Larvicidal potential of Juglans regia male flower against Anopheles stephensi, Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus.

The diseases vectored by mosquitoes continue to be a main cause of illnesses and death throughout the world. The methanol extract of Juglans regia male flower was screened for larvicidal activity against three therapeutically important mosquito vectors viz., malarial vector, Anopheles stephensi; dengue vector, Aedes aegypti and the filarial vector, Culex quinquefasciatus. The larvicidal activity was assayed against the early fourth-instar larvae of tested mosquito species at a concentration ranging from 12.5 to 200 ppm under laboratory conditions. The methanol extract recorded significant mortality against the early fourth-instar larvae of the tested species. After 12 and 24 h of exposure period, the highest effect was recorded in An. stephensi with LC50 values of 139.87 and 59.80 ppm and LC90 values of 288.96 and 166.73 ppm, respectively, followed by Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus. The results could be useful in search for newer, safer and more effective natural larvicidal agents.

Chicory (Cichorium intybus) and wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) extracts exhibit strong larvicidal activity against mosquito vectors of malaria, dengue fever, and filariasis.

Vector-borne diseases transmitted by mosquitoes cause globally important diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, and filariasis. The incidence of these diseases can be reduced through mosquito control programs but these control programs currently rely on synthetic insecticides that can impact the environment, and has selected widespread mosquito resistance. Environment friendly and biodegradable natural insecticides discovered in plants offer an alternative approach to mosquito control. Here, we investigated extracts from root or aerial parts of Chicory (Cichorium intybus) and wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) against the early 4th instar larvae of Anopheles stephensi (malaria vector), Aedes aegypti (dengue fever vector), and Culex quinquefasciatus (filariasis vector). The root and aerial parts extracts of A. absinthium and C. intybus at 200, 100, 50, 25 and 12.5 ppm caused significant mortality of the tested mosquito species. Root extracts exhibited higher larvicidal activity that aerial part extracts. The highest larvicidal activity was recorded in methanol extract of roots of C. intybus with LC50 = 66.16, 18.88 and LC¬90 = 197.56, 107.16 ppm for An. stephensi; LC50 = 78.51, 40.15 and LC90 = 277.31, 231.28 ppm for Ae. aegypti and LC50 = 103.99, 64.56 and LC¬90 = 314.04, 247.54 ppm for Cx. quinquefasciatus. These results reveal potent mosquito larvicidal activity against vectors of malaria, dengue fever, and filariasis is present in extracts of chicory and wormwood.

Pharmacognosy, Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Properties of Achillea millefolium L.: A Review.

Achillea millefoilum L. (Yarrow) is an important species of Asteraceae family with common utilization in traditional medicine of several cultures from Europe to Asia for the treatment of spasmodic gastrointestinal disorders, hepatobiliary, gynecological disorders, against inflammation and for wound healing. An extensive review of literature was made on A. millefoilum L. using ethno botanical text books, published articles in peer-reviewed journals, unpublished materials and scientific databases. The Plant List, International Plant Name Index and Kew Botanical Garden databases were used to authenticate the scientific names. Monoterpenes are the most representative metabolites constituting 90% of the essential oils in relation to the sesquiterpenes, and a wide range of chemical compounds have also been reported. Different pharmacological experiments in many in-vitro and in-vivo models have proved the potential of A. millefoilum with antiinflammatory, antiulcer, anticancer activities etc. lending support to the rationale behind numerous of its traditional uses. Due to the noteworthy pharmacological activities, A. millefoilum will be a better option for new drug discovery. The present review will comprehensively summarize the pharmacognosy, phytochemistry and ethnopharmacology of A. millefoilum reported to date, with emphasis on more in vitro, clinical and pathological studies needed to investigate the unexploited potential of this plant. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Evaluation of some aromatic plant extracts for mosquito larvicidal potential against Culex quinquefasciatus, Aedes aegypti, and Anopheles stephensi.

In the present investigation, larvicidal potential of hexane, choloroform, ethyl acetate, acetone, and methanol extracts of seven aromatic plants, viz., Blumea mollis, Chloroxylon swietenia, Clausena anisata, Feronia limnonia, Lantana camera, Plectranthus amboinicus, and Tagetes erecta were screened against Culex quinquefasciatus, Aedes aegypti, and Anopheles stephensi. The larval mortality was observed after 12 and 24 h of exposure period. The results revealed that all the extracts showed varied levels of larvicidal activity against the mosquito species tested. However, the ethyl acetate extract of Chloroxylon swietenia showed the remarkable larvicidal activity against C. quinquefasciatus, Ae. aegypti, and An. stephensi. After 12 h of exposure period, the larvicidal activity was LC50 = 194.22 and LC90 = 458.83 ppm (C. quinquefasciatus), LC50 = 173.04 and LC90 = 442.73 ppm (Ae. aegypti), and LC50 = 167.28 and LC90 = 433.07 ppm (An. stephensi), and the larvicidal activity after 24-h exposure period was LC50 = 94.12 and LC90 = 249.83 ppm (C. quinquefasciatus), LC50 = 80.58 and LC90 = 200.96 ppm (Ae. aegypti), and LC50 = 76.24 and LC90 = 194.51 ppm (An. stephensi). The larvicidal potential of other plant extracts were in order of ethyl acetate extract of Clausena anisata > methanol extract of P. amboinicus > acetone extract of F. limonia > methanol extract of T. erecta > methanol extract of B. mollis > and methanol extract of L. camera. The results of the present study offer a possible way for further investigations to find out the active molecule responsible for the activity.

Screening of selected medicinal plants for in vitro antidermatophytic activity.

Different solvent extracts of leaves of Achyranthes aspera, Aegle marmelos, Cleistanthus collinus, Curcuma aromatica and Strychnos nux-vomica were screened against dermatophytes viz., Trichophyton mentagrophytes, T. rubrum, Microsporum gypseum, M. canis and Epidermophyton floccossum var. nigricans. The mean zones of inhibition were between 7.1 and 26.5mm. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentrations (MFC) were from 7.81 to 500 and from 15.62 to 1000µg/mL respectively. The highest mean zone of inhibition (26.5mm), the lowest MIC value (7.81µg/ml) and the lowest MFC (15.62µg/ml) were observed in ethyl acetate extract of A. aspera against T. rubrum. The standard antifungal drug ketoconazole (10µg/disc) was used as the positive control and mean zones of inhibition were from 23 to 29mm. Further separation of active principle from ethyl acetate extract of A. aspera is under progress.

Chemical constituents and larvicidal potential of Feronia limonia leaf essential oil against Anopheles stephensi, Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus.

In the present investigation, the leaf essential oil of Feronia limonia was evaluated for chemical constituents and mosquito larvicidal activity against the larvae of Anopheles stephensi, Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus. GC and GC-MS analyses revealed that the essential oil contain 51 compounds. Estragole (34.69 %) and ß-pinene(23.59 %) were identified as the major constituents followed by methyl (Z)-caryophyllene (11.05 %), eugenol (6.50 %), linalool (3.97 %), phytol (3.27 %), sabinene (2.41 %) and limonene (2.27 %). Larval mortality was observed after 12 and 24 h of exposure period. The oil showed remarkable larvicidal activity against A. stephensi (LC(50) = 38.93 and LC(90) = 108.64 ppm (after 12 h); LC(50) = 15.03 and LC(90) = 36.69 ppm (after 24 h)), A. aegypti (LC(50) = 37.60 and LC(90) = 104.69 ppm (after 12 h); LC(50) = 11.59 and LC(90) = 42.95 ppm (after 24 h)) and C. quinquefasciatus (LC(50) = 52.08 and LC(90) = 124.33 ppm (after 12 h); LC(50) = 22.49 and LC(90) = 60.90 ppm (after 24 h)). Based on the results, the essential oil of F. limonia can be considered as a new source of larvicide for the control of vector mosquitoes.

In vitro anti-plasmodial activity of some traditionally used medicinal plants against Plasmodium falciparum.

The anti-plasmodial activity of different solvent extracts of Adhatoda vasica (root), Caesalpinia pulcherrima (leaf), Carica papaya (pulp), Erythroxylum monogynum (leaf), Lantana camara (whole plant), Ocimum sanctum (root) and Phyllanthus niruri (whole plant) were studied against Plasmodium falciparum. Of the 35 extracts tested, seven extracts showed good anti-plasmodial activity. Methanol extract of C. pulcherrima showed the lowest IC50 value (10.96 µg/mL) followed by methanol extract of A. vasica (IC(50)=11.1 µg/mL), chloroform extract of O. sanctum (IC(50)=11.47 µg/mL), methanol extract of E. monogynum (IC(50)=12.23 µg/mL), acetone extract of C. pulcherrima (IC(50)=12.49 µg/mL), methanol extract of O. sanctum and acetone extract of A. vasica (IC(50)=14.04 µg/mL). The results of the present study justify the use of these medicinal plants in traditional practice, and also, a further study on the isolation of anti-plasmodial molecules from their active crude extracts is in progress.

Antibacterial and antifungal efficacy of fatty acid methyl esters from the leaves of Sesuvium portulacastrum L.

OBJECTIVES: The fatty acid methyl esters (FAME extract) from Sesuvium (S.) portulacastrum was studied for its fatty acid composition and antimicrobial activity against human pathogenic microorganisms. MATERIALS AND METHODS AND RESULTS: The gas chromatographic analysis of FAME extract revealed the presence of palmitic acid with the highest relative percentage (31.18%), followed by oleic acid (21.15%), linolenic acid (14.18%) linoleic acid (10.63%), myristic acid (6.91%) and behenic acid (2.42%). The saturated fatty acids were higher than the unsaturated fatty acids. FAME extract showed the highest antibacterial and anticandidal activities and moderate antifungal activity against the tested microorganisms. The highest mean zone of inhibition (16.3 mm) and the lowest MIC (0.25 mg/ml) and MBC (0.5 mg/ml) values were recorded against Bacillus subtilis. The lowest mean zone of inhibition (8.8 mm) and the highest MIC (8 mg/ml) and MFC (16 mg/ml) values were recorded against Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus niger. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study justify the use of S. portulacastrum in traditional medicine and the FAME extract can be used as a potential antimicrobial agent against the tested human pathogenic microorganisms.

Mosquito larvicidal activity of methyl-p-hydroxybenzoate isolated from the leaves of Vitex trifolia Linn.

The vector-borne diseases caused by mosquitoes are one of the major health problems in many countries especially in tropical and sub-tropical countries. The resistance of mosquitoes to synthetic chemicals and environmental toxicity created by the chemicals raised the demand for finding of alternate natural molecules that control mosquito. In the present study, a crystalline compound methyl-p-hydroxybenzoate was isolated from the methanol extract of Vitex trifolia leaves and it was identified by (1)H and (13)C NMR and single crystal X-ray diffractometer. The larvicidal potential of the isolated compound was evaluated against early 4th instar larvae of Culex quinquefasciatus and Aedes aegypti. The compound exhibited 100% larval mortality of both the mosquitoes at 20 ppm with LC(50) values of 5.77 and 4.74 ppm against C. quinquefasciatus and A. aegypti, respectively. The methyl-p-hydroxybenzoate, which is reported for the first time to our best of knowledge from V. trifolia can be better explored for the control of mosquito population.

Chemical constituents and antibacterial activity of the leaf essential oil of Feronia limonia.

The essential oil from the leaves of Feronia limonia was extracted and the chemical constituents and antibacterial activity were studied. The GC and GC-MS analyses revealed that the leaf essential oil of F. limonia contained fourteen compounds representing about 98.4% of the total oil. The major chemical compounds identified were Eudesma-4 (14).11-dine (46.3%), carvacrol (29.6%) and 1,5-cyclodecandine (13.4%). The essential oil was screened for its antibacterial activity against different clinically isolated Gram positive and Gram negative bacterial strains by disc diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration assay. The essential oil exhibited moderate antibacterial activity against all the tested bacterial strains with MIC values ranging from 125 to 500 µg/mL except Proteus mirabilis.

Bioconcentration of heavy metals in selected medicinal plants of India.

This paper presents data on the bioconcentration of heavy metals found in 10 plant species that occur in mangroves and inland ecosystems of India. The average concentration of mercury in the mangrove plants (0.068 microg g(-1)) was 11.3 times that of the inland plants (0.006 microg g(-1); p<0.05). The average concentration of lead in the mangrove plants (19.23 microg g(-1)) was 1.7 times that of the inland plants (11.38 microg g(-1); p<0.05). The mean bioconcentration factors for lead in mangrove plants (2.40 +/- 0.75) were higher than that the inland plants (1.42 +/- 0.15). The factor analysis accounted for 21.55% of the total variance showed accumulation of mercury and lead confirming the polluted nature.

Antibacterial and antifungal activities of fatty acid methyl esters of the blind-your-eye mangrove from India

Fatty acids are widely occurring in natural fats and dietary oils and they are known to have antibacterial and antifungal properties. However, little is known on the antibacterial and antifungal properties of the blind-your-eye mangrove (Excoecaria agallocha) and this study for the first time determines the fatty acid composition and the antibacterial and antifungal activities of Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAME) of the blind-your-eye mangrove plant found along the coastal areas of south India.

Gorduras naturais e óleos são abundantes em ácidos graxos que apresentam atividade antibacteriana e antifúngica. Entretanto, pouco se sabe sobre a atividade antibacteriana e antifúngica de ésteres metílicos de ácidos graxos de mangue "blind-your-eye" (Excoecaria agallocha). Esse estudo relata, pela primeira vez, a composição em ácidos graxos e a atividade antibacteriana e antifúngica de ésteres metílicos de ácidos graxos (FAME) de mangue "blind-your-eye" encontrado ao longo de áreas costeiras do sul da India.

Effect of seaweed extracts on the growth and biochemical constituents of Vigna sinensis.

The effect of seaweed liquid fertilizers (SLF) of Sargassum wightii and Caulerpa chemnitzia on growth and biochemical constituents of Vigna sinensis was studied. The seeds soaked with aqueous extract of seaweeds performed better when compared to the water soaked controls. Hundred per cent germination was recorded both in aqueous extract soaked and water soaked treatments. The low concentration (20%) of aqueous extracts of S. wightii and C. chemnitzia promoted the seedling growth including the parameters of shoot length (15.87, 14.13 cm/seedling), root length (6.42, 5.38 cm/seedling), fresh weight (4.017, 4.012 g/seedling) and dry weight (0.878, 0.865 g/seedling), chlorophyll (1.599, 1.491 mg g-1 fr. wt.), carotenoids (0.899, 0.875 mg g-1 fr. wt.), protein content of shoot (3.956, 3.474 mg g-1 fr. wt.) and root (2.926, 2.890 mg g-1 fr. wt.), amino acid content of shoot (1.447, 1.429 mg g-1 fr. wt.) and root (0.698, 0.680 mg g-1 fr. wt.), reducing sugar content of shoot (6.426, 6.233 mg g-1 fr. wt.) and root (5.118, 5.103 mg g-1 fr. wt.), total sugar content of shoot (11.846, 11.350 mg g-1 fr. wt.) and root (10.368, 10.102 mg g-1 fr. wt.), alpha-amylase (1.927, 1.819 microg min-1 mg-1 protein) and beta-amylase (1.730, 1.617 microg min-1 mg-1 protein) activities in V. sinensis. Among the two seaweeds tested, S. wightii exhibited better responses.

Antibacterial and antifungal activity of Syzygium jambolanum seeds.

The water and methanolic extracts of Syzygium jambolanum seeds were examined for antibacterial and antifungal activity in vitro using the disc diffusion method, minimum inhibitory concentration, minimum bactericidal concentration and minimum fungicidal concentration. Activity against gram positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus), gram negative bacteria (Salmonella typhimurium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli) and fungal strains (Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus sp., Trichophyton rubrum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes and Microsporum gypseum) is discussed.