ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT High performance thin layer chromatographic method (HPTLC) has been developed for the quantification of reserpine and ajmalicine in root part of two different population of Rauvolfia serpentina (L.) Benth. ex Kurz and Rauvolfia tetraphylla L., Apocynaceae, collected from Punjab and Uttarakhand. HPTLC of methanolic extract of root containing indole alkaloids, i.e., reserpine and ajmalicine, was performed on TLC Silicagel 60 F254 (10 cm × 10 cm) plates with toluene:ethyl acetate:formic acid (7:2:1), as mobile phase. Quantification of the reserpine and ajmalicine was performed in the absorption–reflection mode at 268 nm. The recovery of reserpine and ajmalicine were 99.3 and 98.7% respectively. The calibration curves were linear for both the reserpine and ajmalicine, in the range of 200–1200 ng. HPTLC densitometry has been performed for the estimation of reserpine and ajmalicine in root part of R. serpentina and R. tetraphylla for the first time. The method is simple, rapid and cost effective and can be used for routine analysis of ajmalicine and reserpine in different Rauvolfia species as well as for quality control of herbal drugs containing Rauvolfia species.
ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f., Xanthorrhoeaceae, a succulent, produces barbaloin, a bioactive compounds used in various pharmaceutical products. Extracts prepared from the leaves have been widely used as bittering agents, taste modifiers and also as cathartic agent against severe constipation. Barbaloin is reported for its anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antiviral and anticancer activities and these properties are mostly mediated by its antioxidative capacity. Presently, a study has been conducted on the comparative High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography analysis of barbaloin from the dried leaf skin powder of in vivo and in vitro grown A. vera. Shoot tips of A. vera were cultured in Murashige and Skoog media supplemented with different combination of 6-benzylaminopurine and 1-naphthaleneacetic acid. [Best multiplication response was noted in benzylaminopurine (2.0 mg/l) + 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (0.1 mg/l) supplemented Murashige and Skoog media]. The quantitative determination of barbaloin was performed on silica gel 60 F254 HPTLC plates as stationary phase. The linear ascending development was carried out in a twin trough glass chamber saturated with a mobile phase consisting of ethyl acetate: methanol: water (100:16.5:13.5) at room temperature (22 ± 2 ºC). CAMAG Thin Layer Chromatography scanner-3 equipped with CATS software (version: 1.4.4.6337) was used for spectrodensitometric scanning and analysis in the ultraviolet region at λ = 366 nm. The method was validated for linearity, precision and accuracy. Correlation coefficient, limit of detection, limit of quantification as well as recovery values were found to be satisfactory. Out of the five populations studied, the leaf skin of A. vera collected from Jodhpur (Rajasthan, India) and raised in vitro was found to contain higher amount of barbaloin (2.78%) when compared to its naturally growing counterparts (2.46%) and other plant populations.
ABSTRACT
Plants are a source of wide range of bioactive molecules. Alstonia scholaris, a tree species of Apocynaceae family is being reported as a well known herbal remedy of various diseases. In the present investigation, n-hexane fraction of crude methanolic extract of Alstonia scholaris Linn. R.Br. stem bark was evaluated for antibacterial activity using four human pathogenic multi-drug resistance bacterial strains Enterobacteriaceae bacterium IK1_01, Shigella dysentery, Enterobacter cloacae and Serratia marcescens. Antibiotic susceptibility tests were also performed to evaluate the multi-drug resistance patterns of these strains. All the strains showed multi-drug resistance against several commercially available antibiotics. The n-hexane fraction showed significant inhibitory activities against all the strains by agar-diffusion assay. The n-hexane fraction of crude methanolic extract of stem of A. scholaris showed MICs of 5.5 mg/ml, 5 mg/ml, <5.5 mg/ml and 8 mg/ml, and induced a maximum of 85.7%, 95.6%, 89.3% and 94.4% growth inhibition against E. bacterium IK1_01, S. dysentery, E. cloacae and S. marcescens, respectively.
ABSTRACT
Alstonia scholaris is a traditionally important medicinal plant. This evergreen tree is native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asian countries. The plant is used in traditional, Ayurvedic, Unani, Homoeopathy and Sidhha/Tamil types of alternative medicinal systems against different ailments such as asthma, malaria, fever, dysentery, diarrhea, epilepsy, skin diseases, snakebite etc. Among the phytochemicals, alkaloids are mostly reported. This review compiles reports on phytochemical and pharmacological aspects of A. scholaris.