Advancement in Medicinal Plant Research

Number 1, 2019

1-7
Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of the essential oil of Croton dybowskii Hutch from Congo-Brazzaville

Authors: Tsiba Gouollaly, Kevin Bikindou, Edmond Mabiangana, Aubin Nestor Loumouamou, Sarrah Boumba, Marie Claire Makambila, Gilles Figuérédo and Pierre Chalard

Abstract

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The chemical composition of the essential oil of Croton dibowskii Hutch from Congo-Brazzaville was analyzed by GC/FID and GC/SM. The chemical profile remains, for the most part, dominated by the cyperene (15.1%), borneol (12.5%), (6.9)-guaiadiene (8.2%), α-muurolene (7.9%) and 1.8-cineole (6.7%), representing in general 57.4% of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons and 23.8% of oxygenated monoterpne. We note in some respects, with a low content, the presence of monoterpenic hydrocarbons and sesquiterpenic oxygenated compounds of 5.0 and 3.0%, respectively. The antioxidant activity on the DPPH turns out to be very limited, it reaches inhibition percentage of 35% from the concentration of 2000 μg/ml with a CI50 estimated at 3000 μg/ml.

8-14
Indigenous dye plants of the Kingdom of Eswatini, traditional uses and new prospects

Authors: M.T. Masarirambi, P.E. Zwane, N. Surana, E.N. Kunene, S. Moyo, L.L. Mabuza and B.P. Makhanya

Abstract

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Number of views: 527

Eswatini is rich with a diverse assortment of many indigenous plant species with great potential of economic importance. Natural dye producing plants are among those plants which remain in the wild unexploited, while synthetic dyes used in the textile industries are imported. The aim of this study was to investigate indigenous natural dye producing plants found in Eswatini with potential economic use in the handicraft and textile industries. Plant species were identified with potential to produce natural dyes of economic importance. Important species identified include Berchemia discolor, Syzigium cordatum, Kigelia africanum and Sclerocarya birrea. The species, local names, plant parts used and the color produced are presented. Dye extraction, characterization techniques and application technologies are discussed. Coincidentally many dye plants were found to have medicinal properties. This paper attempts to address the environmental concerns possibly arising from exploitation of dye plant species and presenting some recommendations on new prospects.

15-22
Efficacy and safety of Thai herbal recipe in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: A pilot, randomized, controlled clinical trial

Authors: Kritiya Butthongkomvong, Araya Lukanawonakul, Sakunrat Tiewwanich, Pongsadhorn Pokpermdee, Isara Chiawiriyabunya and Tanawan Kummalue

Abstract

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Number of views: 420

The authors conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, pilot study to determine the efficacy and side effects of a well-known Thai herbal recipe in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. Twenty advanced hepatocellular carcinoma patients were enrolled at Udon Thani Cancer Hospital, Thailand, between January 2015 and December 2017. They were divided into experimental and placebo groups, each with ten patients. The time to event was defined as the time to disease progression or death, and it was calculated using intention-to-treat analysis. Relative to the placebo group, the treatment group demonstrated a larger number of poor prognostic factors, such as larger tumor sizes, higher alpha-fetoprotein levels, worse Child–Pugh classifications, and much higher alkaline phosphatase levels. A Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed that the endpoint of the experimental group was not inferior to that of the control group, even though the experimental group had much worse prognostic factors. As to the safety of the herbal recipe, no adverse events were detected in the treatment group. The study demonstrated that the Thai herbal recipe might have some advantages for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma patients, especially in combination with supportive therapy.

23-30
In vitro evaluations of cytotoxicity of Abelmoschus esculentus L., Asparagus aphyllus L. and Crataegus azarolus L. extracts and their effects on GLUT4 membrane translocation on L6 muscle cells and blood glucose levels in mice

Authors: Abdalsalam Kmail, Bashar Saad, Badiaa Lyoussi, Omar Said, Muhammad Sanad Abu Darwish, Sleman Kadan, Shahd Sammar, Haneen Qalalweh, Raghad ALbzoor, Mahmod AlArda and Hilal Zaid

Abstract

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Number of views: 392

Despite the enormous achievements in the development of conventional drugs, herbal-based medicines are still a common practice for the prevention/treatment of diabetes and its related complications. Asparagus aphyllus L. (AA), Abelmoschus esculentus L. (AE) and Crataegus azarolus L. (CA) are recommended in the Greco-Arab traditional medicine for the prevention and treatment of diabetes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the hypoglycemic effects of ethanolic extracts of these plants in high fat (HF)-induced diabetes in male C57BL/6J mice. Animals were divided into nine groups (four mice per a cage) and treated orally with drinking water without (control group) or with one of the extracts at 50 or 100 mg extract/kg/day (treated groups 2-9) for four weeks. Treatment with AA and AE extracts (100 mg/kg/day of each) for 18 days significantly reduced the blood glucose levels by 33% and 29% compared to control mice, respectievly. CA (both 50 mg/kg/day and 100 mg/kg/day) failed to affect glucose concentration in mice blood throughout the study period. The effects of the plant extracts on glucose transporter-4 (GLUT4) translocation to the plasma membrane was tested in L6 muscle cells, stablely expressing myc epitope at the glucose transporter-4 (L6-GLUT4myc). Exposing of these cells to AA and AE extracts (63 µg/ml) led to a significant gain (by about 20%) in GLUT4 on their plasma membranes at non-cytotoxic concentrations as measured with MTT assay where no significat reduction in cell viability were observed up to 250 g/ml. CA failed to increase the GLUT4 translocation. These findings indicate that the observed hypoglycemic properties of these plants are mediated, at least partially, through regulating GLUT4 translocation.

31-37
Salt tolerance approaches in plants: Biotechnological perspective

Authors: Shah Zaman, Muhammad Zeeshan Bhatti, Du Hongmei and Shengquan Che

Abstract

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Number of views: 407

Climatic changes may affect soil quality of agricultural lands, especially by increasing salts deposition in the soil which results in soil salinity. Salinity stress affects several aspects of plant physiology, such as suppressing seed germination, reducing growth of roots and shoots, and altering growth regulators. Breeding salt tolerant plant cultivars has been proven inadequate to fully alleviate this problem. Salinity tolerance results from diverse mechanism, each controlled by a multi-gene system. Over the past decades, substantial progress has been made to elucidate the mechanisms underlying plant responses to mitigate adverse impacts of salinity. The overall problem is more tractable, if the plant response is dissected into diverse traits that are hypothesized to be involved in the tolerance to salinity. In this review, we comprehensively discuss plant adaption to salinity, the salt overly sensitive (SOS) pathway, ion homeostasis, determination of solutes and various molecular and proteomic approaches to understanding the salinity responses. This review provides response guidelines to enhance improvement of plant salt tolerance in combination with improved agricultural practices under saline conditions. Comprehensive understanding of all mechanisms for salinity stress response should be the ultimate of future studies.