Study of lipids, glucosinolate-derived isothiocyanates and their antimicrobial activity of erucaria pinnata

Brassicaceae is a large plant family; it includes vegetable crops, weeds, garden and wild flowers. Erucaria pinnata is one of the most common species of this family, which mainly growing in Sirt region and locally known as Saleekh. This study aim to isolate, identify lipid constituents and isothiocyanates and also to evaluate the potency of different extracts of Erucaria pinnata as antimicrobial agents. The plant was collected from Sirt region in February 2008 during the flowering stage. The aerial parts of the plant [leaves, flowers and branches] were air dried and ground until they become as a fine powder. Mass spectrophotometer GC/MS Jcol 500 Mass spectroscopy 70 cV. Agilent Technologies 6890 N Network GC System. Gas liquid chromatography Hewlett Packard HP 6890 series. Isolation of Lipids: one kg of air dried powdered plant of Erucaria pinnata was extracted with n-hexane in a Soxhlet for 24 hours till exhaustion. Extraction of the total glucosinolates and preparation of total isothiocyanates. Antimicrobial activity:the antimicrobial activity was determined using the sensitivity disk diffusion method of Kirby-Bauer and determination of inhibitory zone [I.Z.]. Used microorganisms: Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Mycobacterium phleis, Enterobacter cloacae, Aspergillus niger and Candida albicam. The GLC analysis of E. pinnata fatty acid methyl esters revealed the presence of six acids in which palmitic acid is the main one [65.10%]. While the GLC analysis of the unsaponifiable matters revealed the presence of a series of long chain hydrocarbons with n-C[20] and n-C[29] are the main ones [13.45% and 12.88% respectively]. Using GC/MS analysis for the obtained ITC after enzymatic hydrolysis of the total glucosinolates, were identified as 8-methylsulfinyl octyl ITC, 4-methylsulfinyl-3-butenyl ITC, 2-phenylethyl ITC and 3-methylthio-2-propenyl ITC. The results proved that, only total ITCs, glucosinolates and butanol extract exhibited different inhibition effects against all tested organisms. Ethyl acetate extract exhibited different inhibition effects against only tested Gram +vc bacteria, while, the acetone insoluble fraction and unsaponifiable matters showed no inhibition effects by any means against all tested microorganisms at all concentrations used. The lipid constituents [fatty acids and unsaponifiable matters] of Erucaria puinnata were identified, also four isothiocyanatcs were isolated and identified using GC/MS. The isolated isothiocyanates is more potent as antimicrobial than precursor glucosinolates

Evaluation of the hepatoprotective effect of butanol extract of clytostoma binatum against thioacetamide-induced hepatic damage in rats

The plant phenolic compounds such as flavonoids have an important role in the treatment of many diseases and some of them have a potent hepatoprotective effect. This study was aimed to evaluate the anti oxidant and hepatoprotective activity of butanolic extract of Clytostoma binatum on thioacetamide induced hepatic damage in rats. Male Sprague -Dawley rats [200-250 gm] were divided into 5 groups. The first group was designated as a control group [group 1]. The second group [group2] was received Clytostoma binatum extract at a dose of 0.2 gm/kg body weight, given orally daily for one month. The third group [group3] was intraperitoneal injected with thioacetamide at a dose of 200 mg/kg body weight twice in week for one month to induce liver fibrosis. The fourth group [group 4]; was administrated orally with the butanol extract of Clytostoma binatum at a dose of 0.2 gm/kg body weight, given pre-treatment with thioacetamide for one month. The fifth group [group] received Clytostoma binatum extract [0.2 gm/kg body weight] post- treatment with thioacetamide for one month. The antioxidant activity was determined by measuring the levels of reduced glutathione, catalase, lipid peroxidation, total antioxidant capacity and nitric oxide. The degree of hepatoprotection was assessed by estimating levels of biochemical markers including AST and ALT activities as well as the activity of glucose-6-phosphatase and hydroxy proline content. The treatment with extract [Clytostoma binatum] exhibited improvement in liver enzymes and antioxidant enzymes [reduced glutathion and catalase] as well as glucose-6-phosphatase and reduce lipid peroxidation, nitric oxide, hydroxyproline and collagen. Data on the biochemical parameters and histopathological examination of rat liver sections revealed hepatoprotective potential of Clytostoma binatum pre- and post-treatment with thioacetamide which induced hepatic damage in rats. Our results suggested that butanolic extract of Clytostoma binatum possesses hepatoprotective activity against thioacetamide induced hepatic damage. The protective effect of this extract can be due to the presence of flavonoids and iridoids compounds and their antioxidant effect

Technological studies on the essential oil of coriander

This study aimed to investigate the effect of different extraction methods [hydrodistillation, modified hydrodistillation and organic solvent extraction] of essential oil from coriander fruits on its chemical constituents. Also to investigate the changes in the chemical composition and physiochemical properties of coriander volatile oil during storage as a result of packing in different containers P.V.C., glass and aluminum] as well as, the effect of different drying methods [oven drying, spray drying and lyophilization drying] for microencapsulation technique on the main constituent of the volatile oil. The quantitative and qualitative analysis were carried out using GC-MS for different extraction methods and microencapsulation experiments, while the oil samples for storage experiments were analyzed using GLC. Results indicated that hydrodistillation method was superior to the other two; also the storage of coriander volatile oil in aluminum containers for 180 days was safe and had no effect on any of the studied physiochemical parameters. Lyophilization drying method was the most suitable one for preservation of the volatile oil where most of the compounds as well as their relative percentage were nearly like the control sample