Anti-inflammatory effect of dikaempferol rhamnopyranoside, a diflavonoid from Eugenia jambolana Lam. Leaves.

Traditionally, the Indian Blackberry or locally called Jamun, Eugenia jambolana Lam. (Syn.: Syzygium cumini), is well known for its pharmacological potential, particularly anti-inflammatory. Here, we studied kaempferol-7-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside]-4'-O-4'- [kaempferol-7-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (EJ-01) isolated from the E. jambolana leaves for possible anti-inflammatory activity. EJ-01 (3, 10 and 30 mg/kg, p.o.) was assessed for anti-inflammatory activity using carrageenan-induced paw edema model in mice by determining edema volume, myeloperoxidase (MPO), nitrite plus nitrate (NOx) and cytokine levels in paw edema tissue. EJ-01 significantly attenuated the edema, MPO levels, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-1beta (IL-1β) levels in the edema of paw at the 5th hour after carrageenan injection at all doses. EJ-01 (30 mg/kg) decreased the nitric oxide (NO) levels of the edema of paw at the 5th hour after carrageenan injection. The anti-inflammatory mechanisms of EJ-01 might be related to the decrease in the level of edema paw by reduced activities of NO and MPO. It probably exerts anti-inflammatory effects through the suppression of TNF-α and IL-1β. Therefore, we conclude that EJ-01 could be positively exploited for itspotential benefits against inflammatory diseases and support the pharmacological basis of E. jambolana as traditional herbal medicine for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.

Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels：A review of its phytochemical constituents and traditional uses

Syzygium cumini (S. cumini) (L.) Skeels (jambolan) is one of the widely used medicinal plants in the treatment of various diseases in particular diabetes. The present review has been primed to describe the existing data on the information on botany, phytochemical constituents, traditional uses and pharmacological actions of S. cumini (L.) Skeels (jambolan). Electronic database search was conducted with the search terms of Eugenia jambolana, S. cumini, jambolan, common plum and java plum. The plant has been viewed as an antidiabetic plant since it became commercially available several decades ago. During last four decades, numerous folk medicine and scientific reports on the antidiabetic effects of this plant have been cited in the literature. The plant is rich in compounds containing anthocyanins, glucoside, ellagic acid, isoquercetin, kaemferol and myrecetin. The seeds are claimed to contain alkaloid, jambosine, and glycoside jambolin or antimellin, which halts the diastatic conversion of starch into sugar. The vast number of literatures found in the database revealed that the extracts of different parts of jambolan showed significant pharmacological actions. We suggest that there is a need for further investigation to isolate active principles which confer the pharmacological action. Hence identification of such active compounds is useful for producing safer drugs in the treatment of various ailments including diabetes.