Phytochemical Characterization and Systemic Exposure of Bioactive Metabolites of the Aqueous Extracts of Ficus thonningii Blume (Moraceae) on Albino Wistar Rats

Ficus thonningii (Blume) is considered as a herbal plant with well documented biological activity in the management of several diseases in the tropics. However, there is a gap of information on its safety and proof of efficacy in evidence-based medicine. The objective of this study was to characterize the bioactive metabolites of the hydro-ethanolic extract of the stem bark of Ficus. thonningii and in vivo evaluation of the systemic exposure of the bioactive metabolite. Phytochemical screening was done using standard extraction techniques, and test according to methods adopted from Sofowora and collaborators. Quantitative analysis was done using spectrophotometer of plant extract with different reference standards. Analysis of the animals' plasma following administration of the extract was used to investigate systemic exposure to confirmed the presence of absence of metabolites in systemic circulation. This work shows that F. thonningii (Blume) stem bark hydro-ethanolic extract contains polyphenols, saponins, alkaloids, flavonoids, catechic tannins, gallic tannins, coumarins, quinones, phlobatannins. This study shows that the hydro-ethanolic extract of F. thonningii contains total phenolic content of 192,27 ± 3,40 mgEQ/MS g gallic acid and total flavonoid content of 103,59 ± 15,72 mgEQ/MS quercetin. This study shows that the secondary metabolites in the hydro-ethanolic extract of the stem bark of F. thonningii (Blume) were not detected in plasma and not bioavailable.

Contribution of water and lipid soluble substances in the relaxant effects of Tymus vulgaris extract on guinea pig tracheal smooth muscle in vitro / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To examine the relaxant effects of hydro-ethanolic, macerated aqueous (MA) and lipidfree macerated aqueous (LFMA) extract of Tymus vulgaris on tracheal chains of guinea pigs.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The relaxant effects of five cumulative concentrations of each extract (0.4, 0.8, 1.2, 1.6 and 2.0 g/100 mL) were compared with saline as negative control and five cumulative concentrations of theophylline (0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 mmol/L) on precontracted tracheal smooth muscle of guinea pig with 60 mmol/L KCl (group 1) and 10 µmol/L methacholine (group 2, n=6 for each group).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In group 1 all concentrations of theophylline, three higher concentrations of hydro-ethanolic, two concentrations of LFMA and last concentration of MA extracts showed significant relaxant effects compared with that of saline (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Two lower concentrations of LFMA and all concentrations of MA except higher one caused contraction compared with saline (P<0.05 or 0.01). In group 2 experiments, all concentrations of theophylline, hydro-ethanolic, MA and LFMA extracts showed significant relaxant effects compared to that of saline (P<0.05 or P<0.01). In both groups, the relaxant effect of all concentrations of hydro-ethanolic extract were significantly higher than most concentrations of others (P<0.05 or P<0.01). The relaxant effect of different concentrations of three extracts were significantly greater in group 2 compared with group 1 experiments (all P<0.01). There were significantly positive correlations between the relaxant effects and concentrations for theophylline and all extracts in both groups (P<0.05 or P<0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Hydro-ethanolic extract has a potent weaker relaxant effect for other extracts from Tymus vulgaris on tracheal chains of guinea pigs.</p>

In vitro Cytotoxic Activity of Hydro Ethanolic Extract of Delonix regia (Bojer ex. Hook.) Flowers on Cancer Cell Lines.

Aims: To evaluate the In vitro cytotoxic effects of the hydro ethanolic extract (HEE) of the Delonix regia flowers against different cell lines. Methodology: The dried Delonix regia flowers are subjected to soxhlet extraction by using 70% ethanol. The dried extract was used to determine the qualitative preliminary phytochemical analysis, total phenolic and flavonoid content. The cytotoxic property of the extract was determined by using MTT assay against breast cancer (MCF-7), cervix (HeLa), brain and colon cancer cells. Tamoxifen is used as a standard for all the cell lines. Results: Qualitative phytochemical tests of extract HEE showed the presence of sugars, flavonoid, tannins, phenolic compounds, steroids and saponins. The percentage of phenolic and flavonoid content was determined as 31.42 mg/g, 29.22 mg/g respectively. The cytotoxic activity of the extract showed, IC50 concentrations (μg/ml) against MCF-7 (breast), carcinoma of cervix HeLa cells, carcinoma of the brain, and carcinoma of colon cells against tamoxifen are 141.6 ± 0.08, 223.7 ± 2.16, 173.9 ± 0.7, 168.33 ± 0.04 respectively. Conclusions: The experimental data clearly demonstrate the hydro ethanolic extract (HEE) showed cytotoxic properties against human cancer cells.

Acute and subacute toxicities of hydroethanolic extract of the ripe fruits of solatium torvum sw. (solanaceae).

Acute and subacute toxicity of the hydro-ethanolic extract of the ripe fruit of Solanum torvum Sw. was studied by force-feeding albino Wistar rats following the European Community and WHO toxicity guidelines. The results of the acute toxicity study indicated the median lethal dose (LD50; as I9g/kg body weight after 48 hours of treatment, and the significant variation (P < 0.05) of serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), total proteins (TP), total bilirubin (TBil), and creatinine at doses of 16–20g/kg body weight. These results also indicated significant variation of the liver alkaline phosphatase (ALP), AST, ALT, TP, glutathione (GSH), and malondialdehyde (MDA) at higher doses. The results of the subacute toxicity study showed significant variation in the body weight, but no modification (P < 0.05) of blood and liver parameters compared to the control group. In both acute and subacute toxicity, histological studies revealed that there were no major pathological changes of the liver and kidneys in treated rats. The results show that this extract is not highly toxic, but consumption of higher doses beyond 16g/kg could cause liver injury. Moderate consumption of small doses up to Ig/kg twice a week for 6 weeks appeared safe.