlipidemic, antimicrobial, cytotoxic and anxiolytic properties. This factor aroused interest in obtaining extracts of this to evaluate the antimicrobial action of these extracts. To obtain the extracts, separate samples of the leaves, bark and seeds were kept in contact with ethyl acetate for 3 days with daily agitation. After this period, the extract was filtered and dried by rotary evaporation. The analysis of the chemical composition of the extracts was performed by a Gas Chromatography coupled with Mass Spectrometry. The antimicrobial effect of the extracts was verified by the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). The values of MBC and MIC of the extracts of leaves, bark and seeds against the microorganisms in question were 0.1% v/v. Employing chromatography it was possible to identify several organic acids in the three extracts of D. indica. These acids are probably the compounds responsible for the antibacterial activity shown by the studied extracts. I. INTRODUCTIONAccording to Maciel, Pinto and Veiga (2002), the popular culture of using medicinal plants and the efficiency of their use, that is, the beneficial effects that their use provides, collaborate in a significant way for the practice of consumption of medicines plants. As a result, this popular culture arouses the curiosity and interest of researchers in developing this natural resource for medicinal purposes. According to Jawla et al. (2009), medicinal plants have provided many clues to fighting diseases since the emergence of civilization.India is one of the 12 biodiversity centers in the world, with more than 45.000 different plant species (Jawla et al., 2009). There are many species of plants that have been used by tribal communities and in various regions of India, but their pharmacological and phyto-pharmacological importance are still unknown as these plants are rarely available. Among these plants there are several belonging to the family Dilleniaceae, which are not very well known, but have considerable medicinal value (Gandhi & Mehta, 2013). According to Bhagyasri et al. (2017), several studies report the potential of D. indica