ABSTRACT
Aims: This study was aimed to use Coffea arabica, Salvia rhytidea and Bonium persicum extracts against Leishmania major and L. tropica promastigotes to compare various concentrations of these plant extracts. In addition, their cytotoxicity and antioxidant activities were also evaluated. Study Design: This study was performed experimentally using various concentrations of three medicinal plant extracts compared to control groups. Methodology: Fresh seeds of C. arabica and B. persicum and leaves of S. rhytidea were powdered and each plant material was extracted by ethyl alcohol via warm maceration method. Complete medium was used to prepare nine final concentrations (1-1000 µg/ml) for experiments. The cytotoxicity and antioxidant activities of the ethanolic extracts were evaluated using colorimetric cell viability WST1 and DPPH assays. All experiments were performed in triplicate and analyzed by t-test. The optical density (OD) values as measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to calculate the IC50 values. Selectivity index (SI) of the plant extracts was not attributed to cytotoxicity when it was ≥ 10. Results: The results indicated that B. persicum extract had potent antileishmanial activity against the promastigotes of both Leishmania species based on a dose-dependent response (
ABSTRACT
Ethnobotanical studies are a way to access to traditional knowledge about plants with therapeutic potential. Preservation of this information can be a valuable policy for good usage of natural sources and investigation in this field. The aim of the present work is study of ethnobotany of Khabr and Rouchon region in Kerman province which have widely used as medicinal plants. At the first, the information of the native people regarding the use of medicinal plants such as the indication of use, method of use, and the parts of plant which are used, were documented. The collection of plants takes place by field search method and a sample of each plant was transferred to herbarium center of Faculty of Pharmacy of Kerman (KF) for scientific identification. A number of 50 medicinal plant species are gathered from different localities of Khabr and Rouchon. The most of the medicinal plants belong to Lamiaceae, Apiaceae and Rosaceae families. These medicinal plants have been used mostly for gastrointestinal disorder, respiratory system and as analgesic. Considering the virginity of the studied region and lack of sufficient documents about the other therapeutic effects of these herbs, ethnobotanical studies are helpful. Documentation of these valuable experiences can provide a background for development of pharmaceutical sciences.
ABSTRACT
Background: Nowadays, owing to medicinal plants as a candidate to obtain promising new medicinal agents, there is a renewed interest in the use of these natural sources for drug development. Objective: In the present study, we aimed to assess the anticholinesterase, antioxidant, and neuropotective effects of Tripleurospermum disciforme and Dracocephalum multicaule extracts. Materials and Methods: Methanolic extract of the plants was prepared by maceration method. Anticholinesterase effect of different concentrations of the plants was studied by colorimetric method and antioxidant activity was evaluated using diphenypicrylhydrazil (DPPH) assay. Protective effect of the extracts against amyloid b (Ab)‑induced toxicity in PC12 cells was determined by MTT (3‑(4,5‑dimethyl thiazol‑2‑yl)‑2,5‑diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) method. Results: Both T. disciforme and D. multicaule extracts could inhibit acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in a dose‑dependent manner. The highest inhibition occurred at 5 μg/ml (71.18 ± 4.9 and 79.06 ± 3.1% inhibition respectively by T. disciforme and D. multicaule) in comparison to tacrine (86.37 ± 3.24%). The greatest DPPH inhibition of T. disciforme and D. multicaule was shown at 800 μg/ml (89.04 ± 3.9 and 78.5 ± 3.7%, respectively). None of tested extracts induced protection against bA toxicity in PC12 cell. Conclusion: Although the results indicated anticholinesterase and antioxidant of the T. disciforme and D. multicaule, further specific studies and scientific validity are needed.