ABSTRACT
Objective: To investigate the crude methanolic extract of whole plant part of Sansevieria roxburghiana Schult. and Schult. f. (Agavaceae) and the possibility of analgesic, cytotoxic and antioxidant activities. Methods: The analgesic activity was assessed by acetic acid induced writhing test in mice. The cytotoxic activity was evaluated by brine shrimp lethality bioassay while antioxidant effect was measured by 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl-hydrate (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay. Results: The ethyl acetate soluble fraction of the crude extract was found to have significant (P<0.001) analgesic activity at the oral dose of 100 mg/kg body weight. In brine shrimp lethality bioassay, the aqueous soluble fraction exhibited maximum toxicity towards the shrimp with LC50 value of 0.735 μg/mL compared to 0.544 μg/mL exhibited by standard vincristine. The crude methanolic extract along with its all partitionates revealed mild to moderate free radical scavenging activity. Conclusions: These primary findings suggest that the extract might possess some chemical constituents that are responsible for analgesic, cytotoxic and antioxidant activities.
ABSTRACT
Interpopulation reproductive synchrony of Agave cocui (Agavaceae) in Venezuela. Agave cocui (Agavaceae) is a species with broad distribution in arid and semiarid areas of Venezuela and Colombia. Despite of its ecological importance as a source of food for wildlife, and its economic value for production of a spirit drink, studies on the reproductive ecology of the species are relatively rare. In this study, we conducted a oneyear evaluation of the flowering and fruiting phenology of A. cocui in the eight representative localities of the species’ distribution in Venezuela. Within each study site, we chose an area with a minimum of 50 reproductive individuals and followed their reproductive phenophases with the help of binoculars, using six qualitative cathegories (emerging reproductive stalk, flowers, inmature fruits, mature fruits, bulbils and dry stalk) every two months. Emergence of the reproductive stalk in most of the examined populations began in September (rainy season), although this event delayed two months in a few populations. We detected significant negative correlations between precipitation and the percentage of flowering occurrence in four of the eight populations. Floral resources are available for flower visitors during approximately five months of the year (January-May). In most populations production of flowers initiated in January (dry season), and for Western Venezuela and Andean regions, the flowering main peak occurred in January. Localities from the Central and Eastern Coast exhibited the flowering peak in March, showing a delay of approximately two months with respect to other populations. Beginning of fruit set varied among localities from January to May; however, peak production of mature fruits concentrated in May, and fruit occurrence varied broadly between 5.2 and 85%. Bulbil production was detected in all populations and varied greatly among them (maximum percentage per population: 26.19-92.10%). High flowering synchronicity (Phenophase Overlapping Index: 0.756 and 0.999) was observed among all populations monitored in Western Venezuela, including the Andean localities. This condition might facilitate the existence of a nectar corridor from the Western Coast and nearby islands, to the Andean arid patches, which could be potentially used by nectar-feeding bats and birds dependent on agave flowers during part of the year. Rev. Biol. Trop. 59 (3): 1359-1370. Epub 2011 September 01.
cocui (Agavaceae) es una especie de amplia distribución en zonas áridas y semiáridas de Venezuela y Colombia. A pesar de su importancia ecológica como fuente de recursos para la fauna silvestre y de su potencial valor económico como materia prima para la producción del licor “Cocuy de Penca”, los estudios sobre su ecología reproductiva son muy escasos. En este estudio se evaluó la fenología de floración y fructificación de A. cocui en ocho localidades de Venezuela. La fase reproductiva se inició al finalizar el periodo de lluvias. Las flores se producen durante cinco meses. Para la Región Noroccidental del país y los Andes los máximos de floración ocurrieron en enero, mientras que las localidades en la costa central y oriental exhibieron un desface de cerca de dos meses, a principios de marzo. La mayor sincronía floral ocurrió entre todas las poblaciones censadas en el occidente del país, incluyendo las localidades andinas. Dicha sincronía reproductiva potenciaría la conformación de un corredor de néctar para aves y murciélagos, que se extendería desde el Norte de Falcón, en la Costa Occidental, hasta los bolsones andinos, en el Suroeste del país.
Subject(s)
Animals , Asparagaceae/physiology , Birds , Chiroptera , Reproduction/physiology , Seasons , VenezuelaABSTRACT
Object To study the active constituents of Sanguis Draxonis made form Dracaena cochinchinensis (Lour ) S C Chen in China * Methods Various column chromatographies with Sephadex L 20 gel, MCI gel and silica gel were employed for the isolation and purification The structures of compounds were elucidated by spectral analysis Results Twelve compounds were isolated from the commercial product available on the market By means of spectral data, they were identified as 26 O ? D glucopyranosyl furostan 5,25 (27) diene 1?,3?,22?,26 tetrahydroxy 1 O ? L arabinopyranoside (Ⅰ); 3, 4 dihydroxy allylbenzene 4 O ? D glucopyranoside (Ⅱ); 7 hydroxy 3 (p hydroxyphenyl) chroman (Ⅲ); 7, 4′ dihydroxy 3′ methoxyflavan (Ⅳ); 3, 4 dihydroxyallylbenzene (Ⅴ); resveratrol (Ⅵ); 7, 4′ dihydroxy flavanone (Ⅶ); di (p hydroxyphenyl) methane (Ⅷ); acanthoside B (Ⅸ),p hydroxybenzoic acid (Ⅹ); hydroquinone (Ⅺ) and protocatechualdehyde ( ⅩⅡ ) Conclusion Compound Ⅰ and Ⅱ are new natural glycosides, and Ⅴ and Ⅵ are isolated from D cochinchinensis for the first time