No abstract

Essential oil is a hydrophobic concentrated liquid which contains volatile aroma compounds from plants. Bambusa vulgaris grows widely in the tropical and subtropical regions and has been reported to have different ethnomedicinal values such as antimalaria and antioxidant. It is also known to be an ornamental plant. The essential oil was extracted from both the fresh and dried leaves of Bambusa vulgaris by hydrodistillation method using a Clevenger apparatus. The chemical constituents of the essential oils were characterized using gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The essential oils obtained are colourless with an herbal odour giving a yield of 0.64 w/w for the fresh sample and 1.08 w/w for the dried sample. A total of thirty-nine (39) compounds were identified from the essential oils of both samples. The major constituents in the fresh leaves were 3-aminodibenzofuran (19.2%), ?-ocimene (11.1%), undecane (9.6%), tridecane (8.6%), [3,2-b] pyridin-6-octahydropyrano (7.1%), 2-mono laurin (6.9%) and vinyl decanoate (5.9%). Prominent compounds of the essential oil in the dried leaves were chlorophenoxymethylenimino sulfur pentafluoride (74.5%) and 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedione (17.3%). Undecane, tridecane, hexadecane and octadecane were found both in the fresh and dried leaves. The chemical constituents of the essential oils from Nigeria Bambusa vulgaris were reported in this study for the first time to the best our knowledge and this could be useful in aromatherapy.

Phytochemical constituents are important in the determination of plant activities. Their presence in medicinal plants gives their therapeutic values. These phytoconstituents possesses pharmacological activities that include antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, analgesics, anti-diabetic, anti-hypertensive, antidiarrheal and several other activities. These activities can be determined by the identification of the phytochemicals present in medicinal plants. Petivera alliaceae L. is one of the medicinal plants in the family of phtytolaccaceae used traditionally as an antirheumatic, analgesics, antimicrobial, anticancer and immunomodulators. It is believed to possess rich phytoconstituents especially sulphur containing a broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. Although the root extracts is been explored but there are limited publication to its root fractions. Therefore, the study is aimed at screening phytochemicals present in the fractions and volatile oil of the root parts of P. alliaceae using qualitative tests and Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis. Fresh root parts of Petivera allliaceae plant were collected and air-dried. The dried root parts was macerated in absolute methanol for 72 h. The solution was extracted and dried. The dried root methanol extract was partitioned into n-hexane (PAH) and methanol fractions (PAM), while volatile oil (PAO) was extracted using Clevenger-type hydrodistillation method. The result shows that alkaloids, saponins and flavonoids were present while cardiac glycosides, phenol, terpenoids and anthraqunione glycosides were absent in both fractions. The GC–MS analysis identified 18 compounds in PAH, 19 compounds in PAM and 28 compounds in PAO. The fractions and volatile oils of P. alliaceae roots are rich in phytochemical constituents and compounds should be isolated from the fractions and explored for their potentials.

Background: A substantial number of drugs are being developed from plants for the treatment of various diseases. Lannea egregia (LE) is a woody perennial plant used traditionally in the management of skin disorders and wounds.Aim: To investigate the biological activities of different solvent extracts of LE bark.Settings: Fresh stem bark of Lannea egregia was collected from Itabo Lanlate, Oyo State, Nigeria. The authentication was done in Forest Herbarium, Ibadan (FHI), Nigeria. The biological activities of the air-dried sample were carried out in the Department of Pharmacognosy, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.Materials and methods: Powdered LE bark sample was extracted by gradient extraction. Phytochemical screening was performed on the extracts using standard procedure. In vitro antimicrobial study was performed on 14 strains of bacteria and 5 fungal strains at a concentration range of 25, 50, 75 and 100 mg/mL of the extract using ciprofloxacin and itraconazole as standard. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) were determined. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity and total phenolic content (TPC) of two active extracts were determined spectrophotometrically.Results: The phytochemical screening of LE revealed the presence of tannins, terpenoids, flavonoids, anthraquinones, saponins and alkaloids. The dichloromethane (DCM) extract exhibited the highest activity against all the bacterial strains as well as four of the fungal strains. The zones of inhibition (ZI) of bacteria ranged from 9.0 ± 2.0 to 24.6 ± 2.4 mm, MIC of 0.0008 to 12.5 mg/mL and MBC of 25 to 75 mg/mL, while ZI of the fungal strains ranged from 10.3 ± 4.6 to 18.0 ± 5.3 mm, MIC 0.391 – 0.781 and MFC of 50 mg/mL in all the strains. The TPC values of DCM and ethyl acetate (EtOAc) extracts were 1582.47 ± 6.69 and 1579.89 ± 12.77 µg GAE/mg and inhibitory antioxidant activity of 2.54 ± 0.58 and 2.44 ± 0.54, respectively.Conclusion: These findings provide scientific evidence to support the ethnomedicinal use of Lannea egregia bark for treating skin disorders and wounds.

Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been classified as a “serious threat” by the centre for Disease Control, USA. Alternanthera brasiliensis plant, usually found on wasteland, belongs to the family Amaranthaceae. It is traditionally used for wound healing and has shown antimicrobial effect. Yet, this plant has not been fully explored for its antibacterial activity. Hence, this study evaluated isolated compounds from this plant for its activity against MRSA infections. The leaves extracts and fractions were prepared and concentrated in vacuo using a rotatory evaporator. Isolated compounds were obtained through vacuum liquid chromatographic (VLC) techniques and structurally elucidated with various spectroscopic techniques. Anti-MRSA assay of the fraction and compounds were evaluated by agar-well diffusion and broth-dilution methods while checkerboard assay was used to determine the fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICi). The Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GCMS) and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis revealed fatty acid and carboxylic acid components like hexadecanoic acid, bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and Fettsäure. The compounds AbHD1 and AbHD5 were identified as hexadecanoic acid and di (ethylhexyl) phthalate. Anti-MRSA assay shows that A. brasiliensis hexane fraction (AbHF) and the compounds had zones of inhibitions (Zi) ranging from 7.3 ± 0.5 to 17.5 ± 0.5 mm with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) between 1.22 × 10−5 – 2.5 mg/mL. Synergistic effects were observed between AbHF and erythromycin, AbHF and ampicillin and AbHF and ciprofloxacin with FICi 0.208–0.375 in K1St4 strain while amoxicillin revealed antagonistic effects against M91 strain (4.67). Similarly, hexadecanoic acid and di (ethylhexyl) phthalate showed synergistic behaviour only with ampicillin against K1St4 while the rest were antagonistic. The study revealed that hexadecanoic acid and di (ethylhexyl) phthalate isolated from A. brasiliensis showed synergistic activity in variations against MRSA isolate and strains.