Bioactivities of Traditional Medicinal Plants in Alexandria

Abstract

In traditional folklore, medicinal herbs play a vital role in the prevention and treatment of microbial diseases. In the present study, the phenolic profiles of the medicinal plants Asparagus aethiopicus L., Citrullus colocynthis L., Senna alexandrina L., Kalanchoe delagoensis L., Gasteria pillansii L., Cymbopogon citratus, Brassica juncea, and Curcuma longa L. were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with a diode-array detector method. The results revealed rich sources of important compounds such as robinin in the fruits and leaves of A. aethiopicus; caffeic acid in the tubers of A. aethiopicus and quercitrin in the leaves of G. pillansii. Further, relatively high antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal activities were observed in C. colocynthis fruit coat, S. alexandrina pods, and A. aethiopicus leaves, respectively. The relatively higher the bioactivities of plants extracts associated with the phenols in these plants, in particular, the more abundant the phenols. Therefore, it was concluded that the fruit coat of C. colocynthis, pods of S. alexandrina, and leaves of A. aethiopicus might be excellent sources of natural products. These plant extracts also have a wide spectrum of antimicrobial activities that could be used in the pharmaceutical industries and to control diseases.

Mammillaria Species—Polyphenols Studies and Anti-Cancer, Anti-Oxidant, and Anti-Bacterial Activities

“…M. rhodantha was the best source of antioxidants in this study because it was rich in the strong antioxidants of gentisic acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, and protocatechoic acid. The four of these phenols have been associated with anti-oxidant activities as revealed in several studies [17,38,39]. Previous reports have found that gentisic acid provided protection to human erythrocytes against gamma radiation [25].…”

“…Chlorogenic acid is the ester of caffeic acid and is much more common than gentisic acid. Chlorogenic acid was isolated from different plants species such as Etlingera elatior leaves, coffee, and fruit [27] as well as medicinal plants [17]. The chlorogenic acid is known for strong its anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and antiviral properties, and modulates the anti-oxidant enzyme activities [28,29].…”

“…Two sets of triplicate replications were conducted for all experiments. [17,50]. Microtiter plates (96-well) containing a serial concentration of the stem extracts (0.05-200 mg mL −1 ) in each well mixed with bacterial inoculum (1.0 × 10 4 CFU per well) in 100 µL tryptic soy broth were incubated at 37 • C for 24 h in a rotary shaker.…”

Potential of myricetin to restore the immune balance in dextran sulfate sodium-induced acute murine ulcerative colitis

“…Plants have been used in traditional medicine to treat numerous diseases and pathological conditions. Certain bioactive compounds present in plants have been widely researched and have been shown to be antioxidant, anticarcinogenic and anti‐inflammatory agents . Baicalin has been reported to attenuate TNBS‐induced colitis, and water extract of taheebo also could prevent DSS‐induced colitis .…”

“…Certain bioactive compounds present in plants have been widely researched and have been shown to be antioxidant, anticarcinogenic and antiinflammatory agents. [3][4][5][6][7] Baicalin has been reported to attenuate TNBS-induced colitis, and water extract of taheebo also could prevent DSS-induced colitis. [8,9] These bioactive compounds provide an alternative chance for the treatment of colitis.…”