Phytochemical and Biological Study of Trophic Interaction between Pseudosphinx Tetrio L. Larvae and Allamanda Cathartica L.

In this article, we propose to explore the chemical interaction between Pseudosphinx tetrio L. and Allamanda cathartica L. using different analytical methods, including an innovative electrochemical approach (called electrochemical ecology) and multivariate analysis, and we investigate the potential antimicrobial effects (antibacterial and antifungal activities) of this interaction in order to gain a better understanding of their specific interaction. The analytical study presents a similar chemical profile between the leaves of healthy and herbivorous A. cathartica and the excretions of the caterpillars. The similar analytical profile of the leaves of A. cathartica and the excretions of P. tetrio, and the difference with the caterpillar bodies, suggests a selective excretion of compounds by the caterpillar. The measured antimicrobial activities support the physicochemical tests. The natural products found selectively in the excretions (rather than in the body) could explain the ability of P. tetrio to feed on this toxic Apocynaceae species.

Se nanoparticles stabilized with Allamanda cathartica L. flower extract inhibited phytopathogens and promoted mustard growth under salt stress.

Selenium Nanoparticles (SeNPs) exhibit tremendous application in agriculture as antimicrobials or as nano fertilizer. Present work reports the eco-friendly synthesis of SeNPs by using Allamanda cathartica L. flower extract (aqueous) as a reducing/capping agent and selenium dioxide as a precursor. The method used here is free of any toxic reducing agents and organic solvents. The synthesis process of SeNPs took 5 h at 60 °C, confirmed by the brick red colour of the solution followed by UV-Vis spectroscopy and further characterized by XRD, FTIR, EDX and SEM. The average size (diameter) of the SeNPs were found to be 60.31 nm by DLS. It has shown strong antimicrobial activity against Pseudomonas marginalis and P. aeruginosa at 2.5, 5 and 10 mg/mL concentrations. Besides, its application improved seed germination and growth parameters of Brassica campestris (TS 36 variety) under salt stress. 25 mg/L SeNPs has improved the germination percentage by around 31%, shoot length by 92%, root length by 78% and total chlorophyll content by 49% under 200 mM NaCl stress. This SeNPs could be a potential antimicrobial agent in treating plant diseases caused by the mentioned phytopathogens, having no or minimum toxicity, in fact having positive impacts on plant growth.

Cellulase immobilized magnetic nanoparticles for green energy production from Allamanda schottii L: Sustainability research in waste recycling.

This study presents ethanol's fabrication by fermenting the golden trumpet flower (Allamanda schottii L) with the yeast strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The changes in different parameters during fermentation were studied and optimized while producing the ethanol and the end product was subjected to emission test study by blending petrol and ethanol. The Allamanda floral substrate contains 65% polysaccharides. The strain S. cerevisiae was obtained in the form of baker's yeast from a domestic shop. For 100 ml of slurry, the highest bioethanol yield recorded was about 18.75 ml via optimization of different culture conditions, including a 1:8 ratio for slurry preparation, maintained under 35 °C, 5.5 pH, 72 h. old inoculum with a quantity of 3.75 g 100 ml-1, fermented for120 h. The highest yield of bioethanol was acquired under the addition of urea. This technique & design is capable of industrial-scale fabrication of bioethanol by using A. schottii floral substrates. This research was conducted to fabricate ethanol by fermentation (A. schottii L) floral substrate with S. cerevisiae. The optimum physiochemical parameters required to obtain the highest yield of bioethanol from A. schottii flower by fermentation was studied. The immobilization strategy with a cheap agricultural substrate and magnetic nanoparticles were also studied. The engine performance and emission studies were done with different blends of petrol and bio-ethanol.

Antifungal activity of Allamanda polyantha seed extract and its iridoids promote morphological alterations in Cryptococcus spp.

Cryptococcosis, caused by Cryptococcus spp., is an invasive fungal infection of the central nervous system, associated with high mortality, affecting mainly immunocompromised patients. Due to the development of resistance to the current therapy, there is an urgent need for less toxic and more effective antifungal agents. In this study, we describe the antifungal activity against Cryptococcus spp. of an aqueous seed extract from Allamanda polyantha (ASEAP) and two iridoids, plumieride and plumieridine, isolated from this extract with an antifungal activity. The capsule formation and the morphological alterations were evaluated using fluorescent microscopy. The cytotoxic activity was also investigated. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of ASEAP for Cryptococcus gattii were 70 and 36 µg/ml (for the R265 and R272 strains, respectively) and 563 µg/ml for Cryptococcus neoformans H99. ASEAP inhibited C. neoformans H99 capsule formation, an important virulence factor, and decreased the cell body size for both the C. gattii strains. H99 cells also presented morphological alterations, with defects in bud detachment and nuclear fragmentation. Plumieride and plumieridine presented higher MIC values than ASEAP, indicating that other compounds might contribute to antifungal activity and/or that combination of the compounds results in a higher antifungal activity.

Allamanda cathartica: A Review of the Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Biotechnology.

In this work, we explore the current knowledge about the phytochemistry and in vitro and in vivo evaluations of the extracts and, where appropriate, the main active components characterized and isolated from the Allamanda cathartica. Of the 15 Allamanda species, most phytochemical, pharmacological, and toxicological studies have focused on A. cathartica. These plants are used for the treatment of various health disorders. Numerous phytochemical investigations of plants from the A. cathartica have shown the presence of hydrocarbons, alcohols, esters, ethers, aldehydes, ketones, fatty acids, phospholipids, volatile compounds, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, alkaloids, steroids, terpenes, lactones, and carbohydrates. Various studies have confirmed that extracts and active substances isolated from the A. cathartica have multiple pharmacological activities. The species A. cathartica has emerged as a source of traditional medicine used for human health. Further studies on the phytochemical, pharmacological, and toxicological properties and their mechanisms of action, safety, and efficacy in the species of A. cathartica is recommended.

Ascertainment of pharmacological activities of Allamanda neriifolia Hook and Aegialitis rotundifolia Roxb used in Bangladesh: An in vitro study.

The present study was cherished to investigate in vitro thrombolytic, membrane stabilizing and antibacterial activities of Allamanda neriifolia and Aegialitis rotundifolia. Different types methanolic extracts of these two medicinal plants were tested for determining membrane stabilizing activity at a hypotonic solution and heat induce condition by comparing with reference standard acetyl salicylic acid (0.10 mg/mL), where thrombolytic activity assessment was done by employing Streptokinase as standard drug. Finally, antibacterial activity was performed against Staphylococcus aureus as a Gram-positive (+ve) and Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa as Gram negative (-ve) bacteria by using disc diffusion method. In case of membrane stabilizing studies, crude methanolic extracts of A. neriifolia at 10 mg/ml concentration, more importantly, showed 45.80% & 23.52% whereas 10 mg/ml concentration of A. rotundifolia more significantly (p < 0.01) produced 38.40% and 27.04% inhibition of hemolysis for both experimental conditions. Dose-dependently increased activity was found in the thrombolytic study where 10 mg/ml concentration of both A. neriifolia and A. rotundifolia more significantly (p < 0.01) showed 41.91% and 32.76% lysis of clot respectively by in vitro clot lysis assay method. Crude methanolic extracts of A. rotundifolia did not show any suitable antibacterial property against the test bacteria. However, the gram positive (+ve) bacteria also seemed resistant against A. neriifolia extract but this crude methanolic extracts was found to generate moderate antibacterial action against gram-negative (-ve) bacteria. The obtained results confirmed the presence of thrombolytic, membrane stabilizing activity for both plant extract along with moderate antibacterial activity for A. neriifolia.

Neuropharmacological and acute toxicological evaluation of ethanolic extract of Allamanda cathartica L. flowers and plumieride.

Psychiatric diseases affect more than 350 million people all over the world, and medicinal plants have been considered the basis for pharmacological research. The study investigates the anticonvulsant and antidepressant-like activities and acute toxicological effects of ethanolic extract of Allamanda cathartica flowers, and plumieride. The extract was analyzed by HPLC and plumieride was isolated. Toxicity studies were carried out on females Wistar rats (2000 mg/kg). Toxicity was evaluated by measuring biochemical parameters and conducting histopathological analysis. For pharmacological evaluation different doses of the extract (100, 150 and 300 mg/kg, p.o.) and plumieride (0.5, 1 and 2 µg/kg, i.p.) were administered before the Forced-Swimming Test (FST), pentylenetetrazole seizure test (PTZT) or Tail-Suspension Test (TST) in mice. Furthermore, hemolytic activity, cytotoxicity and micronucleus test were performed. In addition, mutagenicity and reproductive/developmental toxicity were estimated by TEST-software analysis. Data show that both treatments induce significant antidepressive-like effect in FST and TST, but not anticonvulsant effect. The effect of plumieride last up to 4 h after treatment. No signs of toxicity, mutagenicity, cytotoxicity or hemolytic activity were observed. The TEST-software demonstrated that plumieride present reproductive/developmental toxicity. Together, the data obtained show that the flowers extract and plumieride present antidepressant-like effect and did not present signals of acute toxicity.

Molecular characterization of phytoplasmas of 'Clover proliferation' group associated with three ornamental plant species in India.

Suspected phytoplasma symptoms of little leaf, yellowing, chlorosis, phyllody, witches' broom, and stunting were observed on ten different ornamental plant species at New Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Bengaluru, and Pune, India, during March to July 2016. To investigate the possibility of phytoplasma etiology, PCR assays were performed using universal primer pairs (P1/P7 followed by 3Far/3Rev) specific to the phytoplasma 16Sr RNA gene. First round PCR amplification with primer pair P1/P7 did not yield expected 1.8 kb product of 16S rRNA region from any of the 17 symptomatic samples. However, 1.3 Kb amplicons were observed in nested PCR assays with 3Far/3Rev primer pair in symptomatic leaf samples of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L. (Pune isolate), Saponaria officinalis L. (Pune isolate), and Allamanda cathartica L. (Delhi isolate). No amplifications were observed in any of the other tested symptomatic and non-symptomatic plant samples either in first round or second round of nested PCR assays with phytoplasma specific primer pairs. Pairwise sequence comparison of 16S rDNA sequences of the five positive phytoplasma strains of A. catharica, H. rosa-sinensis, and S. officinalis in the present study revealed 99-100% sequence identities with strains of 'clover proliferation' (16SrVI) group. Phylogenetic and virtual RFLP analysis of 16S rDNA sequences of the five identified phytoplasma strains belonging to three ornamental species further confirmed their clustering and grouping with member strains of 'clover proliferation' subgroup D. This is the first record of the phytoplasma association of 'clover proliferation' subgroup D with H. rosa-sinensis, S. officinalis, and A. cathartica in the world.

Extratos vegetais no controle da antracnose e na conservação da qualidade em frutos de mamoeiro / Plant extracts in controlling anthracnose and quality conservation in papayas fruit

RESUMO O presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a ação antifúngica dos extratos de Allamanda blanchetti A.DC. e Momordica charantia L. no controle de Colletotrichumgloesporioides e qualidade pós-colheita em frutos de mamoeiro da cultivar Sunrise solo. Os experimentos foram conduzidos nos Laboratório de Fitopatologia e Laboratório de Produtos de Origem Animal, CCA-UFPB, Campus.II, Areia-PB. Os frutos foram colhidos no estádio 1 de maturação, em seguida, sanitizados com hipoclorito de sódio a 1% por três minutos e pulverizados com os extratos etanólicos de A. blanchetti e M. charantia nas concentrações: 0, 10, 100, 500 e 1000 µg.mL-1. Os frutos foram distribuídos em bandejas de polipropileno expandido em temperatura ambiente (23±2 °C) e umidade relativa em torno de 70%. Após doze dias de armazenamento, os frutos foram avaliados quanto à incidência natural de C. gloesporioides, severidade, atividade da enzima peroxidase, sólidos solúveis, acidez titulável, relação SS/AT, perda de massa e aparência externa dos frutos. Foi realizada análise de regressão polinomial testando modelos até o terceiro grau para as concentrações dos extratos utilizando análise de variância pelo teste F enquanto as médias foram comparadas pelo teste de Tukey a 5% de probabilidade, através do programa SAS® 9.2. Não se observou diferença estatística quando avaliou-se a incidência natural de C. gloesporioides em frutos de mamoeiro utilizando os extratos de A. blanchetti e M. charantia. Já na avaliação da severidade da antracnose, verificou-se diferença para o tratamento com o extrato de A. blanchetti, que apresentou as menores escalas de notas em relação ao tratamento com a M. charantia. Observou-se atividade da peroxidase (POD) em frutos de mamoeiro nos extratos de A. blanchetti e M. charantia. Os frutos tratados com A. blanchetti apresentaram teor de acidez, com máximo de 0,12 g de ácido cítrico.100 g-1 e no de M. charantiaapresentou aumento para 0,15 g de ácido cítrico.100 g-1. A relação SS/AT diminuiu com o aumento das concentrações dos dois extratos. Os frutos tratados com A. blanchetti apresentaram maior perda de massa durante todo o armazenamento, sendo maior que 10% aos nove dias. Já a perda de massa dos frutos tratados com M. charantia apresentou comportamento linear, sendo superior a 12% aos 12 dias de armazenamento. A cor evoluiu de 1 (verde) para 6 (casca alaranjada) e a aparência dos frutos diminuiu com o decorrer do tempo de 5 (excelente) para 3 (regular) em todas concentrações dos extratos de A. blanchetti e M. charantia. Os extratos de A. blanchetti e M. charantia não reduziram a incidência natural, porém, só o extrato de A. blanchetti foi responsável por reduzir a severidade da antracnose. Ocorreu a atividade da enzima peroxidase em todos os tratamentos avaliados e conservaram a qualidade pós-colheita em frutos até os nove dias de armazenamento.

ABSTRACT This study aimed to evaluate the antifungal effect of the extracts Allamandablanchetti A.DC. and Momordica charantia L. in the control of Colletotrichum gloesporioides in papaya fruits of the Sunrise Solo cultivation, as well as their post-harvest quality. The trials were conducted in the Laboratory of Plant Pathology and Animal Products Laboratory, CCA-UFPB, Campus II, Areia-PB. The fruits were harvested at maturity stage 1, then sanitized with sodium hypochlorite 1% for three minutes and sprayed with ethanol extracts of A. blanchetti and M.charantia at concentrations of 0, 10, 100, 500 and 1000 μg.mL-1.The fruits were distributed in polypropylene trays expanded at room temperature (23±2 °C) and relative humidity around 70%. After twelve days of storage, the fruits were evaluated for natural incidence of C. gloesporioides, severity, peroxidase enzyme activity, soluble solids, titratable acidity, SS/TA ratio, weight loss and external appearance of the fruit. Polynomial regression testing models to the third degree were employed for the extracts of concentrations, using analysis of variance by F test. The averages were compared by Tukey test at 5% probability, through the SAS® 9.2 program. There was no statistical difference observed when we evaluated the natural incidence of C. gloesporioides in the papaya fruit, using extracts from A. blanchetti and M. charantia. In the assessment of the severity of the anthracnose, there was no statistical difference for the treatment with the extract of A. blanchetti, which had smaller scales of notes when compared with the treatment using the M. charantia. It was observed peroxidase activity (POD) in the papaya fruits treated with the extracts of A. blanchetti and M. charantia. The fruits treated with A. blanchetti presented a maximum dose of acidity of 0.12 g g-1 of citric acid.100 g-1. In the fruits treated with M. charantia this increase was of 0.15g of citric acid.100 g-1. The SS/TA ratio decreased with increasing concentrations of the two extracts. The fruits treated with A. blanchettipresented higher weight loss of approximately 10%, since the M. charantia was over 12%. The color evolved from 1 (green) to 6 (Orange Peel) and the appearance of the fruit got worse according to the time, from 5 (excellent) to 3 (regular) in all the concentrations of the extracts of A. blanchetti and M. charantia. The A. blanchetti and M. charantia extracts did not reduce the natural incidence, however, only the A. blanchetti extract was able to decrease the severity of the anthracnose. The peroxidase enzyme presented activity in all treatments and kept the postharvest quality of the fruits in the nine days of storage.

Seasonal influence and cytotoxicity of extracts, fractions and major compounds from Allamanda schottii

The aim of this research was to evaluate the fractions obtained from the leaf, stem and roots of Allamanda schottii Pohl, Apocynaceae, responsible for the cytotoxicity, using several cell lines. Cytotoxicity was correlated with the season the part of the plant, and the major compounds were assessed. The ethanol extracts of leaves, stems and roots obtained at different seasons were evaluated in the human erythromyeloblastoid leukemia cell line (K562). Subsequently the ethanol extracts and dichloromethane fractions collected in winter were evaluated in mouse fibroblast cell line (Mus musculus) (L929), cervix adenocarcinoma (HeLa), human pre-B leukemia (Nalm6), as well as K562 cell line. The compounds plumericin, plumieride and ursolic acid isolated from ethanol extracts of the stems were evaluated in the same cell lines, as well as on breast adenocarcinoma cell line (MCF-7), and Mus musculus skin melanoma cell line (B16F10). The chromatographic profiles of the dichloromethane fractions were obtained by high performance liquid chromatography. The results revealed that the season during which A. schottii was collected, and the part of the plant analyzed, influence the cytotoxicity on the K562 cells tested. On the other hand the dichloromethane fractions, mainly from the stems and roots, are responsible for the cytoxicity on the cells tested. These results may be associated with the seasonal variation of plumericin in these parts of the plant. This information is in accordance with the HPLC analysis. The results clearly show the potential for the phytotherapeutic use of this species, and suggest that the cytotoxic activity observed may be due to the presence of plumericin, or to minor compounds not yet identified. The seasonal influence on the production of secondary metabolites was verified.

In vivo antioxidant assessment of two antimalarial plants-Allamamda cathartica and Bixa orellana.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the free radical scavenging potentials pytochemical constituents of ethanol leaves extracts of Allamanda cathartica (A. cathartica) and Bixa orellana (B. orellana) and thus their effects in antimalarial activities. METHODS: Both ethanol extracted plant samples were administered at 50 mg/mL, 100 mg/mL and 200 mg/mL to Albino rats and then administered with CCl4 at 1 mL/kg body weight, in liquid paraffin (1:1, v/v) for 2 days (negative control) and compared with 5% Tween 80 (placebo) and vitamin E (positive control) pretreatments. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), glutathione (GSH) and catalase (CAT) activities in blood and liver tissues were assessed. RESULTS: In CCl4 treated rats, TBARS levels significantly increased, while decreased GSH and CAT levels were recorded for both plant extracts. Generally, higher TBARS and GSH values were recorded for blood than for liver homogenates; with reverse trend observed for CAT level. Increased concentrations of A. cathartica extract recorded significant antioxidant levels similar to tocopherol (vitamin E). Reducing sugars, saponins, flavonoids were recorded for both species; alkaloids in A. cathartica and terpenoids in B. orellana. CONCLUSIONS: A. cathartica, possess phytochemicals that recorded significant antioxidative defense activities for blood and liver tissues with increasing concentration. However B. orellana did not record similar results.

In vivo antioxidant assessment of two antimalarial plants-Allamamda cathartica and Bixa orellana

Objective: To determine the free radical scavenging potentials pytochemical constituents of ethanol leaves extracts of Allamanda cathartica (A. cathartica) and Bixa orellana (B. orellana) and thus their effects in antimalarial activities. Methods: Both ethanol extracted plant samples were administered at 50 mg/mL, 100 mg/mL and 200 mg/mL to Albino rats and then administered with CCl4 at 1 mL/kg body weight, in liquid paraffin (1:1, v/v) for 2 days (negative control) and compared with 5% Tween 80 (placebo) and vitamin E (positive control) pretreatments. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), glutathione (GSH) and catalase (CAT) activities in blood and liver tissues were assessed. Results: In CCl4 treated rats, TBARS levels significantly increased, while decreased GSH and CAT levels were recorded for both plant extracts. Generally, higher TBARS and GSH values were recorded for blood than for liver homogenates; with reverse trend observed for CAT level. Increased concentrations of A. cathartica extract recorded significant antioxidant levels similar to tocopherol (vitamin E). Reducing sugars, saponins, flavonoids were recorded for both species; alkaloids in A. cathartica and terpenoids in B. orellana. Conclusions: A.cathartica, possess phytochemicals that recorded significant antioxidative defense activities for blood and liver tissues with increasing concentration. However B. orellana did not record similar results.

In vivo antioxidant assessment of two antimalarial plants-Allamamda cathartica and Bixa orellana

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To determine the free radical scavenging potentials pytochemical constituents of ethanol leaves extracts of Allamanda cathartica (A. cathartica) and Bixa orellana (B. orellana) and thus their effects in antimalarial activities.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Both ethanol extracted plant samples were administered at 50 mg/mL, 100 mg/mL and 200 mg/mL to Albino rats and then administered with CCl4 at 1 mL/kg body weight, in liquid paraffin (1:1, v/v) for 2 days (negative control) and compared with 5% Tween 80 (placebo) and vitamin E (positive control) pretreatments. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), glutathione (GSH) and catalase (CAT) activities in blood and liver tissues were assessed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In CCl4 treated rats, TBARS levels significantly increased, while decreased GSH and CAT levels were recorded for both plant extracts. Generally, higher TBARS and GSH values were recorded for blood than for liver homogenates; with reverse trend observed for CAT level. Increased concentrations of A. cathartica extract recorded significant antioxidant levels similar to tocopherol (vitamin E). Reducing sugars, saponins, flavonoids were recorded for both species; alkaloids in A. cathartica and terpenoids in B. orellana.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>A. cathartica, possess phytochemicals that recorded significant antioxidative defense activities for blood and liver tissues with increasing concentration. However B. orellana did not record similar results.</p>

Anti-mitotic activity towards sea urchin eggs of dichloromethane fraction obtained from Allamanda schottii Pohl (Apocynaceae) / Atividade anti-mitótica da fração diclorometano obtida de Allamanda schottii Pohl (Apocynaceae) sobre ovos do ouriço do mar

Allamanda (Apocynaceae) is a genus of climbing shrubs known for producing compounds with a range of biological activities. Previous works have shown the anti-proliferative effect of the ethanolic extract of Allamanda schottii on leukemic cells. The present work was conducted to evaluate the effects of dichloromethane fraction, obtained from Allamanda schottii, on sea urchin Echinometra lucunter eggs, as a multicellular model for evaluating anti-tumor activity. Our results show an inhibition of sea urchin development in a dose-dependent manner in the presence of dichloromethane fraction. The IC50 values for first and third cleavage and blastulae stage were 103.7 µg/mL, 33.1 µg/mL and 10.2 µg/mL, respectively. These results also demonstrate the cumulative effect of this fraction on sea urchin embryos. In the present work, the expressive anti-mitotic activity of dichloromethane fraction towards sea urchin eggs, a multicellular model, reinforces the anti-tumor potential of the Allamanda schotti.

Allamanda (Apocynacea) é um gênero de arbustos escandentes conhecido por produzir compostos com várias atividades biológicas. Trabalhos anteriores têm mostrado um efeito anti-proliferativo do extrato etanólico de Allamanda schottii sobre células leucêmicas. O presente trabalho foi realizado para avaliar o efeito da fração diclorometano, obtida de Allamanda schotti, sobre os ovos de ouriço-do-mar de Echinometra lucunter, como um modelo multicelular para estudar atividade anti-tumoral. Nossos resultados mostram uma inibição do desenvolvimento dos ovos de uma maneira dose-dependente na presença da fração diclorometano. Os valores de IC50 para a primeira e terceira clivagem e para o estágio de blástula foram de 103,7 µg/mL, 33.1 µg/mL e 10,2 µg/mL, respectivamente. Estes resultados também demonstram um efeito acumulativo da fração sobre os embriões do ouriço-do-mar. No presente trabalho, esta expressiva atividade anti-mitótica da fração diclorometano sobre o desenvolvimento embrionário do ouriço-do-mar, um modelo multicelular, reforça o potencial antitumoral de Allamanda schotti.