Halima Hassan

The methanolic extract of the roots of Asparagus africanus Lam (Liliaceae) which contains mainly saponins and carbohydrate showed significant analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities (P<0.05) in the tail-flick/hot-plate test and egg albumen-induced rat paw oedema tests that were comparable to the test drugs (morphine 20 mg/kg and indomethacin 50 mg/kg respectively). These results indicate that the extract possesses analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties.

The methanol extract of the aerial parts of Anisopus mannii was evaluated for its analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities. The analgesic effect was studied using acetic acid-induced abdominal constriction test in mice, while the anti-inflammatory effect was investigated using carrageenan induced paw oedema in rats. The results of the study showed that the extract (40 mg/Kg) exhibited significant (P < 0.01) analgesic effect. It also exhibited significant (P < 0.01) anti-inflammatory effect at a dose of 20 mg/kg. Phytochemical screening of the extract revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, steroids and tannins. The extract was found to have an intraperitoneal LD 50 of 282.8 mg/kg in mice. The results showed that the extract contains some pharmacologically active principles and lend pharmacological credence to the ethnomedical use of the plant in the management of pain and inflammatory conditions.

The bioactive ethyl acetate and N-butanol soluble parts of an ethanolic extract of Byrsocarpus coccineus leaves was subjected to column chromatography over silica gel G (60-120 microns) and repeated purification of the flavonoid rich fraction over sephadex LH-20 eluted with methanol led to the isolation of three flavonoid glycosides identified as quercetin 3-O-alpha-arabinoside (I), quercetin (II) and quercetin 3-beta-D-glucoside. Their structures were elucidated by (1)H and (13)C-NMR data and are reported here for the first time in this plant.

ABSTRACT This study was performed to evaluate the antibacterial activity of the leaves of Ficus iteophylla against four pathogenic bacterial strain using agar diffusion method. The ethyl acetate, n-butanol and the aqueous portions of the crude ethanol extract were screened for anti-bacterial activities against E. coli, Ps. aeruginosa, S. aureus, and B.Subtilis using agar diffusion method. The Results showed that the aqueous portion has no activity against all the test organisms. Both the ethyl acetate and the n-butanol extracts showed activities with inhibition zone ranging from 11.3 mm to 12.9 mm for E. coli, 13.3 mm to 15.0 mm for S. aureus and 14.5 to 14.8 mm for B. Subtilis, but resistant to Ps. aeruginosa. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined. The MIC of ethylacetate extract showed the best MIC of 2.5 mg/ml against S.aureus, followed by n-butanol extract 5 mg/ml against the same organism. The two fractions showed similar MICs against B. subtilis (5 mg/ml) and E. coli (10 mg/ml). The ethylacetate extract is the most active extract. Fractionation of the n-butanol extract over silica Gel G column chromatography and sephadex LH-20 gave 2 Flavonoid glycosides identified as Kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside and Quercitin-3-O-rutinoside. The observed activity might justify the use of the plant for diarhoea, skin infection and sorethroat.

The saponins extract of Carissa edulis Vahl family Apocynaceae was investigated for
analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities. The analgesic activity was studied using hot-plate and
acetic acid-induced writhing tests in mice while the anti-inflammatory activity was studied using
carrageenan-induced paw oedema test in rats. The saponins extract at all the doses tested showed
statistically significant analgesic activity (P<0.001) in the two models used for the study and the
results were comparable to those obtained with the standard drugs used in each case. The saponins
extract also showed significant anti-inflammatory activity (P<0.001) at all the doses used in the
study. The inhibition of oedema produced by the extract was comparable to the inhibition produced
by 10 mg/kg ketoprofen. The saponins extract was found to have an intraperitoneal LD50 of 565.69
mg/kg indicating a moderate toxicity. The thin layer chromatographic analysis showed the presence
of triterpenoid saponins. The study showed that the saponins extract of Carissa edulis root has
potential analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties.

The leaf extracts of Byrsocarpus coccineus was evaluated for antimicrobial activity using agar diffusion assay. The
results of the antimicrobial screening showed that the ethyl acetate fraction at 200mg/ml produced zones of
inhibition ranging from 22.5 to 35mm against the test organisms while the minimum inhibitory concentration of the
fraction were 1.75mg/ml, 1.75mg/ml, 0.88mg/ml and 0.44mg/ml against Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi,
Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus respectively. The n-butanolic fraction gave MIC of 7.0mg/ml,
7.0mg/ml, 1.75mg/ml and 1.75mg/ml against E. coli, Staph. aureus, C. albicans and S. typhi respectively. The
extracts exhibited good antimicrobial activity with the ethyl acetate fraction showing more activity than the nbutanol
fractions. The gram positive bacteria are more susceptible to the extracts than the gram negative bacteria.
Results of the phytochemical screening revealed the presence of flavonoids, tannins on both fractions while saponin
was present only in the n-butanol fraction. The microbial activity of the two fractions can be explained by the
presence of these secondary metabolites.