Evaluation of in-vitro and in-vivo antidiabetic, antilipidemic and antioxidant potentials of aqueous root extract of Strophanthus hispidus DC (Apocynaceae).

Background Antidiabetic activity of aqueous root extract of Strophanthus hispidus (SHP) was evaluated based on its folklore used in traditional medicine for the treatment of diabetes. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the in-vitro and in-vivo antidiabetic potential of the aqueous root extract of SHP. Methods SHP (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg p.o.), glibenclamide (5 mg/kg p.o.), normal saline (10 mL/kg; diabetic control) and distilled water (10 mL/kg; normal control) were administered once daily for 28 days, with the measurement of fasting blood glucose level at 7 days interval. Blood samples were collected on day 28 for serum biochemical (albumin, total protein [TP], creatinine, alanine transaminase [ALT], aspartate transaminase [AST], alkaline phosphatase [ALP], triglycerides [TG], total cholesterol [TC], high-density lipoprotein [HDL], low-density lipoprotein [LDL], bilirubin and urea) and hematological assays. The in-vitro antidiabetic activity was investigated using α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes inhibitory assays. Results SHP produced a day-dependent reduction in glucose level. Peak reduction (82.94 %; p < 0.05) was produced at the dose of 100 mg/kg. SHP significantly (p < 0.05) increased the level of HDL and TP but significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the levels of TG, LDL, TC, AST, ALT, ALP, bilirubin, creatinine and urea compared with diabetic control rats. Furthermore, SHP significantly (p < 0.05) increased the level of catalase, superoxide dismutase and reduced glutathione compared to diabetic control rats. SHP significantly (p < 0.05) inhibited α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes compared with acarbose. Conclusion The findings in this study showed that SHP possesses beneficial antidiabetic activity.

Adonis sp., Convallaria sp., Strophanthus sp., Thevetia sp., and Leonurus sp. - Cardiotonic Plants with Known Traditional Use and a Few Preclinical and Clinical Studies.

Plants have been always a fruitful source of active metabolites against many human disorders, where cardiovascular (CV) diseases have been one of the major health problems all over the world. There are some clinically proved medicinal plants with cardioprotective effects such as Crataegus monogyna and C. oxyacantha (hawthorn) from Rosaceae. On the other hand, cardiac glycosides, present in a number of plant species, are wellknown for their cardiotonic activity. However, we encountered such a fact that very less number of studies are available on the source plants; e.g. Adonis vernalis, Convallaria majalis, Strophanthus kombe, Thevetia peruviana, Leonurus cardiaca, etc. Consequently, we herein aimed to cover all available data consisting of in vitro, in vivo, and human studies (if any) on cardiotonic effects of the aforementioned species through a wide literature search using Scopus, Web of Science as well as Pubmed.

Characterization of the cardiac glycoside and lipid profiles of Strophanthus kombé Oliv. seeds.

The seeds of Strophanthus kombé Oliv. are known to contain high levels of cardioactive compounds. However, the therapeutic use of Strophanthus in the treatment of cardiopathy requires more detailed knowledge of the compound profile to profit from the full potential of Strophanthus preparations. Therefore, the objective was to characterize the cardenolide profile and lipophilic constituents in S. kombé seeds using methods applicable in routine quality control. Freshly prepared S. kombé seed extracts were analyzed without previous sample clean-up using a novel HPLC-DAD-MSn method. In addition, seed oils were analyzed by GC-MS following derivatization of the lipids. More than 20 cardenolides were tentatively assigned in the seed extracts including strophanthidin, strophanthidol, periplogenin and strophanthidinic acid aglycones, carrying various saccharide moieties. The findings revealed the presence of eight novel cardenolides, which have not been described for S. kombé so far. The occurrence of strophanthidinic acid derivatives was verified by comparison with synthesized strophanthidinic acid-cymaropyranoside. GC-MS characterization of the oils mainly revealed the presence of fatty acids, especially oleic acid and linoleic acid, as well as phytosterols, the latter representing intermediates of cardenolide biosynthesis. In summary, these findings broaden our knowledge on the secondary metabolism of Strophanthus.

Antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and antiulcerogenic activities of ethanol root extract of Strophanthus hispidus DC (Apocynaceae).

BACKGROUND: Strophanthus hispidus DC (Apocynaceae) is a medicinal plant widely used in traditional African medicine in the treatment of rheumatic afflictions, ulcer, conjunctivitis, leprosy and skin diseases. This study sought to investigate the antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and antiulcer properties of the ethanol root extract of S. hispidus. METHODS: Antinociceptive activity was evaluated using acetic acid-induced writhing and formalin tests in mice. The carrageenan- and egg albumin-induced rat paw edema tests were used to investigate the anti-inflammatory actions, whereas the antiulcer activity was investigated using ethanol-, HCl- and pyloric ligation-induced gastric ulcer models in rats. RESULTS: S. hispidus [100-800 mg/kg orally (po)] produced significant (p<0.05) inhibition of writhing reflex with peak effect of 74.13% inhibition observed at 800 mg/kg. Similarly, S. hispidus significantly (p<0.05) attenuated formalin-induced early and late phase of nociception with peak effect of 61.84% and 89.43%, respectively, at 200 mg/kg. S. hispidus (25-800 mg/kg po) caused significant (p<0.05) inhibition of edema development in the carrageenan and egg albumin models with peak effect (93.40% and 90.10% inhibition of edema formation) observed at 50 mg/kg. With respect to antiulcer activity, S. hispidus (100-800 mg/kg) showed potent antiulcer activity with respective peak effects of 96% (ethanol-induced), 99% (HCl-induced) and 70.60% inhibition of ulcer. CONCLUSIONS: The findings in this study suggest that the ethanol root extract of S. hispidus possesses antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and antiulcerogenic activities. This justifies the use of the extract in folklore medicine for the treatment of ulcer and inflammatory disorders.

Cytotoxic cardenolide glycosides of Roupellina (Strophanthus) boivinii from the Madagascar rainforest.

Bioassay-guided fractionation of an ethanol extract of Roupellina (Strophanthus) boivinii from the rainforest of Madagascar afforded the six new cardenolide glycosides boivinides 1-6, as well as the four known cardenolide glycosides digitoxigenin 3-O-[beta-D-glucopyrananosyl-(1-->4)-alpha-L-acofriopyranoside], corotoxigenin 3-O-beta-D-boivinoside, 17alpha-corotoxigenin 3-O-beta-D-sarmentoside, and uzarigenin 3-O-alpha-L-rhamnoside. The structures of these compounds were elucidated by various 1D and 2D NMR techniques. All new compounds showed significant antiproliferative activity against the A2780 human ovarian cancer cell line, with boivinide A being the most active at IC50 = 0.17 microM.