Antibacterial activity and cytotoxicity of extractives from Ravenia spectabilis

A methanolic extract of Ravenia spectabilis, an isolated alkaloid, arborinine plus a fraction comprising arborinine and gamma-fagarine (VLC), showed mild to significant in vitro antibacterial activity. In a brine shrimp lethality bioassay, the extract and the fraction were found to exhibit moderate cytotoxicity having LC50 of 76.26 microg/ml and 14.98 microg/ml, respectively.     

Antibacterial activity of Alchornea cordifolia stem bark

The results of a preliminary antimicrobial screening of the petroleum ether, acetone, ethanol and methanol successive extracts of Alchornea cordifolia stem bark are reported.     

Antibacterial activity of Piliostigma thonningii stem bark

Piliostigma thonningii stem bark 60% methanolic extract exhibited activity against six out of eight bacterial isolates at a concentration of 20 mg/ml.     

Constituents and cytotoxicity of Zanthoxylum rhesta stem bark

3,5-Dimethoxy-4-geranyloxycinnamyl alcohol (1), 8-methoxy-N-methylflindersine (2), xanthyletin and sesamin have been isolated from petroleum ether extract of the stem bark of Zanthoxylum rhesta. The petroleum ether extract and 8-methoxy-N-methylflindersine showed cytotoxicity on brine shrimp nauplii.     

Antibacterial activity of Enantia polycarpa bark

Antimicrobial screening of Enantia polycarpa bark showed activity of the polar extracts against some microorganisms.     

Antibacterial activity of Litsea glutinosa bark

The methanol extract of the bark of Litsea glutinosa showed antibacterial activity, comparable to chloramphenicol, against all 16 tested microorganisms.     

Antimicrobial and cytotoxicity evaluation of Buchholzia coriacea stem bark

Fractions prepared from the methanol extract of Buchholzia coriacea stem bark exhibited a high concentration-dependent antibacterial and antifungal activity compared to the standard antibiotics, ampicillin and tioconazole. In the brine shrimp lethality (BSL) assay, the methanol extract was found to be non-toxic with an LC(50) of 1031 microg/ml. The two main compounds present in the most active fraction were isolated and identified as lupeol and beta-sitosterol.     

Antibacterial activity of Rhizophora mangle bark.

The aqueous extract of Rhizophora mangle bark, also formulated to ensure physical and chemical stability, was found to inhibit the growth of seven bacteria frequent in infected wounds.     

The hydrophobic properties of bark extractives

Summary The hydrophobic properties of benzene-soluble extractives from the bark of Pinus radiata were studied by determining the water-solid-air contact angle and the resistance to water penetration.The material contained in the bark extract possessed wax-like and film-forming properties. It was highly hydrophobic with a contact angle with water of about 98°. Wood samples were impregnated with bark extract in order to study the ability of the hydrophobic bark extractives to prevent preferential wetting with water and the displacement of the impregnant from the hydrophilic wood surface. The wax-like material deposited from the bark extracts showed a remarkable affinity for wood as revealed by the high degree of resistance to water penetration and wetting of the treated wood even after several wetting-drying cycles which otherwise tend to break down the bonds and adhesion between a hydrophilic solid and a hydrophobic coating.Hydrophobic or film-forming additives did not improve the ability of bark extractives to protect a hydrophilic solid from water. The properties of the bark extractives as a water repellent and a water barrier could therefore be assumed to be as near perfect as possible.Nature seems to have solved the problem of producing one single, although complex, material with two properties which are extremely difficult, maybe impossible, to combine in a single synthetic material: one of high affinity for a hydrophilic solid and another of extreme water repellency and resistance to water.The in situ conditions prevailing in the bark tissue, combining bark extractives and cell walls of various anatomical structures, must therefore represent a rather unique and for this specific purpose highly efficient two-phase hydrophobic-hydrophilic solid system.The authors would like to express their appreciation to Kalley Timber Development Corporation for the close co-operation and support for our research on bark products and would also like to thank Lewis and Everitt, Poly-Resin Products Ltd., Taeuber and Corssen, Farbenfabriken Bayer AG, Scado-Archer-Daniels, Triton Chemicals and Rohm and Haas for supplying samples and information.     

Constituents and cytotoxicity of Zanthoxylum rhesta stem bark

3,5-Dimethoxy-4-geranyloxycinnamyl alcohol (1), 8-methoxy-N-methylflindersine (2), xanthyletin and sesamin have been isolated from petroleum ether extract of the stem bark of Zanthoxylum rhesta. The petroleum ether extract and 8-methoxy-N-methylflindersine showed cytotoxicity on brine shrimp nauplii.     

Antibacterial activity and cytotoxicity of Miliusa velutina.

Goniothalamusin and two mixtures, acetogenins-A and acetogenins-B, isolated from a petroleum ether extract of the stem bark of Miliusa velutina exhibited significant antibacterial and cytotoxic activities.     

Antibacterial activity and cytotoxicity of Nyctanthes arbor-tristis flowers

The flowers of Nyctanthes arbor-tristis showed interesting antibacterial activity against some gram-positive and gram-negative microorganisms (chloroform and ethyl acetate extracts) and significant cytotoxic activity (petroleum ether, chloroform and ethyl acetate extracts).     

The hydrophobic and water-repellent properties of wattle bark extractives

Summary Based on the fact that bark is an almost perfect water barrier and assuming that bark is impregnated with materials which aid in rendering it impermeable to water, the hydrophobic and water-repellent properties of several bark extractives were investigated. Products obtained after extraction with polar and non-polar solvents showed widely different properties. Some were extremely hydrophobic and water-repellent with a water-solid-air contact angle higher than 100°. These were the products obtained from extraction with benzene and mineral turpentine. Alcohol and acetone extractives had contact angles as low as 23° but coatings from some of these materials nevertheless had a high efficiency as water barriers. The efficiency of the various extractives as water repellents or water barriers was determined by coating wood with 10 per cent solutions of the extractives in different solvents and determining the extent to which water could be prevented from being absorbed and causing swelling of the wood and thereby reduce the dimensional changes of the wood. The extractives obtained with nonpolar solvents were extremely efficient as true water repellents while the polar aleohol extracts were far better than could be expected from their almost hydrophilic properties. Nature has therefore provided for hydrophilic film-formers combined with hydrophobic materials which act as a double line of defence against water absorption. The hydrophilic extractives, in addition, act as a bridging agent between the strongly hydrophobic extractives and the hydrophilic cell wall material.Since some of the extractives from wattle bark have excellent hydrophobic properties, and since this bark is available in large quantities as a waste product after tannins have been extracted, the utilization of certain wattle bark extractives as water repellents could be economically attractive.     

Antinociceptive activity of Maytenus rigida stem bark

Ethanol extract of Maytenus rigida stem bark and its fractions were assessed for antinociceptive activity in tail-flick test in rats. The activity was located in the chloroform, ethyl acetate and aq.methanol fractions. Phytochemical screening revealed that catechin was the only common class of compounds present on the ethanol extract as well as on the active fractions. 4'-Methylepigallocatechin, isolated from the ethyl acetate and aq.methanol fractions, showed antinociceptive effect in the tail-flick test (75 mg/kg; p.o.), which was reversed by the opiate antagonist naloxone (3 mg/kg; i.p.).     

Antimicrobial activity of Boswellia dalziellii stem bark.

The methanol and aqueous extracts of Boswellia dalziellii stem bark showed broad spectrum inhibiting activity against bacteria, both Gram-positive and Gram-negative, and fungi.     

Antibacterial activity of Mappia foetida leaves and stem

Successive petroleum ether, chloroform and methanol extracts of Mappia foetida leaves and stem were tested for their antibacterial activity. The methanol fractions were found to be most effective against all the tested organisms.     

Cytotoxicity and antibacterial activity of extractives from Wedelia calendulacea

The cytotoxicity and antibacterial activity of petroleum ether, chloroform and methanol extracts of Wedelia calendulacea were assayed by brine shrimp lethality bioassay and standardized disk diffusion method against 19 bacterial strains. Three diterpenes isolated from the plant were also evaluated for in vitro antibacterial activities. The LC50 for the crude extracts against the brine shrimp nauplii were found to be 4.59 microg/ml, 7.99 microg/ml and 14.88 microg/ml, respectively, whereas the positive control, vincristine sulfate showed an LC50 of 0.58 microg/ml. Among the crude extracts and pure compounds tested, (-)-kaur-16-en-19-oic acid isolated from the chloroform extract showed the highest inhibitory activity against most of the bacterial strains with mean zone of inhibition of 10-21 mm at 200 microg/disc.     

Antibacterial and cytotoxic compounds from the bark of Cananga odorata

O-Methylmoschatoline, liriodenine and 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid isolated from the barks of Cananga odorata showed antibacterial activities against a number of Gram (+) and Gram (-) bacteria. The compounds also showed antifungal and cytotoxic activities.     

Antibacterial activity of Persea cordata stem barks

The antibacterial effects of extracts obtained from Persea cordata stem bark, employed in Brazil to treat infectious diseases, were studied. The ethyl acetate fraction of the hydroalcoholic extract showed activity against pathogenic bacteria which may justify the popular use of the plant.