Background: Diabetes mellitus results when there is an imbalance in the production, metabolism and regulation of insulin and blood glucose respectively, in the human body. This study investigated the fresh leaf microscopy and chemomicroscopy, phytochemical, acute toxicity and the anti-diabetic potentials of Mallotus oppostifollous using the mice diabetic model.
Methods: Mallotus oppostifollous was extracted using the cold maceration method with absolute methanol. The acute toxicity (LD 50) of the fraction extract was determined in mice using Lorke’s method. The antidiabetic studies were conducted using the standard protocol of alloxan induced diabetic mice.
Results: The findings showed that no toxicity was observed up to 5000 mg/kg doses of the crude extract. The phytochemical screening revealed the presence glycosides, saponins, alkaloids, flavonoids and tannins, steroids and terpenoids of the crude extract of Mallotus oppostifollous decreased blood glucose levels significantly (P<0.05) within 10 hours’ acute treatment and 14 days long term treatment. Histological examination showed a consistent rejuvenation of the pancreatic β cells islet of diabetic mice treated with methanol leaf extract Mallotus oppostifollous. The result also showed abundance of manganese, magnesium, iron, calcium, zinc and potassium which are all implicated in secretion and metabolism of insulin.
Conclusion: Mallotus oppostifollous may have acted by restoring pancreatic beta-cell integrity through mopping of reactive oxygen species (ROS) associated with the diabetic state, and thereby improving pancreatic function and consequently, lowering of fasting blood glucose levels. These findings provide ample evidence to support the traditional use of Mallotus oppostifollous in the management of diabetes mellitus.
The Igbo people of the South-eastern part of Nigeria claims that a combination of Ehirta and honey has therapeutic effect for Ulcer.The study was designed to scientifically evaluate the phytochemical composition of E. hirta and the safety of the phytomedicine.Nine hundred gram (900 g) of E. hirta gave an average yield of 49.05 g of the extract and this gave percentage yield of 5.45% when extracted with continuous extraction process of Soxhlet apparatus.Phytochemical screenings of E. hirta showed that the extract contains alkaloids, Tannins, Saponins, Glycosides, Flavonoids and Unsaturated steroids.Acute toxicity studies showed that LD 50 was greater than 5000 mg/kg.The phytomedicine of E. hirta combined with did not produce significant changes in the blood biochemical and haematological parameters.Though slight reductions were witnessed in blood ALT the phytomedicine drugs has no significant effect on the liver and other vital organs like the kidney, the heart, spleen, intestine and the brain except the lungs that witnessed slight alveoli congestion.The study revealed that E. hirta combined with honey is safe for consumption.
Introduction: Fungal endophytes of medicinal plants origin are gaining increasing interest as sources of novel bioactive agents with therapeutic capacity. This study was designed to identify and evaluate secondary metabolites isolated from Fusarium equiseti; an endophytic fungus isolated from leaves of Ocimum gratissimum for their antimicrobial potentials.
Methods: The isolation and molecular identification of the endophytic fungus, as well as fermentation, and extraction of secondary metabolites were carried out following standard laboratory procedures. The crude extract was partially purified by partitioning into different fractions using column chromatographic techniques and the fractions were tested for antimicrobial activity. The phytoconstituents in the bioactive fractions were detected by dereplication using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography linked with Diode Array Detection (HPLC-DAD).
Results: Our findings showed that fraction 4 (DCM/ Methanol fraction 95:5) exhibited moderate to strong inhibition against the test micro-organisms namely, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans with MIC values in the range of 0.03 to 1 mg/mL but had no inhibition against Aspergillus niger and Salmonella typhi. The compounds detected in the HPLC assay include Phomoxanthone A, Scalarolide, equisetin, epi-equisetin an episomer of equisetin, Naamine A, Carbonarone A, destruxin B, cytosporin G, and WLIP (β-hydroxydecanoyl-Leu1-D Glu-De-Thr-Dval-DLeu3 DSer-Leu-Dser-Ile). These compounds have been reported to possess antimicrobial activity.
Conclusion: The detection of these metabolites further confirms the potential of the endophytic fungus, Fusarium equiseti isolated from leaves of Ocimum gratissimum as a potential source of bioactive molecules for treatment of infectious diseases.
Antioxidants serve as defense mechanisms which protects against oxidative damage through preventing or retarding oxidation caused by free radicals. Free radicals are highly reactive molecules with an odd number of electrons generated from oxygen capable of damaging various cellular structures. Endophytes have shown capacity to create beneficial biologically active molecules with a wide range of pharmacological properties usually identical to those of the host plant. Their feature has continued to gain fame due to their ability to produce metabolites within the host system without causing harm to the host while sequestering reactive oxygen species within the host systems. Endophytic fungal isolation, fungal fermentation, extraction of secondary metabolites, antioxidant and cytotoxicity studies were carried out using standard laboratory methods. Therefore, this study evaluated the antioxidant and cytotoxicity activity of fusarium equiseti previously isolated from Ocimum gratissimum. The findings revealed that the crude extract of an endophyte associated with O. gratissimum called F. equiseti produced substances that have strong antioxidant and cytotoxic properties. The antioxidant and cytotoxic potential were due to presence of compounds previously reported for cytotoxic activity, such as Enniatins and Sarasinoside H1 and while the antioxidant activity was due to presence of Orientin a compound known to have shown antioxidant property. Therefore, this endophyte may serve as a source of new substances with potential for use in pharmaceutical applications for diseases associated with reactive oxygen species.
Mallotus oppositifolius (Geiseler) Mull. Arg. (Euphorbiaceae) is a predominant edible shrub in Nigeria. It is locally used for treatment of common infections and wounds. This study evaluated the toxicity and antioxidant potential of the crude extract and fractions of M. oppositifolius using invitro 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazine (DPPH) radical scavenging assay. The result showed abundance of flavonoids (28.21), tannins (17.72), alkaloids (7.79) and Saponins (0.23) in the crude extract of M. oppositifolius leaf extract. Also, the result showed that the LD50 is above 5000 mg/kg, therefore the crude extract is safe for consumption. The result further showed that the ethyl-acetate and butanol had significant (p<0.05) antioxidant activity when compared with the control at 125, 62.5 and 31.125 µg/ml respectively while at 250 and 500 µg/ml there was no significant different in the level of reduction of oxidation between the butanol and ethyl acetate when compared with the control. The result further showed that the butanol and ethyl-acetate fraction of M. oppositifolius had the best antioxidant potential among the fractions studied.
The result of GCMS studies of ethyl-acetate fraction showed the presence of 7,10,13-eicosatrienoic acid methyl ester, korormicin, agosterol, phyllanthin, ricinoic acid, 2,4,6-decatrienoic acid 1a,2,5,5a,6,9,10,10a-octahydro-5,5a-dihydroxy-4-(hydroxymethyl)-1,1,7,9, limonin, com-pounds that have shown to possess strong antioxidant activities. Also, the GCMS result of butanol fraction showed the presence of seven compounds which include: ferulylhistamine, hippeastrine, 10,13-eicosadienoic acid methyl ester, ethyl 5,8,11,14-eicosatetraenoate, 6-hydroxy-powelline-N-nitroso-7-demethoxy-aldehyde, 6,7-epoxypregn-4-ene-9,11,18-triol-3,20-dione 11,18-diacetate and 5Alpha-androstane-3,17-dione 17-monooxime, compounds which may serve as a new lead for the treatment of diseases associated with the oxidative stress.
Antimicrobial resistance is a global public health challenge with numerous implications. A growing number of infections are becoming harder to treat due to resistance to the antibiotics used to treat infectious diseases leading to multidrug resistant strains as typically seen in staphylococcus aureus. Microbial resistance to antibiotics has been on the increase leading to increased infection therefore this study evaluated the antimicrobial profile of D. velutinum, S. nodiflora and honey against the multidrug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Shigella spp, Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus aureus and a fungus; Candida albicans which causes different diseases leading to public health implications using standard laboratory procedures.
The result showed the presence of alkaloids, glycosides, flavonoids, tannins, phlobatanins, saponins, proteins, carbohydrates and anthocyanins across the three samples (D. velutinum, S. nodiflora and honey). The result from the findings showed a dose dependent activity against the selected organisms. It showed that D. velutinum had the best activity against P. aeruginosa, Shigella spp and C. albicans which implied that D. velutinum could be harnessed for the treatment of urinary and joint infections caused by P. aeruginosa and other infections such as shigellosis and candidiasis. The findings showed that S. nodiflora has the best minimum inhibition concentration of 1 against E. coli and S. typhi respectively.
This finding also, suggests that S. nodiflora can be harnessed as an alternative treatment of infectious diseases caused by S. aureus, E. coli and S. typhi and therefore we hereby conclude that plant-based drugs remain an alternative source of therapeutic agents against multidrug resistant micro-organism of public health importance.
