Pharmacological screening of Hypericum androsaemum extracts for antioxidant, anti-lipid peroxidation, antiglycation and cytotoxicity activity

Oxidative stress and glycation processes have a combined effect on diabetes related complications. Crude plant extracts and plant derived compounds possessing both antiglycation and antioxidant activities have a high therapeutic potential for treating these complications. Antioxidant, antiglycation, anti-lipid per oxidation and cytotoxic activities of crude methanol extract and solvent fractions of Hypericum androsaemum L. [Hypericaceae] were evaluated and correlated with total content of phenolics and flavonoids. Significant radical scavenging activity was observed for the methanol extract against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl [DPPH] free radical used as a basis for antioxidant activity with IC50 value of 92.70 +/- 2.85 micro gmL-1 [96.20 +/- 2.34% inhibition at 500 micro gmL-1]. In case of anion scavenging activity the results were not very significant [33.20 +/- 1.22% inhibition at 500 micro gmL-1]. Anti-lipid per oxidation activity was highest for n-hexane fraction [67.83 +/- 1.33% inhibition at 500 micro gmL-1] while the ethyl acetate fraction had the highest antiglycation activity [62.77 +/- 2.54% inhibition at 500 micro gmL-1]. Statistically significant correlation was determined for antioxidant and antiglycation activity and phenolic and flavonoid contents. In cytotoxicity assay all the extracts had IC50 values >30 microg mL-1 as compared to the standard cycloheximide [IC50 value 0.084 +/- 0.1 micro gmL-1]. The polar extracts of H. androsaemum can be a good source of non-toxic compounds with antioxidant, anti-lipid per oxidation and antiglycation activities

Anti-Bacterial Alkaloids of saracococca saligna

The crude ethanolic extract of Saracococca saligna was found to be cytotoxic and antibacterial but produced no platelet aggregation induced by ADP. Antibacterial activity of two known alkaloid, pachyaximine-A and saracodme was determined. Pachyaximine-A possessed significant antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Corynebacterium pyrogenes. Saracodme showed moderate activity against Staphylococcus pyrogenes, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Shigella boydii and Klebsiella pnsumoniae

Triterpenes of Saracococca saligna

The isolation of three triterpenes, Lupeol, Immol and Daturadiol is reported as a new source fromSarecococoa saligna. All the isolated compounds mew purified by column chromatography on silica-gel adma using n-hexane and dichloromethane as solvent. The identity of all the purified compounds was caufinned by chemical and spectroscopic methods isc hiding 'H, "C-NMR, UV, MS etc. Complete 3C-NMR chemical shifts were assigned to Daturadiol will the help of conventional and inverse 2D-NMR vedi?iques [DEPT, HMQC and HMBC] for the first time