aurea /em might therefore be of use. Conclusion The results from this study indicate the leaves and stem extracts of em Calpurnia aurea /em possess antioxidant properties and could serve as free radical inhibitors or scavenger or, acting possibly as primary antioxidants. antioxidant activities of the stem draw out of are not as GW 441756 effective as the standard medicines- Chloramphenicol and Streptomycin, they still possess some activity against bacterial strains used in this study. em Calpurnia aurea /em may consequently be a good candidate for practical foods as well as pharmaceutical plant-based products. Background The genus em Calpurnia /em (Leguminosae) comprises some seven varieties which are widely distributed in South Africa. em Calpurnia aurea /em (Ait.) Benth. is definitely a yellow-flowered small tree or shrub (Natal Laburnum) widely distributed in Africa from Cape Province to Eritrea and which also happens in Southern India [1]. Chemical investigations of em C. aurea /em have resulted in the isolation of a series of quinolizidine alkaloids. The leaves and twigs of Ethiopian em C. Rabbit Polyclonal to TSEN54 aurea /em yielded 13-hydroxylupanine. The South African varieties yielded the well known alkaloids: hydroxylupanine, calpurnine, virgiline and its pyrrolylcarboxylic acid ester as found in Ethiopian sample. In addition, the alkaloid 10, GW 441756 13-dihydroxylupanine was found in CH2Cl2 draw out of the pods. This compound possessing a MW of 280 and also happening in em Cadia purpurea /em was absent from your Ethiopian varieties. Two alkaloids (calpurmenine and 13-2′-pyrrolylcarboxyl) calpurmenine), specifically present in the South African material were isolated from your components of leaves and pods [1-3]. em Calpurnia aurea /em is used for the treatment of amoebic dysentery and diarrhea in animals, killing head lice in humans and ticks in animals, syphilis, diarrhea, leishmaniasis, tapeworm, trachoma, em Tinea capitis /em , wound, scabies, elephantiasis and different swellings [4-7]. In South Africa, Calpurnia leaves and powdered roots are used to destroy lice and to relieve itches. Unspecified parts are used to destroy maggots and the leaves are used to treat allergic rashes, particularly those caused by caterpillars. In East Africa, leaf sap is used to destroy maggots in wounds. In Nigeria, the seeds are used to treat abscesses. In Ethiopia it is used to treat stomach complaints, headache, eye diseases, amoebic dysentery, scabies (skin infection caused by ticks) and as an insecticide [7,8]. Free radicals have been implicated in the causation of several diseases such as liver chirrhosis, atherosclerosis, cancer, diabetes, etc. and compounds that can scavenge free radicals have great potential in ameliorating these disease processes [9-14]. Antioxidants thus play an important role to protect the human body against damage by reactive oxygen species [15,16]. Free radicals or reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced em in vivo /em from various biochemical reactions and also from the respiratory chain as a result of occasional leakage. These free radicals are the main culprits in lipid peroxidation [17]. Plants containing flavonoids have been reported to possess strong antioxidant properties [18,19]. Natural products from microorganisms have been the primary source of antibiotics, but with the increasing acceptance of herbal medicine as an alternative form of health care, the screening of medicinal plants for active compounds has become very important because these may serve as promising sources of novel antibiotic prototypes [20-22]. It has been shown that em in vitro /em screening methods could provide the needed preliminary observations necessary to select crude plant extracts with potentially useful properties for further chemical and pharmacological investigations [23]. In the present study, the methanol extracts of the leaves and stem of em Calpurnia aurea /em were screened for antioxidant and antibacterial properties using standard methods. The findings from this work may add to the overall value of the medicinal potential of the herb. Methods Herb collection The stems and.Two hundred grams of powdered leaves and stem were soaked in 1 L of methanol separately for 48 hrs on an orbital shaker. Laboratory isolates of 10 bacteria species which included five Gram-positive and five Gram-negative strains were used to assay for antibacterial activity of this plant. Results The results from this study showed that this antioxidant activities of the stem extract of are not as effective as the standard drugs- Chloramphenicol and Streptomycin, they still possess some activity against bacterial strains used in this study. em Calpurnia aurea /em may therefore be a good candidate for functional foods as well as pharmaceutical plant-based products. Background The genus em Calpurnia /em (Leguminosae) comprises some seven species which are widely distributed in South Africa. em Calpurnia aurea /em (Ait.) Benth. is usually a yellow-flowered small tree or shrub (Natal Laburnum) widely distributed in Africa from Cape Province to Eritrea and which also occurs in Southern India [1]. Chemical investigations of em C. aurea /em have resulted in the isolation of a series of quinolizidine alkaloids. The leaves and twigs of Ethiopian em C. aurea /em yielded 13-hydroxylupanine. The South African species yielded the well known alkaloids: hydroxylupanine, calpurnine, virgiline and its pyrrolylcarboxylic acid ester as found in Ethiopian sample. In addition, the alkaloid 10, 13-dihydroxylupanine was found in CH2Cl2 extract of the pods. This compound using a MW of 280 and also occurring in em Cadia purpurea /em was absent from GW 441756 the Ethiopian species. Two alkaloids (calpurmenine and 13-2′-pyrrolylcarboxyl) calpurmenine), GW 441756 specifically present in the South African material were isolated from the extracts of leaves and pods [1-3]. em Calpurnia aurea /em is used for the treatment of amoebic dysentery and diarrhea in animals, killing head lice in humans and ticks in animals, syphilis, diarrhea, leishmaniasis, tapeworm, trachoma, em Tinea capitis /em , wound, scabies, elephantiasis and different swellings [4-7]. In South Africa, Calpurnia leaves and powdered roots are used to destroy lice and to relieve itches. Unspecified parts are used to destroy maggots and the leaves are used to treat allergic rashes, particularly those caused by caterpillars. In East Africa, leaf sap is used to destroy maggots in wounds. In Nigeria, the seeds are used to treat abscesses. In Ethiopia it is used to treat stomach complaints, headache, eye diseases, amoebic dysentery, scabies (skin infection caused by ticks) and as an insecticide [7,8]. Free radicals have been implicated in the causation of several diseases such as liver chirrhosis, atherosclerosis, cancer, diabetes, etc. and compounds that can scavenge free radicals have great potential in ameliorating these disease processes [9-14]. Antioxidants thus play an important role to protect the human body against damage by reactive oxygen species [15,16]. Free radicals or reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced em in vivo /em from various biochemical reactions and also from the respiratory chain as a result of occasional leakage. These free radicals are the main culprits in lipid peroxidation [17]. Plants containing flavonoids have been reported to possess strong antioxidant properties [18,19]. Natural products from microorganisms have been the primary source of antibiotics, but with the increasing acceptance of herbal medicine as an alternative form of health care, the screening of medicinal plants for active compounds has become very important because these may serve as promising sources of novel antibiotic prototypes [20-22]. It has been shown that em in vitro /em screening methods could provide the needed preliminary observations necessary to select crude plant extracts with potentially useful properties for further chemical and pharmacological investigations [23]. In the present study, the methanol extracts of the leaves and stem of em Calpurnia aurea /em were screened for antioxidant and antibacterial properties using standard methods. The findings from this work may add to the overall value of the medicinal potential of the herb. Methods Herb collection The stems and leaves of em Calpurnia aurea /em were collected July 2006 in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The area falls within the latitudes 3000C34 15’S and longitudes 22 45’C30 15’E. It is bounded by the sea in the east and the drier Karoo (semi-desert vegetation) in the west [24]. These areas consist of villages which are generally classified as rural and poor. The plants were identified by their vernacular names and later validated at the Department of Botany, University of Fort Hare by Professor Grierson and voucher specimens (Aded Med 2007/1C10) were deposited in the Griffen Herbarium of the University. Extract preparation Both leaves and stems were atmosphere dried in space temp to regular weights. The dried vegetable components were floor to powders. 2 hundred grams of GW 441756 powdered stem and leaves were soaked in 1 L of methanol separately for.
TRPP