Edible mushrooms aside being taken as foods, are used in ethnomedicine in the management of various ailments notably tumours and related ailments whose pathophysiology are linked to oxidative stress. This study investigated the anti-mitotic, and antibacterial activities of the aqueous extract of the edible mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus based on ethno-medicine.The Allium cepa anti-mitotic assay model was used for anti-proliferative investigation of the defatted aqueous ethanol extract at concentration range of: 10.00 -0.08 ng/mL following a two-fold serial dilution approach. Methotrexate (0.25 ng/mL) and portable water were used as reference standard for positive control and negative control respectively. The student t-test was used for statistical analysis (p < 0.05). Antibacterial susceptibility evaluation against clinical isolates of selected pathogenic organisms: Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumonia, Staphylococcus aereus, and Bacillus subtilis was done using the Agar dilution method at 1000 and 10 µg/mL. The aqueous extract showed a dose and time dependent anti-mitotic activity with the three higher doses: 10.00, 5.00 and 2.50 ng/mL exhibiting complete inhibition of mitosis which was comparable to the reference drug methotrexate (0.25 ng/mL) after 96 hours incubation period. Although the aqueous extract was not bacteriocidal at the test concentration, a dose dependent bacteriostatic effect against E. coli, and B. subtilis was observed. The observed anti-mitotic activity of this mushroom validates its ethnomedicinal use in the treatment of tumours and related diseases.

This report is on the urease inhibitory and free radical scavenging activities of the leaf extracts of Murraya paniculata. The pulverized plant sample (314 g) was extracted by successive cold maceration using n-hexane (non-polar), acetone (moderately polar) and absolute ethanol (polar) for 72 hrs. Phytochemical screening done using standard phytochemical methods, urease inhibition using modifed Berthelot method and free radical scavenging using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) spectrophotometric assays. The bioactive extract was fractionated on chromatography column packed with normal phase silica gel (200-400 mesh size) and eluted using gradient mixtures of n-hexane, dichloromethane and methanol. The pooled fractions from the column were assessed for bioactivity. The functional group investigation was done using infra-red (IR) spectroscopy. Alkaloids, flavonoids, triterpenoids, phenols, steroids, and carbohydrates were present in the extract. The acetone extract displayed the highest free radical scavenging activity (54.186±0.0004) with IC 50 value: 0.84 mg/ml, and urease inhibition. Its dichloromethane-methanol column chromatography fraction had the highest free radical scavenging activity at 0.8 mg/ml (60.65±0.062) with an IC50 value: 0.49mg/ml. The activities were quite significant compared to the standard (Ascorbic acid) at P<0.05. The bioactive dichloromethane-methanol column chromatography fraction evidenced vibration stretching bands [3440 cm-1 (O-H), 2975 cm-1 (C-H), 1745 cm-1 (C=O), 1634 cm-1 (C=C), 1290 cm-1(C-N), and 1134/1007 cm-1 (C-O)] from the IR spectroscopy thus corroborating the detected phytochemicals. These current results validate the use of the M. paniculata in managing oxidative stress and other reported traditional uses in addition to the potentials for its use in the discovery and development of eco-friendly urease inhibitors for sustainable agriculture.

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus is increasing worldwide. The objective is to investigate and characterize the alpha-amylase inhibition principles of the leaves of Ficus sur Forssk (Moraceae) used in ethnomedicine for management of diabetes mellitus. Powdered leaves were successively macerated with N-hexane, chloroform and 70% ethanol respectively for three consecutive days. The extracts were assessed for phytochemicals and inhibition of alpha-amylase. Alpha-amylase inhibition was assessed using porcine α-amylase. Bioactive n-hexane extract was fractionated on column chromatography packed with Silica Gel G (mesh 60-120) and eluted with gradient mixture of hexane, ethyl acetate and ethanol. Active fractions (F1 - F5) were purified on preparative thin layer chromatography. Active pure compounds were assessed for bioactivity and identified by spectroscopy (UV, IR, MS and NMR). The n-hexane extracts of the plant exhibited highest significant (p < 0.05) inhibition. Fraction F4 was the most active and was and compound FB was characterized from it as a novel abietane-type diterpene (4,7,10-b-trimethyl-benzofuro[c]-6,6-a,8,9,10,10-a-hexahydroisochromene-7-carboxylic acid) with 55% inhibition of alpha-amylase at 50µg/ml. This work reports for the first time a novel diterpenoid from Ficus sur with alpha-amylase inhibition activity.

Microsorum pustulatum is an epiphytic fern. Young leaves and stems are edible, used in wound healing (ulcer), treatment of inflammation and skin infections. This study is reporting the effect of the leaves extracts and fractions of Microsorum pustulatum on the urease enzyme as well as their free radical scavenging activity. The leaves extracts were obtained by successive cold maceration in n-hexane, acetone and 70% aqueous ethanol. Phytochemical screening was done using standard methods. Urease inhibition assay was done using the modified Berthelot method with thiourea as reference standard urease inhibitor. The free radical scavenging activity was assayed using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) with ascorbic acid as reference standard. The organic (AOP) and aqueous (AAP) fractions were obtained by chloroform-water partitioning of the most active acetone extract. The acetone extract (anti-urease=51.6%, DPPH radical scavenging= 49.9%) and its AOP fraction (anti-urease= 43.3%, DPPH radical scavenging= 70.31%) were observed to have good urease inhibition and free radical scavenging effect when compared with standard at the same 1mg/ml test concentration. The trend in median DPPH radical inhibition concentration: AOP (IC50 = 0.09 mg/ml) > AAP (IC50=0.64 mg/ml) was also observed. The phyto-constituent present in the screened leaf extract are saponins, tannins, phlobatannins, phenolic, flavonoids, terpenoids, steroids, carbohydrates. In conclusion the result validates the traditional use of Microsorum pustulatum leaves in treatment of disease such as ulcer, chronic inflammation etc. caused by pathogenic microorganism (Helicobacter pyroli, Proteus mirabilis etc.) that needs urease for survival and to curb inflammation in oxidative stress state. Also acetone extract of the plant can be used as additive to urea base fertilizer in the development of ecofriendly urease inhibitors and increase in crop production.