The phytoconstituents and the comparative effects of aqueous extract of Irvingia gabonensis seeds and proviron on the biochemical parameters of male guinea pigs

Irvingia gabonensis baill. (African Mango): A comprehensive review of its ethnopharmacological significance, unveiling its long-standing history and therapeutic potential

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Irvingia gabonensis (Aubry-Lecomte ex O'Rorke) Baill. (IG) is a multipurpose tree native to tropical Africa such as Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Gabon, and Cameroon with high ethnomedicinal values.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This review emphasizes the ethnopharmacological significance, phytochemical, and functional properties of African mango, focusing on its potential for human health and industrial applications.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Literature published on IG was traced by different databases, including the Egyptian Knowledge Bank database (EKB), ScienceDirect, PubMed, Google Scholars, Research Gate, Web of Science, Elsevier, and Scopus. Numerous keywords were used to achieve an inclusive search in the databases, like 'African Mango', 'Bush Mango', 'Irvingia gabonensis', 'Wild Mango', 'Dika Nut', 'Phytochemistry', 'Traditional uses', 'Functional foods', 'Polyphenols', 'Ogbono', 'Ellagic acid and its derivatives', and 'Pharmacological activities'.

RESULTS

Different parts of IG have been employed in traditional medicine and recorded a great success. The ripe fruit pulp was consumed fresh or processed into juice and wine documented for anti-diarrheal, anti-diabetic, anti-ulcer, hepatoprotective, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties. The kernels, which are widely traded and incorporated into traditional dishes, remain an integral part of culinary traditions. Seeds have folkloric uses for weight loss and are popular as blood thinners and anti-diabetics. Where the bark is reported for dysentery, colic, scabies, toothache, and various skin conditions. In Senegal, the stem bark is employed for gonorrhea, hepatic disorders, and gastrointestinal ailments. The leaves possess the potential to enhance renal and hepatic functions, safeguarding these vital organs against the detrimental effects of toxic substances. Pulp is rich in vitamin C, carbohydrates, and proteins. Oil is the major constituent of the seed, which is mainly composed of myristic and lauric acids. The defatted extracts are characterized by flavonoid glycosides and ellagic acid derivatives. Despite their widespread use, IG extracts are still inadequately characterized phytochemically and merit further investigation within the realm of scientific research. Encouragingly, toxicity studies have demonstrated the relative safety of IG extract at the administered doses.

CONCLUSION

The review extends our knowledge of the health benefits of IG, where these effects could be attributed to the phytochemicals present.

Terminalin from African Mango (Irvingia gabonensis) Stimulates Glucose Uptake through Inhibition of Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases

Protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs), along with protein tyrosine kinases, control signaling pathways involved in cell growth, metabolism, differentiation, proliferation, and survival. Several PTPs, such as PTPN1, PTPN2, PTPN9, PTPN11, PTPRS, and DUSP9, disrupt insulin signaling and trigger type 2 diabetes, indicating that PTPs are promising drug targets for the treatment or prevention of type 2 diabetes. As part of an ongoing study on the discovery of pharmacologically active bioactive natural products, we conducted a phytochemical investigation of African mango (Irvingia gabonensis) using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC/MS)-based analysis, which led to the isolation of terminalin as a major component from the extract of the seeds of I. gabonensis. The structure of terminalin was characterized by spectroscopic methods, including one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and high-resolution (HR) electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectroscopy. Moreover, terminalin was evaluated for its antidiabetic property; terminalin inhibited the catalytic activity of PTPN1, PTPN9, PTPN11, and PTPRS in vitro and led to a significant increase in glucose uptake in differentiated C2C12 muscle cells, indicating that terminalin exhibits antidiabetic effect through the PTP inhibitory mechanism. These findings suggest that terminalin derived from African mango could be used as a functional food ingredient or pharmaceutical supplement for the prevention of type 2 diabetes.

Food applications of Irvingia gabonensis (Aubry-Lecomte ex. O'Rorke) Baill., the 'bush mango': A review

Irvingia gabonensis, also known as 'bush mango', is a multipurpose fruit tree, native to tropical Africa. It is a priority indigenous fruit tree in western and central Africa since its wood is used for making utensils and fruits are mostly used as food and medicine. The objective of this work is to provide an updated review of the available knowledge about physicochemical characteristics of I. gabonensis fruit in order to evaluate its potential use in the food industry. The fruit mesocarp contains various phytochemicals and ascorbic acid concentration higher than some vitamin C rich fruits, then it is consumed fresh or dried, used to produce juice and wine, or as a flavourant. I. gabonensis fruit kernel is rich in oil (63%-69% crude fat), mainly composed of myristic and lauric acids. Its triacylglycerol composition and, resultantly, melting curve and polymorphism indicate an aptitude for diverse applications, as it is solid at room temperature. Forty-one phenolic compounds were identified in the seeds and derived extracts and supplements, being ellagic acid and its derivates the most present. This review enhances our knowledge about nutritional content and health benefits of I. gabonensis whole fruit, especially its pulp and seed, evidencing the need for safer and more efficient production of value-added products.

Morpho-anatomical and physicochemical studies of Fumaria indica (Hausskn.) Pugsley

OBJECTIVE

To study morpho-anatomical characters and physicochemical analysis of Fumaria indica (F. indica) (Hausskn.) Pugsley, (Fumariaceae), an important medicinal plant used extensively for treating a variety of ailments in various system of indigenous medicine.

METHODS

Evaluation of the different parts of the plant was carried out to determine the morpho-anatomical, physicochemical, phytochemical and HPTLC fingerprinting profile of F. indica and other WHO recommended methods were performed for standardization.

RESULTS

Morpho-anatomical studies showed compound and pinnatifid leaf, 4 to 6 cm in length, linear and oblong in shape and anomocytic arrangement of stomata, thin walled parenchymatous cells, scattered, sclerenchymatous, capped vascular bundles and radiating medullary rays. Physicochemical studies showed foreign matter 0.2%, loss on drying 6.8%, total ash 16.77%, alcohol and water soluble extractives 8.92% and 20.26%, respectively, sugar 17.75%, starch 22.97% and tannins 2.37%. Phytochemical evaluation revealed the presence of carbohydrate, alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, tannins and sterol. Thin layer chromatography was carried out with different solvents and the best solvent system was chloroform and methanol in 80:20 ratio and revealed 12 spots with different Rf value under UV light 366λ.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of the study can serve as a valuable source of information and provide suitable standards for identification of this plant material for future investigations and applications.

Evaluation of wound healing and antimicrobial potentials of Ixora coccinea root extract

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the wound healing and antimicrobial activity of root extracts of Ixora coccinea (I. coccinea).

METHODS

To investigate the wound healing efficacy of root extract of I. coccinea Linn, five groups of animals were divided each containing six animals. Two wound models including incision and excision wound models were used in this study. The parameters studied were tensile strength on incision wound model and in terms of wound contraction for excision wound model were compared with standard Nitrofurazone (NFZ) ointment (0.2% w/w). Six extracts (ethanol, aqueous, petroleum ether, benzene, chloroform and ethyl acetate) of I. coccinea were screened for in vitro growth inhibiting activity against different bacterial strains viz, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus pumilius, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and fungi Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger were compared with the standard drugs ciprofloxacin and chloramphenicol for antibacterial and griseofulvin for antifungal screening. The serial dilution and cup (or) well plate methods were used for the antimicrobial study and MIC was determined.

RESULTS

The ethanolic extract showed significant (P<0.001) wound healing activity when compared to standard drug NFZ with respect to normal control group. Amongst all, ethanolic extract showed highly significant antibacterial activity against all bacterial strains used in this study when compared to standard. The aqueous extract showed moderate significant inhibition against all bacterial strains when compared to standard. All the extracts were shown negligible activity against the fungal strains used in this study.

CONCLUSIONS

The ethanolic root extract of I. coccinea showed pronounced wound healing and antibacterial activity. The probable reason to heal the wound was that the external application of the extract prevented the microbes to invade through the wound thus the protection of wound occurs against the infection of the various organisms.