High Throughput Screening for Bioactive Components of Berberis baluchistanica Ahrendt Root and Their Functional Potential Assessment.

Berberis baluchistanica Ahrendt is a medicinal plant potentially known for the treatment of different diseases. The bioactive, antioxidant, nutritional components, and antimicrobial properties of crude ethanolic root extract of Berberis baluchistanica were evaluated in this study. The extract was analyzed for total phenolic, flavonoid, DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl) scavenging ability, FRAP (ferric reducing antioxidant power), nutritional, and antimicrobial potentials. The alkaloids, tannins, cardiac glycosides, anthraquinones, coumarin, saponins, phenolics, flavonoids, steroids, and terpenoids were confirmed. The extract possessed DPPH radical inhibition with the IC50 of 1.125 mg/mL and FRAP % reduction activity with IC50 (0.912 mg/mL). Total phenolic 19.897 ± 4.8141 mg GAE/g and flavonoid 12.9876 ± 0.8388 mg QE/g contents were confirmed in the root. The extracts exhibit good antibacterial activity against a broad spectrum of food borne pathogens Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus. The highest inhibitory activity was against Escherichia coli23.30 ± 1.16 mm and lowest against Klebsiella pneumoniae7 ± 0.01 mm. Furthermore, the presence of various phytochemical constituents (plant secondary metabolites) was also confirmed with gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy analysis. Results disclosed the occurrence of more than 70 compounds possessing various medicinal properties supporting the traditional uses of root of Berberis baluchistanica in various medical complications indigenously.

Daily Dose Standardization Based on Essential and Nonessential Trace Element Presence in Berberis baluchistanica Ahrendt Bark, Leaf, and Root.

Medicinal plants have great importance to the consumer health, as beside beneficial compounds, plants can accumulate essential and nonessential metals from soil and surrounding environments, leading to consumer health risks. Assuming this, the present study is aimed at evaluating the elemental composition and daily dose standardization based on essential and nonessential trace element presence in of bark, leaves, and roots of Berberis baluchistanica Ahrendt, a common medicinal plant used as a folk medicine in the region. Atomic absorption and flame emission spectroscopy were performed to analyze the presence of essential and nonessential elements manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), iron (Fe), sodium (Na), and potassium (K). Among the essential elements, K was present at high concentrations in the bark (8926.98 ± 0.32 µg/g), leaves (7922.77 ± 0.42 µg/g), and roots (6668.5 ± 0.96 µg/g) of the plant. The estimated concentration of Na was higher in leaves (1782.56 ± 0.13 µg/g), followed by roots (1089.5 ± 0.71 µg/g) and bark (572.8 ± 0.62 µg/g). The Fe concentration varied in the range of 394.7 ± 0.3 µg/g in bark, 1298.3 ± 0.54 µg/g in leaves, and 1208.9 ± 0.7 µg/g in roots. The trace transition element Mn was highest in leaves (42.7 ± 0.99 µg/g), followed by roots (33.5 ± 0.94 µg/g) and bark (22 ± 1 µg/g). The Cu concentration was low, ranging from 20.1 ± 0.63 to 22.67 ± 0.7 µg/g in leaves, bark, and roots. The obtained concentration of nonessential element Pb was relatively lower than the permissible range (10 mgL-1) established by the World Health Organization. The elemental concentrations in all parts were within the set limits for provisional tolerable daily maximum intake (PTDMI) and provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI), and the hazard quotient index (HQ) was below 1 for all toxic metals. The micro and macroelemental distribution and the overall medicinal potential of any medicinal plant can be correlated for dose risk estimation, which will be useful in providing knowledge regarding the contraindication associated with folk medicines. In the present study, based on the elemental composition, it was calculated that the daily safe dose for Berberis baluchistanica is approximately 2-5 g/day of raw powder for an adult, which must not be exceeded to this safe range.

Elucidating Therapeutic and Biological Potential of Berberis baluchistanica Ahrendt Bark, Leaf, and Root Extracts.

Berberis baluchistanica Ahrendt is a medicinal plant known to have potential for the treatment of various diseases. In the present study, the ethanolic extracts of the bark, leaves, and roots of B. baluchistanica plant were evaluated for in vitro antimicrobial, anti-leishmanial, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory activities. The antibacterial and antifungal activities were determined by agar mix and agar well diffusion method. All extracts showed potential activity against the target bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Rhodococcus erythropolis, Salmonella typhi, and Staphylococcus aureus) and fungal strains (Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, and Mucor mucedo). S. aureus proved to be the most sensitive strain for each extract, with a maximum zone of inhibition for bark at 23 ± 0.12 mm, for leaves at 22 ± 0.36 mm, and for root extracts at 20.21 ± 0.06 mm). The minimum inhibitory concentration values of B. baluchistanica bark, leaves, and roots for different target bacterial strains ranged from 1.56 to 25 mg ml-1, and the minimum bactericidal concentrations were in the range of 3.12 to 25 mg ml-1, respectively. The root extract possessed potent antifungal activity against A. flavus with 83% of growth inhibition, A. niger with 80%, and M. mucedo with 73%. The bark extract was found active against M. mucedo with 86% of inhibition, followed by 70% against A. flavus and 60% against A. niger. The leaf extract showed a significant response by 83% inhibition against M. mucedo, followed by A. flavus and A. niger with 73 and 72% inhibition, respectively. In an anti-leishmanial bioassay, the inhibitory concentration (IC50) was observed for each extract against Leishmania major. The bark showed good activity (IC50 = 4.95 ± 0.36 mg/ml), followed by the roots (IC50 = 7.07 ± 0.18 mg/ml) and the leaves (IC50 = 8.25 ± 0.29 mg/ml). An evaluation of anticancer activity was done by using MTT cell assay against HeLa cell line. Upon comparing the values of each extract to the standard, it was revealed that the ethanolic bark extract showed the highest anticancer activity with IC50 = (12 ± 0.15 µg/ml), followed by the roots (14 ± 0.15 µg/ml) and the leaves (17 ± 0.21 µg/ml), respectively. The anti-inflammatory assay was undertaken by the inhibition of albumin denaturation activity, proteinase inhibitory activity, and heat-induced hemolysis activity. The IC50 value for protein denaturation of the bark was IC50 = 0.64 ± 0.25 mg/ml, followed by the roots (0.67 ± 0.21 mg/ml) and the leaves (0.73 ± 0.13 mg/ml). The proteinase inhibitory activity of the bark extract was IC50 = 0.55 ± 0.12 mg/ml, followed by the leaves (0.62 ± 0.23 mg/ml) and the roots (0.69 ± 0.15 mg/ml), respectively. For heat-induced hemolysis assay, the bark showed the lowest IC50 value (0.48 ± 0.15 mg/ml) compared to the leaves (0.52 ± 0.35 mg/ml) and the roots (0.58 ± 0.05 mg/ml) of the plant. All analyzed parts of the B. baluchistanica plant showed significant biological activities which make the plant medicinally important and a good candidate for the isolation of antimicrobial, inflammatory, and anticancer compounds. Further studies may lead us to determine the active compounds responsible for the biological activities of the plant extracts.

Dust exposure risk from stone crushing to workers and locally grown plant species in Quetta, Pakistan.

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of stone crushing dust pollution on three commonly cultivated fruit plant species (Vitis vinifera L., Morus alba L., and Prunus armeniaca L.) and on the health of workers working at crushing plants. The trial was carried out on fruit plant species grown close to the stone crushing units located near the northwestern (Brewery) bypass of Quetta city, Pakistan, near National Highway NH-25. Plant materials were collected from three polluted sites at a distance of 500, 1000, and 1500 m, respectively, away from the stone crushing units and one locality of comparatively clean air considered a control at 4000 m away from these crushing components. To know the status of air disorder near the experimental sites, the suspended particulate matters and both oxides of sulfur and nitrogen were also noted during operating hours. Consequences of the study indicated that during the crushing process, a fine aerosol of stone dust is often generated which could cause a significant health hazard to workers and also affect plant productivity due to the smothering of plant stomata. Environmental data designated that the average highest evaluated total suspended particulate matter (TSPM), NOx, and SOx were 7400 µg/m3, 803.7 µg/m3, and 216 µg/m3, respectively, at 500-m distance which gradually decreases as the distance increases-all of these pose a health risk to operators. The maximum deposit dust washed from the plant leaf surface under study was found to be 8.2, 4.6, and 4.4 at the distance of 500 m in all the investigated plant species which was highly significantly higher than that of the control site (4000 m). Among the plant species, the maximum dust fall was noted on the leaves of Vitis vinifera L., and minimum was on the leaves of Prunus armeniaca. The locations affected by more stone dust pollution (500 m) were leading to a reduction in the yield and quality of fruits. The studied stone crushing units had high percentages of closed stomata both on the upper sides (Us) and lower sides (Ls) of leaves at 500-m distance from stone crushing installations. Data regarding workers' health indicated the maximum age distribution among the workers was between the age groups of 20-35 years (46.15%). Results also showed that stone crushing workers suffered from symptoms of respiratory diseases (82.17%), allergies (72.13%), headaches (75.09%), coughing (78.36%), and tiredness (92.31%).