Linear furocoumarins [Psoralens] from ducrosia ismaelis asch

The aerial parts of Ducrosia ismaelis afforded three linear furocoumarins after extraction and chromatography of the chloroform- soluble fraction on a column of silica gel. The isolated compounds were found to be oxypeucedanin ethanolate, which has not been previously reported in nature, oxypeucedanin hydrate and saxalin, as assessed by spectral analysis. This is the first report of any furocoumarin from genus Ducrosia. The aqueous layer gave sucrose after chromatography on a column of Sephadex LH-20

Effects of oral administration of the aqueous extract of the fruit pulp of adansonia digitata on some blood parameters in rats

Adult male Wistar rats were given 400 mg/kg b. wt. daily oral doses of the lyophilized water extract of Adansonia digitata fruit pulp for a period of 4 weeks. The results indicated an increase in total protein, albumin and globulin value [p <0.001] and in SUN [p <0.01] Also, increases were observed in the value of RBC, hemoglobin and MCHC [p <0.01] and lymphocytes [p <0.001], whereas the values of total iron, uric acid, eosinophils, basophils and monocytes counts [p <0.001] were decreased

Anthocyanins from the parasitic medicinal plant cynomorium coccineum

Two anthocyanin pigments were isolated from the flowering tops of Cynomorium coccineum [Cynomoriaceae], a parasitic plant used in folk medicine as an astringent and aphrodisiac. The major pigment [92%] was identified as cyanidin 3-O-glucoside, while the minor pigment [8%] was identified as cyanidin 3-O-[6-O rhamnosylglucoside] by chromatographic and spectroscopic methods. This was the first report of isolation of cyanidin 3-O-[6-O-rhamnosylglucoside] from the genus Cynomorium

Antimicrobial activity of some medicinal plant extracts

In this study, the alcoholic and lyophilized aqueous extracts from 20 wild medicinal plants belonging to two families from the Al-Qassim area were studied. The sensitivity of 18 microbes [5 Gram-positive and 6 Gram-negative bacteria, 5 fungi and 2 yeasts] to the prepared extracts at concentrations of 10, 25, 50, 100 and 200 mg/ml was investigated. The minimum inhibitory concentrations [MIC] for different active extracts were also investigated against the tested bacteria. Alcoholic and aqueous extracts of the studied plants exhibited a strong antibacterial activity against Staph. aureus, Staph. aureus [methicillin resistant], Strept. types B and D, Salm. type C, E. coli, H. influenza, Pr. mirabilis and Ps. aeruginosa. The values of MIC for C. bruguierana, R. stricta, P. harmala, C. coccineum [No. 6] and W. somnifera extracts against H. influenza were 8.36, 8.42, 8.47, 23.77 and 23.87 mg/ml, respectively. It was also observed that fungi and yeasts were less sensitive, with the exception of T. mentagrophytes which was slightly sensitive to some plant extracts

Sesquiterpene lactones and Flavonoids from centaurea bruguierana

Extraction and fraction of the aerial parts of C. bruguierana afforded cnicin, 11,13-dehydromelitensin 8 alpha-acetate and the three 6-methoxyflavone derivatives cirsilineol, cirsimaritin and hispidulin 7-0-rutinoside. Identification of the isolated materials was established mainly by spectral as well as chemical methods