ABSTRACT
Cupressus torulosa D. Don, known as the Himalayan or Bhutan cypress, is one of the medicinal plants commonly used in the Indian System of Medicine for various ailments. The present study evaluates the chemical composition and inhibitory potential of the essential oil and three different extracts (chloroform, methanol and aqueous) of aerial parts of C. torulosa. Chemical composition of essential oil was determined by GC-MS that showed the presence of four major components viz., α-pinene (45.44%), 3-carene (38.34%), terpinolene (5.36%) and aromadendrene (6.32%). Essential oil showed significant inhibitory activity against Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas alcaligenes, Micrococcus luteus and Bacillus cereus in comparison to the different extracts. Essential oil also showed good antifungal activity against the three fungal pathogens viz., Alternaria alternata, Curvularia lunata and Bipolaris specifera. TLC-bioautography was used to screen the antibacterial components of the essential oil. Analysis showed the presence of four zones of inhibition on bioautography plate at Rf values 0.80, 0.70, 0.61 and 0.46. This study has demonstrated the presence of four potential antibacterial compounds in the essential oil of Cupressus torulosa.
ABSTRACT
Six different extracts from Eucalyptus citriodora leaves were investigated for their anticancer effect. Extracts were prepared using a range of polar and non-polar solvents to leach out maximum active components. Phytochemical analysis of the extracts revealed the presence of anthraquinones, cardiac glycosides, flavonoids, saponins and tannins. Cytotoxic activity of different extracts was tested in vitro against seven human cancer cell lines from seven different tissues, such as SW-620 (colon), HOP-62 (lung), PC-3 (prostate), OVCAR-5 (ovary), HeLa (cervix), IMR-32 (neuroblastoma) and HEP-2 (liver). The ethyl acetate, chloroform and 50% methanolic extract displayed highest anti-proliferative effect in a dose-dependent manner. In vivo anti-tumor activity was evaluated against murine tumor (solid) model of Ehrlich ascites carcinoma and Sarcoma 180. The results showed that ethyl acetate and aqueous extracts suppressed the growth of Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (29.79% and 18.48%, respectively), but showed little growth inhibition in case of Sarcoma 180 (13. 86% and 8.57%, respectively). The activity might be due to the flavonoids, tannins and saponins that are present in all the extracts of the plant. Further investigation is required for the isolation of active principle(s) from the ethyl acetate extract, which has shown significant in vitro and in vivo anticancer potential.