Gastroprotective constituents of Salvia officinalis L.

The gastrointestinal activity of hydroalcoholic extract (HE) of Salvia officinalis was evaluated in a model of ethanol-induced gastric lesion. HE showed excellent activity, with ID₅₀ 84.0 (54.8–128.9) mg/kg. The acetic acid-induced ulcer and the total acidity of the gastric secretion were also reduced by HE, and, in vitro experiments, the H⁺,K⁺-ATPase activity was inhibited. Carnosol was identified as a possible active constituent for the gastroprotective effect of HE.     

Inhibition of Trypanosoma cruzi by plant extracts used in Chinese medicine

In this work, we assessed the effect of extracts obtained from 17 plants used in traditional Chinese medicine. These extracts were tested in vitro with the epimastigote form of Trypanosoma cruzi, clone Bra C(15) C(2), at 27 degrees C in F-29 medium at a concentration of 100 microg/ml in axenic cultures. Allopurinol was used as reference drug. Seven plant extracts showed inhibitory activities lower than 25%. Pueraria lobata, Mahonia beaei, Dictamus dasycarpus, Kochia scoparia, Sophora flavescens and Ligustrum lucidum showed effects with inhibition values between 25% and 60%, whereas Lithospermum erythrorhizon, Saussurea lappa, Melia toosendan and Cinnamomum cassia showed the greatest inhibitory activity of 100%. The IC(50) of these extracts were: 0.4, 2.4, 1.8 and 3.9 microg/ml, respectively. The MTT assay was made and did not show cytotoxic activity. These results allowed us to suggest that L. erythrorhizon, S. lappa, M. toosendan and C. cassia could be a source of new compounds against T. cruzi.     

Allelopathic behaviour of three medicinal plant species on traditional agriculture crops of Garhwal Himalaya,India

Allelopathic behaviour of three medicinal herbs viz. Rheum emodi, Saussaurea lappa and Potentilla fulgens, on some traditional food crops was examined. Germination of all the traditional food crops was reduced significantly under aqueous extracts of S. lappa and P. fulgens but radicle and plumule growth of Amaranthus caudatus and Eleusine coracana was reduced significantly under aqueous extracts of all three medicinal species. For marginal farmers sole medicinal plants cultivation is not possible, therefore, medicinal plants based agroforestry is being propagated.     

LED光质对油茶苗生长和光合特性的影响

[目的]探寻适合油茶苗培育的最佳LED光质配比。[方法]以2年生长林4号油茶扦插苗为试材,LED白光为对照,研究LED红光、蓝光及其复合光对油茶苗生长和光合特性的影响。[结果]表明:L1(红光)处理下,油茶苗高生长量最大,但表观量子效率、光补偿点和胞间CO2浓度最小;L7(蓝光)处理下,油茶苗光补偿点最高,但高生长量、干物质含量、壮苗指数、气孔导度和蒸腾速率最小;L6(10%红光+90%蓝光)处理下,油茶苗地径生长量、干物质含量、壮苗指数、光合色素含量、表观量子效率、最大净光合速率、暗呼吸速率、气孔导度、蒸腾速率、实际光能转换效率和相对电子传递速率均最大;L4(50%红光+50%蓝光)处理下,油茶苗地径生长量、光合色素含量、最大净光合速率、实际光化学效率和相对电子传递速率均最小,且非光化学淬灭系数最大。[结论]与对照及其它处理相比,L6(10%红光+90%蓝光)处理更利于长林4号油茶苗生长和光合能力的提高,是培育油茶壮苗较为理想的光质。     

Anti-leishmanial and immunomodulatory activities of extracts from Portulaca hirsutissima and Portulaca werdermannii

Ethyl acetate and chloroform extracts from aerial parts of Portulaca werdermannii and P. hirsutissima were tested in lymphoproliferation assays and axenic cultures of Leishmania amazonensis and Trypanosoma cruzi. Both extracts of P. werdermannii and P. hirsutissima had a potent inhibitory activity on lymphocyte proliferation. On the contrary, only the chloroformic extract of both plants inhibited L. amazonensis growth, without effect on T. cruzi cultures. These results indicate these Portulaca species as potential sources of new active molecules for the treatment of leishmaniasis and immune-mediated pathologies.     

Antiobesity and cardiovascular toxic effects of Citrus aurantium extracts in the rat: a preliminary report

The effects of repeated oral administration of 2.5–20 mg/kg of two Citrus aurantium fruit extracts standardized to different concentrations of synephrine (4 and 6%, respectively) on food intake, body weight gain, arterial blood pressure, electrocardiogram (ECG) and mortality have been investigated in the rat. C. aurantium administration significantly reduced food intake and body weight gain. However, mortality (not observed in controls) was present in all C. aurantium treated groups. Arterial blood pressure was not modified, but ECG alterations (ventricular arhythmias with enlargement of QRS complex) were evident in animals treated with both extracts. Our data indicate that, in the rat, antiobesity effects of C. aurantium are accompanied by toxic effects probably due to cardiovascular toxicity.     

Leishmanicidal activity of Maytenus illicifolia roots

In vitro evaluation of leishmanicidal activity of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Maytenus illicifolia against three species of Leishmania. The root extracts showed differential activity against parasites, whereas the aerial part of the extracts was inactive.     

Screening of medicinal and ornamental plants for insecticidal and growth regulating activity

Extracts of 121 medicinal and ornamental plants were screened for insecticidal and growth regulating activity to milkweed bug, Oncopeltus fasciatus Dallas. The most effective extracts stemmed from Inula helenium L., Rumex crispus L., R. acetosa L., Asarum europaeum L., and Calendula officinalis L. All these extracts exerted growth inhibiting activities and moderate or low acute toxicity. Most promising were extracts of dried roots of I. helenium. Besides a moderate chronic toxicity which reduced the fitness of the milkweed bug, the treatment produced overaged nymphs, supernumerary nymphs, disturbances of the moulting process, morphological defects, delay of adult maturation and reduction of fecundity. In addition, I. helenium extracts had a strong antifeedant effect when topically applied and very strong repellent effect when applied to the food (peeled sunflower kernels). It is obvious that the extract contains several active constituents. Such a cocktail may reduce the threat of rapid resistance development.     

Insecticidal activity of Vitex mollis

Organic extracts from the leaves of Vitex mollis were assessed for their toxic effect on fall armyworm neonate larvae (Spodoptera frugiperda), an important insect pest of corn. The extracts showed insecticidal and insect growth regulatory activity, being CHCl(3)-MeOH (1:1) extract the most active, also found to be toxic in the Artemia salina test.     

Allelopathy in agroforestry systems: the effects of leaf extracts ofCupressus lusitanica and threeEucalyptus spp. on four Ethiopian crops

The potential allelopathic effect ofCupressus lusitanica, Eucalyptus globulus, E. camaldulensis andE. saligna on seed germination, radicle and seedling growth was investigated with four crops:Cicer arietinum (chickpea),Zea mays (maize),Pisum sativum (pea) andEragrostis tef (teff). Aqueous leaf extracts of all the tree species significantly reduced both germination and radicle growth of the majority of the crops mostly starting from concentrations of 1% or 2.5%. The shoot and root dry weight increase of the crops was significantly reduced after 10 weeks treatment with leaf extracts. Among the four crops, chickpea and teff were most susceptible with respect to germination, and teff with respect to growth. From the overall data the leaf extracts of the four tree species can be arranged according to increasing allelopathic potential:C. lusitanica, E. globulus, E. saligna andE. camaldulensis. It is suggested that the planting ofE. camaldulensis andE. saligna in integrated land use systems should be minimized, whereas the use ofC. lusitanica andE. globulus seems less environmentally damaging in this respect.     

Antimicrobial activity of some medicinal plants from India

The results of a preliminary antimicrobial screening of the methanol extracts of Zingiber officinale, Asteracantha longifolia, Citrus acida, Salacia microsperma and Tinospora cordifolia are reported.     

Antileishmanial properties of tropical marine algae extracts

Aqueous and organic extracts of twenty-seven species of marine algae (14 species of Rhodophyta, 5 species of Phaeophyta and 8 species of Chlorophyta) collected from the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean coast of the Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico) were evaluated for their antileishmanial in vitro activity against Leishmania mexicana promastigote forms. The cytotoxicity of these extracts was also assessed using brine shrimp. Organic extracts from Laurencia microcladia (Rhodophyta), Dictyota caribaea, Turbinaria turbinata and Lobophora variegata (Phaeophyta) possessed promising in vitro activity against L. mexicana promastigotes (LC(50) values ranging from 10.9 to 49.9 mug/ml). No toxicity of algal extracts against Artemia salina was observed with LC(50) ranging from 119 to >/=1000 mug/ml. Further studies on bio-guided fractionation, isolation and characterization of pure compounds from these species as well as in vivo experiments are needed and are already in progress.     

Screening of some rare endemic Italian plants for inhibitory activity on 5-lipoxygenase

The extracts of four rare plants found on the islands of Sicily, Vulcano and Marettimo, Southern Italy, were screened for their inhibitory effect on the production of leukotriene B4 by 5-lipoxygenase in intact cells. The methanol extracts of pods of Cytisus aeolicus and aerial parts of Thymus richardii were the most active extracts, inhibiting almost completely the leukotriene B4 production at 200 and 50 microg/ml, respectively.     

Antiinflammatory and ulcerogenic activities of Salvia triloba extracts

In continuation of our research on Salvia triloba, acute and chronic antiinflammatory and ulcerogenic activities of chloroform, ethanol, butanol and water extracts were detected at 25 mg/kg p.o. The chloroform extract showed the highest antiinflammatory activity in both acute and chronic models, while the ulcerogenic effects of all tested extracts were found to be less than that of acetyl salicylic acid.     

Cytotoxic constituents from Anagyris foetida leaves

Anagyris foetida extracts were investigated in preliminary cytotoxic tests against two tumour cell lines. Chromatographic separations on active extracts led to the isolation of two alkaloids, anagyrine (1) and baptifoline (2), as well of isorhamnetin (3) and syringin 4-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (4). In vitro cytotoxicity of compounds 1-3 was also evaluated.     

Antibacterial activity of Cuscuta reflexa stem and Corchorus olitorius seed

The methanol extracts of Cuscuta reflexa stem and Corchorus olitorius seed showed a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity.     

Antibacterial activity of Alstonia scholaris and Leea tetramera

The crude methanolic extracts of the leaves, stem and root barks of Alstonia scholaris and Leea tetramera on partitioning (petrol, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, butanol) gave fractions exhibiting improved and broader spectrum of antibacterial activity. Especially the butanol fractions of A. scholaris and the root bark of L. tetramera. None of the fractions were active against the fungi tested.     

A novel aporphine alkaloid from Magnolia officinalis

A novel aporphine alkaloid, magnofficine (1), has been isolated from the root barks of the Chinese medicinal plant Magnolia officinalis, along with seven known compounds. Elucidations of their structures were achieved by spectroscopic methods. Magnofficine is the first example of an adduct of aporphine alkaloid and 4-hydroxyphenethylamino bridged by a methylene.     

Aboveground biomass and nitrogen in four short-rotation woody crop species growing with different water and nutrient availabilities

We quantified the effect of water and nutrient availability on aboveground biomass and nitrogen accumulation and partitioning in four species from the southeastern United States, loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), slash pine (Pinus elliottii), sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), and sycamore (Platanus occidentalis). The 6-year-old stands received five levels of resource input (control, irrigation with 3.05 cm water week⁻¹, irrigation + 57 kg N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹, irrigation + 85 kg N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹, and irrigation + 114 kg N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹). Irrigation significantly increased foliage, stem, and branch biomass for sweetgum and sycamore, culminating in 103% and 238% increases in total aboveground biomass. Fertilization significantly increased aboveground components for all species resulting in 49, 58, 281, and 132% increases in total aboveground biomass for loblolly pine, slash pine, sweetgum, and sycamore, respectively. Standing total aboveground biomass of the fertilized treatments reached 79, 59, 48, and 54 Mg ha⁻¹ for loblolly pine, slash pine, sweetgum, and sycamore, respectively. Fertilization increased foliar nitrogen concentration for loblolly pine, sweetgum, and sycamore foliage. Irrigation increased total stand nitrogen content by 6, 14, 93, and 161% for loblolly pine, slash pine, sweetgum, and sycamore, respectively. Fertilization increased total nitrogen content by 62, 53, 172, and 69% with maximum nitrogen contents of 267, 212, 237, and 203 kg ha⁻¹ for loblolly pine, slash pine, sweetgum, and sycamore, respectively. Growth efficiency (stem growth per unit of leaf biomass) and nitrogen use efficiency (stem growth per unit of foliar nitrogen content) increased for the sycamore and sweetgum, but not the loblolly or slash pine.     

Root growth and hydraulic conductivity of southern pine seedlings in response to soil temperature and water availability after planting

Comparison of the root system growth and water transport of southern pine species after planting in different root-zone environments is needed to guide decisions regarding when, and what species to plant. Evaluation of how seed source affects root system responses to soil conditions will allow seed sources to be matched to planting conditions. The root growth and hydraulic conductivity of three sources each of shortleaf, loblolly and longleaf pine seedlings were evaluated for 28 days in a seedling growth system that simulated the planting environment. Across species, an increase in root-zone temperature alleviated limitations to root growth caused by water stress. In the coldest temperature, longleaf pine maintained a higher hydraulic conductivity compared to shortleaf and loblolly pine. Without water limitation, the root growth and hydraulic conductivity of shortleaf and loblolly pine were superior to that of longleaf pine, but as water availability decreased, the root growth of longleaf pine surpassed that of loblolly pine. Hydraulic conductivities of the seed sources differed, and differences were attributed to either new root growth, or an increase in the efficiency of the root system to transport water.