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).

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.