• Advances in Traditional Medicine
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.13-20
• /
• 2010

The leaves of Madhuca (M.) indica J.f.Gmel. (Sapotaceae) have been used traditionally in folk medicine due to its astringent properties and are effective in treatment of eczema and snake bites. Methanolic extract of M. indica is rich in tannins and has been proven experimentally to possess antibacterial activity. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the anti-ulcer and antioxidant activity of M. indica in rats. The methanolic extract of leaves of M. indica was tested at various doses (75, 150 and 300 mg/kg, p.o.) for its effect on gastric secretion and gastric ulcers in pylorus-ligation and on ethanol- induced gastric mucosal injury in rats. The significant reduction in ulcer index in both the models along with an increase in the pH of the gastric fluid and mucin content of stomach, and the acid secretory parameters such as total acidity and volume of gastric fluid were also significantly reduced along with reduction in the pepsin activity in pylorusligated rats proved the anti-ulcer activity of M. indica. The increase in the levels of superoxide dismutase, catalase and reduced glutathione and decrease in lipid peroxidation in both the models proved the antioxidant activity of M. indica. Thus it can be concluded that M. indica possesses anti-ulcer activity, which can be attributed to its antioxidant mechanism of action.

• CELLMED
• /
• v.2 no.2
• /
• pp.20.1-20.5
• /
• 2012

$Gynura$ $segetum$ (Lour.) Merr. ($Compositae$) is a well recognized medicinal plant in Indonesia and Malaysia. It is believed to have an anticoagulant effect and is used in treating snake-bites, inflammations and other skin afflictions. This study was carried out to evaluate the antimicrobial effects of $Gynura$ $segetum$ leaves extracts and its fractions. The chemical compositions of the active extracts were also determined. The antimicrobial activities of different solvent extracts of leaves of $Gynura$ $segetum$ were evaluated using the agar well-diffusion method. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of the active subfractions was determined by the tube dilution method. Gas Chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis was carried out to identify the chemical compositions of the active extracts. The ethyl acetate fraction and its subfraction E4 performed potent antimicrobial activities and fifteen known chemical constituents were identified by GCMS analysis as 4-vinylphenol, 1-tetradecene, phenol, 2,4-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl), 1-hexadecene, E-15-heptadecenal, hexadecanoic acid, 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, dibutyl ester, 1-docosene, octadecanoic acid, 1-eicosene, cyclotetracosane, 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, bis(2-ethylhexyl)ester, butanedioic acid, monomethyl ester, niacin and 4-hydroxy-benzoic acid. The results of this study suggested a connection between the antimicrobial activities and the chemical structures. The plant may be used as a potential source for antimicrobial agents.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.123-127
• /
• 2002

Echinacea is a North American native medicinal herb used traditionally for wounds, burns, snake or insect bites, colds, infections, and inflammation by indigenous Americans. We investigated the effects of the root and stem of fresh Korean-grown Echinacea angustifolia methanol extracts and fractionation extracts on the cytotoxicity against cancer cells (HL60, 3LL). The extracts were prepared by step-wise fractionation of methanol extracts of Echinacea angustifolia using hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, buthanol, and water. From the tests, root and stem parts of Echinacea showed the cytotoxic effect on cancer cells. The cytotoxie rate of the ethyl acetate fraction of the root parts showed 79% against HL60 cells at low concentration (0.125 mg/mL), and hexane fraction of the root and stem parts gradually increased as the concentration of samples increased, and the root parts showed 82% at 1.0 mg/mL concentration against HL60 cells, chloroform fraction of the root part showed 78.4% against HL60 cells and 68.4% on 3LL cells at 1.0 mg/mL concentration, water and butanol fraction of these results, it is considered that ethyl acetate fraction of the root and stem parts showed 60.1% to 77.1% against HL60 cells, after testing by MTT assay system. From these results, it is considered that ethyl acetate fraction of the Echinacea angustifolia root parts has stronger anticancer effects than any other fractions in vitro.