Antimitotic action of extracts of Petiveria alliacea on sea urchin egg development

The hydroethanol extract of the roots of Petiveria alliacea L. (Phytolaccaceae) has been investigated previously as an antitumor agent against mouse Ehrlich ascites. The extract and its methanol, butanol and ether fractions exhibited an antimitotic effect on sea urchin egg development. The aqueous fraction did not produce inhibition of cell cleavage. At the first cleavage the inhibition, at the lowest concentration (10 micrograms/ml), produced by the ether fraction was 42 per cent , whereas the inhibition produced by the total extract and by the other fractions was only 5 to 10 per cent showing that the ether fraction was the most active. Even at higher concentrations the butanol and methanol fractions inhibit the cleavage about 30 per cent . At the first cleavage, the ED50 of the hydroethanol extract and of the ether fraction were 45.02 and 12.40 micrograms/ml, respectively. Furthermore, in the second cleavage, the hydroethanol extract was about twice as potent as the methanol or butanol fractions (ED50 of 22.40, 44.80 and 54.10 micrograms/ml, respectively)

Antimicrobial activity pf kaurenoic acid derivatives substituted on carbon-15

The antibacterial and antifungic activities of two kaurenic acids, ent kaurenoic acid and cinnamoylgrandifloric acid isolated from a hexane extract of aerial parts of Mikania laevigata, were investigated and compared with the activities of other kaurenic acid-derivatives substituted on carbon-15. Only acetylgrandifloric acid (en-kaur-16-en-15 alfa-acetyloxy-19-oic) and its epimer xylopic acid (ent-kaur-16-4n-15 beta-acetyloxy-19-oic) displayed significant antibacterial activity at concentrations >=250 microng/ml., the 15 alfa epimer being the most active