Bauhinia pulchella: chemical constituents, antioxidant and alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activities

Phytochemical investigation of the stems of B. pulchella led to the isolation of the known compounds identified as a mixture of taraxerone (1) and β-amirenone (2), a mixture of sitosterol (3) and stigmasterol (4), 2-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxybibenzyl (5), 3',4'-dihydroxyphenyl-chroman-7-ol (6), fisetinidol (7), epicatechin (8), guibourtinidol (9), vanillic acid (10), 6'-O-vanilloylisotachioside (11) and 6'-O-syringoylisotachioside (12). The structures of these compounds were elucidated on the basis of their NMR spectroscopic data. The antioxidant activity of compound 7 has been investigated using DPPH° and ABTS°⁺ assays and the results showed inhibition in the both models. The compounds 6, 7 and 9 showed strong alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activities, being more active than acarbose, the positive control. In addition, all the compounds were isolated from B. pulchella for the first time, and among them, compounds 11 and 12 have not been reported previously from this genus.

Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and healing potential of ethyl acetate fraction of Bauhinia ungulata L. (Fabaceae) on in vitro and in vivo wound model

The present work aimed to investigate the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and wound healing potential of ethyl acetate fraction from Bauhinia ungulata L. (FABU) on in vitro and in vivo models. Wound healing assay using human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cell line was employed to evaluate the ability of FABU in modulating cell migration. In addition, a surgical wound model in C57BL/6 mice was used to study the healing potential of FABU incorporated into gel carbomer 940 (Carbopol®). Evaluation of lipid peroxidation, inflammatory and anti-inflammatory mediator gene expression, rate of wound closure, and histological analysis were done. FABU significantly reduced the gap area in in vitro wound healing assay, 24 h after treatment. In the animal model, FABU at 0.5% topically applied once-daily for 5 days to the surgical wounds significantly reduced the lesion area. Moreover, it significantly decreased the levels of lipid peroxidation in the lesions and decreased the relative gene expression levels of IL-1β and TNF-α in the injured region. In conclusion, our study suggests that Bauhinia ungulata can effectively promote the wound healing, probably by regulating the inflammatory environment during the early stages of the process.