Evaluation of anti-diarrheal and anti-diabetic activities of the stem, barks and leaves of the plant Vernonia cinerea (Family: Asteraceae).

The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-diarrheal, anti-diabetic activity of barks and leaves of the plant V. cinerea. The acute toxicity test was also carried out on the stems, barks and the leaves of the plant V.Cineria was sun dried and extracted using methanol. Later the crude methanolic extract was fractionated into three different fractions using carbon-tetrachloride, di-chloromethane and water. The anti-diarrheal activity was tested using the non polar carbon-tetra-chloride fraction in a dose dependent manner and it was found that the fraction does not possess any anti-diarrheal activity. The anti-diabetic study was done in rats using the alloxan-induced diabetes method. The carbon tetrachloride fraction of methanolic stem-bark and leaves extract of V. cinerea in all the doses used caused a time dependent and significant (p < 0.05) reduction of the blood glucose levels of the alloxan-induced diabetic rats when compared to the negative control group. The highest activity of V. cinerea extract in this experiment was observed at the dose of 500 mg/kg. Acute toxicity was done by following the method of Lorke. The acute toxicity in rats produced no death or signs of toxicity even at the highest dose of the extract (3500 mg/kg).

Evaluation of antidiabetic phytochemicals in Syzygium cumini (L.)Skeels (Family: Myrtaceae).

Traditionally the leaves of Syzygium cumini (Myrtaceae) are widely used for treating diabetes. The present study was carried out to identify the putative antidiabetic constituents from the S. cumini leaves. From the NMR data four different compounds, Lupeol, 12-oleanen-3-ol-3ß-acetate, Stigmasterol, ßsitosterol were identified from n-hexane fraction of plant extract. These compounds have potential antidiabetic activities which support the traditional use of the leaves as being remedy for treating diabetes.

Anthelmintic and diuretic activity of bark extracts of Sterculia villosa.

The study was evaluated for diuretic and anthelmintic activity of the ethanolic extract of the barks of Sterculia villosa Roxb, (Sterculiaceae). The diuretic assay was done on both healthy wistar rats and rabbits. The dose used for the diuretic assay was 100, 200 & 400mg/kg of the extract. Compared to the control and standard drug furosemide (20mg/kg), the result of diuretic study showed dose dependent activity of the extracts. The result also indicated higher excretion of Na+, K+ & Cl- in urine. Pheretima posthuma, adult earthworms were used for anthelmintic activity and the results of anthelmintic assessment at the dose of 50, 100 & 200mg/ml showed significant activity compared with control and standard drug albendazole (10mg/ml).

Antidiuretic and antidiarrhoeal activities of polar and non-polar extract of Brassica oleracea.

Diuretic activities of both polar and non-polar extract of leaves of Brassica oleracea were investigated on male white rabbits and male Sprague-Dawley rats. Anti diarrheal activity of the same extract was investigated on male and female swiss albino mice. Both polar and non-polar extract exhibited anti diuretic activities on both rats and rabbits. Polar and Non-polar extract also showed anti diarrheal activity on male and female mice. Anti diarrheal activity affects both latent period and number of stools.

Antimicrobial, cytotoxic and thrombolytic activityof Cassia senna leaves (family: Fabaceae).

Cassia senna leaves belonging to the family Fabaceae have been investigated for the presence of its secondary metabolites and evaluation of biological activities of the crude extracts with special emphasis to the antimicrobial activity, cytotoxic activity and thrombolytic activity. The antimicrobial activities of n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate & methanolic extracts of C. senna leaves were screened against five gram(+) bacteria, eight gram(-) bacteria and three fungi by ‘disc diffusion method’. The methanol extract possesses no antimicrobial activity but chloroform and n-hexane fractions exhibited moderate to less activity against some organisms tested compared with the standard antibiotic Kanamycin. Brine shrimp lethality bio-assay was done using brine shrimp Nauplii and dimethyl sulfoxide as a solvent for the methanol extracts of C. senna. The LC50 value (1.5625) of methanol extract of the plant indicated that the cytotoxicity was very significant. The percentages found in thrombolytic tests are 41.46%, 53.22%, 33.33%, 4.08% and standard 92.85%. So, in comparison with standard, C. senna can be further use as mild thrombolytic agent.

Phytochemical investigation of Vernonia cinerea(Family: Asteraceae).

Phytochemical screening of Vernonia cinerea (Family: Asteraceae) showed the presence of steroids, glycosides, triterpinoids & esters in the methanolic extract of stem bark and leaves of the plant. The presence of these compounds clearly indicates different medicinal properties of V. cinerea. NMR data also confirmed the presence of Lupeol, 12-oleanen-3-ol-3ß-acetate, Stigmasterol, ß-sitosterol in n-hexane portion.

Evaluation of the Antioxidant and Anti-Cholineesterase activities of the Stem, Barks and Leaves of the Plant Vernonia Cinerea (Family: Asteraceae).

The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-oxidant and anti-choline esterase activity of the stem, barks and leaves of the plant V. cinerea. The stems, barks and the leaves of the plant V.Cineria was sun dried and extracted using methanol. The anti-oxidant activity of the crude methanolic extract was measured by the DPPH free radical scavenging activity. The crude methanolic extract showed significant anti-oxidant activity by the DPPH free radical scavenging method. Evaluation of ChEs enzyme activity of the crude methanolic extract was done by Ellman method. The methanolic extract of V. cinerea leaves exerted significant AChE and BChE inhibitory effects.

Development and Validation of RP-HPLC Method for the Simultaneous Estimation of Domperidone and Naproxen in Tablet Dosage Form.

A simple, selective and rapid reversed phase High Performance Liquid Chromatographic (RP-HPLC) method has been developed and validated for the simultaneous analysis of domperidone and naproxen in tablet dosage form. The chromatographic system consisted of two LC-20 AT pump, SPD-20A UV detector, SIL-20A auto-sampler and CTO- 10ASVP column oven. Chromatographic separation of drugs was achieved on an Shim-Pack C18 column (250 mm x 4.6 mm, 5 μm) as stationary phase with a mobile phase comprising of phosphate buffer (pH adjusted to 3.00 with sodium hydroxide): methanol in the ratio 30:70 (v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min with UV detection at 280 nm. Retention time was 3.17 minutes for domperidone and 5.42 minutes for naproxen. The method was found selective and peaks of domperidone and naproxen were well separated (resolution 10.72). The proposed method is linear (r2 = 0.999 for domperidone and naproxen), accurate with 99.5% recovery for domperidone and 99.39% recovery for naproxen and precise (%RSD < 1%). The method has been used to determine potency of commercial product and potency was found within limit. The method can be used for the analysis of domperidone and naproxen in tablet dosage form.