Fluggea leucopyrus Willd has been used in the treatment for cancers in the traditional system of medicine in Sri Lanka. This study was aimed on evaluation of anti-cancer activity of F.leucopyrus against Human Ovarian carcinoma and identification of active compounds. Anti-cancer activity of ethyl acetate (EtoAc) extract of leaves and two compounds isolated from EtoAc extract were evaluated using MTS and hTERT assays on Human Ovarian carcinoma (A 2780). MTS assay showed a significant anti-proliferation activity giving IC50 (concentration of extract/compound that inhibits 50% of the activity) values of 36.35±0.17µg/mL, 12.36±1.0 µg/mL and 48.53±1.43 µg/mL for EtoAc extract and two compounds (compound-1 & compound-2) respectively. A rapid depletion of hTERT content in Human Ovarian cancer cells was observed for the compound-2 with the concentration range 50-200 µg/mL. The compounds-1 was identified as bergenin, a known compound, whereas the compound-2 was identified as a diastereoisomer of bergenin (at C-9 and C-14,) with the help of NMR and Mass spectral data, and with the comparison of reported data. Brine Shrimp Lethality assay for EtoAc extract showed LC50 (Lethal concentration) values of 2779.63 µg/mL, implying that no toxicity of plant extract towards brine shrimp. As conclusion, anti-cancer activity of leaves of F. leucopyrus against Human Ovarian cancers is confirmed in this study, and bergenin and its isomer were identified as the responsible compounds for the anticancer activity of this plant.

Objective of this study was to investigate the effect of different preservative systems used in the concentrated latex manufacturing industry on physical properties of the latex crepe made out of them. Unfractionated and unbleached (UFUB) crepe rubber manufactured from latices preserved with ammonia, tetramethylthiuram disulphide, zinc oxide and a 1:1 mixture of tetramethylthiuram disulphide (TMTD) and zinc oxide (LATZ) were subjected to examine their raw rubber properties. It was observed that UFUB crepe rubber manufactured out of either ammonia preserved, ZnO preserved or chemically untreated latices have better resistance to thermo-oxidative degradation compared to UFUB crepe rubber made out of both TMTD and LATZ preserved latex. Further, it was observed that neither ammonia nor ZnO has any effect on the thermal degradation of crepes made out of ammonia or ZnO preserved latex. It was clear from the results that the TMTD added as a component of the preservative system adversely affects the resistance to thermooxidative degradation as judged by PRI of crepe produced. Crepe rubber manufactured from TMTD preserved latex exhibits unusually lower PRI and a nitrogen content comparable with the normal UFUB crepe rubber. Skim crepe rubber which is considered a by-product of the latex centrifuging industry, usually records higher nitrogen percentages and lower PRI values. Therefore, evaluation of these two parameters could be used to differentiate skim crepe rubber from normal UFUB crepe rubber. It was also observed that TMTD has a strong negative impact on PRI of crepe rubber even at very low concentrations. It could be proposed that dimethylthiuram monosulphide (DMTMS) free radicals generated by thermal decomposition of TMTD are responsible for this PRI reduction.