Phytochemical screening, metal concentration determination, antioxidant activity, and antibacterial evaluation of Drymaria diandra plant

Artemisia herba-alba: antioxidant capacity and efficacy in preventing chronic arthritis in vivo

Arthritis is a debilitating condition impacting the quality of life for millions worldwide, characterized by pain and inflammation. Understanding the mechanisms of arthritis and developing effective treatments are crucial. This study investigated the hydroethanolic extract of Artemisia herba-alba for its protective potential against arthritis hallmarks, oxidative stress, and lipid peroxidation in vitro. It also assessed its in vivo anti-arthritic activity. The phytochemical analysis identified various compounds within the extract, with high concentrations of polyphenols and flavonoids. These compounds are associated with numerous health benefits, making A. herba-alba a potential source of valuable phytochemicals. A. herba-alba demonstrated a notable effect in body weight loss, paw edema, and arthritic severity. Histopathological examination revealed structural improvements in bone and muscle tissues, emphasizing its therapeutic potential in managing chronic arthritis. Furthermore, while these findings are promising, further studies are necessary to delve deeper into the mechanisms underlying the observed hematological changes and to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the in vivo results. This research sets the stage for continued exploration, ultimately aiming to unlock the full potential of A. herba-alba in addressing chronic arthritis and enhancing the lives of those affected by this condition.

Essential Oil Composition Analysis of Cymbopogon Species from Eastern Nepal by GC-MS and Chiral GC-MS, and Antimicrobial Activity of Some Major Compounds

Cymbopogon species essential oil (EO) carries significant importance in pharmaceuticals, aromatherapy, food, etc. The chemical compositions of Cymbopogon spp. Viz. Cymbopogon winterianus (citronella) Cymbopogon citratus (lemongrass), and Cymbopogon martini (palmarosa) were analyzed by gas chromatography−mass spectrometry (GC-MS), enantiomeric distribution by chiral GC-MS, and antimicrobial activities of some selected pure major compound and root and leaves EOs of citronella. The EO of leaves of Cymbopogon spp. showed comparatively higher yield than roots or other parts. Contrary to citral (neral and geranial) being a predominant compound of Cymbopogon spp., α-elemol (53.1%), α-elemol (29.5%), geraniol (37.1%), and citral (90.4%) were detected as major compounds of the root, root hair with stalk, leaf, and root stalk with shoot of citronella EO, respectively. Palmarosa leaves’ EO contains neral (36.1%) and geranial (53.1) as the major compounds. In the roots of palmarosa EO, the prime components were α-elemol (31.5%), geranial (25.0%), and neral (16.6%). Similarly, lemongrass leaves’ EO contains geraniol (76.6%) and geranyl acetate (15.2%) as major compounds, while the root EO contains a higher amount of geraniol (87.9%) and lower amount of geranyl acetate (4.4%). This study reports for the first time chiral terpenoids from Cymbopogon spp. EOs. Chiral GC-MS gave specific enantiomeric distributions of nine, six, and five chiral terpenoids in the root, root stalk with a shoot, and leaves of citronella EOs, respectively. Likewise, four and three chiral terpenoids in the root and leaves of lemongrass oil followed by two chiral terpenoids in the leaves and root of palmarosa EOs each. Additionally, the root and leaves’ EOs of citronella exhibit noticeable activity on bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Streptococcus pyogenes and fungus such as Candida albicans, Microsporum canis, and Trichophyton mentagrophytes. So, geranial-, neral-, geraniol-, and citronellal-rich EOs can be used as an alternative antimicrobial agent.

Antibacterial, Antioxidant Potency, and Chemical Composition of Essential Oils from Dried Powdered Leaves and Flowers of Hypericum revolutum subsp. keniense (Schweinf.)

Hypericum revolutum subsp. keniense is a plant mainly used to treat diarrhoea, rheumatism, nervous disorders, and wounds in African traditional medicine. The objective of the current work was to establish antibacterial, antioxidant potency, and chemical composition of essential oil from the leaves and flowers of Hypericum revolutum subsp. keniense. The oils were isolated by steam distillation. Antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 12393), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Acinetobacter baumannii (ATTC 19606), Salmonella enteritidis (NCTC12023), Salmonella typhimurium (ATCC 14028), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 15442), and Haemophilus influenzae (ATCC 49766) was carried out by agar disk diffusion and microtiter broth dilution methods. Antioxidant activities of the essential oils were examined by different methods, DPPH, FRAP, and H₂O₂ assays. Chemical characterization was performed using gas chromatography interfaced with mass spectrometry, Fourier-transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy, and quantification of phenolics and flavonoids by Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and aluminium nitrate, respectively. The oils showed potential antibacterial activity with mean zone of inhibition ranging from 20.67 ± 0.33 to 32.00 ± 1.00 mm at 100% oil concentration against the tested bacteria. Furthermore, the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) in all the tested microorganisms were in the range from 250 to 15.6250 μg/ml. The essential oils derived from the leaves revealed varied antioxidant activity levels with the different methods of assay. The IC₅₀ of values obtained from the three methods, DPPH, FRAP, and H₂O₂ were ˃1000 μg/ml, 0.31 μg/ml, and 12.33 μg/ml, respectively. Caryophyllene (22.1%) and 2, 3, 4-trimethylhexane were the major chemical components of the essential oils derived from the leaves and flowers, respectively. FTIR spectroscopy of the essential oils from the leaves and flowers showed similarity at peaks for hydroxyl, unsaturated olefinic, and amine functional groups. Further findings indicated that the total phenolic and flavonoid contents essential oils derived from leaves were 130.4 6 ± 10.5 mg GAE/g dry weight and 0.911 ± 0.04 mg CE/g dry weight, respectively. It was therefore concluded that essential oils from the leaves and flowers of H. revolutum subsp. keniense have compounds that have antibacterial and antioxidant potency.

Chemical Profile, Antibacterial and Antioxidant Potential of Zingiber officinale Roscoe and Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton Essential Oils and Extracts

The aim of this work was to study the chemical composition of the essential oil extracted from ginger rhizomes (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) and cardamom seeds (Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton). Using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS), a total of 43 compounds were identified in ginger essential oil and 17 compounds in cardamom. The most abundant components, respectively, were zingiberene (22.18%) and 1.8-cinéol (43.47%). Essential oils, methanol, ethanol and chloroform extracts for both plants were tested against nine bacteria and yeast. The highest sensitivity was noticed against Staphylococcus aureus with a 25 mm inhibition zone. The antioxidant potency of both oils and extracts were measured using DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl) free radical scavenging and the ferric reducing power (FRP) method; the ethanolic extract of cardamom fruits exhibited the best results for both tests, with an IC 50 = 0.423 ± 0.015 mg/mL and 95.03 ± 0.076 FRP mg AAE/g.

GC-MS Analysis, Heavy Metals, Biological, and Toxicological Evaluation of Reseda muricata and Marrubium vulgare Methanol Extracts

The usage of herbal remedy is growing vividly all around the world. Though, ecological contamination particularly with heavy metals carriages thoughtful problem on quality of medicinal plants and their foodstuffs. In the world, 80% of the population depend on traditional medicine, while information on the levels of heavy metal such as Zn, Mn, Cu, Cr, Pb, As, Cd, and Cr in plants utilized for making of herbal remedies is unavailable. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess phytochemicals, biological activities, and heavy metal analysis of Reseda muricata and Marrubium vulgare grown in different parts of Saudi Arabia. Qualitative phytochemical analysis of R. muricata and M. vulgare confirmed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, phenol, and saponins. Methanol extracts of both Reseda muricata and Marrubium vulgare were characterized with the help of GC-MS. Antioxidants, antimicrobial, and brine sharp lethal toxicity of the both species were also evaluated.

Assessment of persistent antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activity of p-HEMA hydrogel loaded with rifampicin and cefixime

Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are nosocomial infections causing more than one million hospital cases annually. The progress of CAUTIs leads to severe health complications. Infections result in blockage of the medical device due to biofilm formation, which necessitates the replacement of the device. The objective of this study is to improve urological biomaterials to minimize microbial growth and reduce the incidence of CAUTIs. Challenges from mixed biofilm are crucial and need to be addressed in the development of new coating materials. Herein, an investigation highlighted the reduction of mixed biofilm overgrowth and attachment tendency on poly-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (p-HEMA) surface by loading the hydrogel with rifampicin (RIF), cefixime trihydrate (CFX), and combined ratios of RIF and CFX. Mixed biofilm-formation ability in (3:1) RIF: CFX-loading p-HEMA (F6) surface showed best tendency to resist form biofilm. Persistent antimicrobial activity increased in p-HEMA loaded with combined ratios of RIF and CFX surface compared to p-HEMA alone, antimicrobial activity lasted for 8 days. All fabricated films exhibited %cell viability higher than 75% on HEK 293 cells. The addition of RIF and CFX may improve the duration of urological device employment before replacement.

Correlative study of heavy metal content with biological importance of Solanum virginianum leaf extract

Background

Rapid urbanization and industrialization have greatly impacted the inherent soil composition. Heavy metals disposed in the environment by anthropogenic activities toxicate flora and ultimately affect the phytochemical profile of medicinal plants. We report here such an investigation of the heavy metal concentrations in the leaf extract of Solanum virginianum (S. virginianum). This work has been extended to observe the phytochemical constituents and antibacterial significance of leaf extracts in methanol and aqueous medium.

Methods

The metal concentration was analysed on ICE 3000 series atomic absorption spectrometer. The antibacterial assessment was carried by disc diffusion technique against three gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and one gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria.

Results

The content of Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Zinc (Zn), and Lead (Pb) were 2.04, 0.47, 0.41, and 0.10 mg/L, respectively. Saponin and coumarin were present in both extracts. Various other phytochemicals like steroids, terpenoid, and flavonoid, were present only in the water extract, while tannin was present only on methanol extract. The methanol and aqueous extracts exhibited their highest inhibition on S. aureus with zones of inhibition of 12 mm and 14 mm, respectively.

Conclusion

The aqueous extract possessed more phytochemicals than the methanol extract, and the aqueous extract exhibited better antibacterial activity. The high Fe content in the leaf extract may suggest its use as an anaemic medicine. Other metal contents are under the WHO range.

Phenolic Content, Antioxidant Activity, Anti-Inflammatory Potential, and Acute Toxicity Study of Thymus leptobotrys Murb. Extracts

Thymus leptobotrys is a medicinal plant belonging to the Lamiaceae family, endemic in Morocco, and used in traditional medicine. The present work aims to study the phenolic compounds, the antioxidant activity, the anti-inflammatory effect, and the toxicity of two ethanolic and methanolic extracts of Thymus leptobotrys aerial part. The yield of the methanolic extraction (22.2%) is higher than that of the ethanolic extraction (15.8%) and is characterized by higher contents of polyphenols 243.08 mg/g GAE (mg/g of gallic acid), flavonoids 179.28 mg/g RE (mg/g of rutin), and tannins 39.31 mg/g CE (mg/g of catechin). The in vitro measurement of antioxidant activity with the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical reduction test and Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) test demonstrates the higher performance of the methanolic extract. The evaluation of the anti-inflammatory effect in vivo on adult Wistar female rats leads to a very significant decrease in the inflammation of the edema compared to the standard drug (indomethacin) and the control group. The toxicity test reveals that both extracts showed no toxicity within an LD50 above 2000 mg/kg body weight of the rats.