Phytochemical investigation of the roots of Ficus exasperata Vahl. (Moraceae) led to the isolation of a new cinnamic acid derivative, named ficusanol (1) along with eleven known compounds: 3-(6-methoxybenzo[b]furan-5-yl)propenoic acid (2), bergapten (3), oxypeucedanin hydrate (4), marmesin (5), decursinol (6), aridanin (7), betulinic acid (8), maslinic acid (9), a mixture of stigmasterol (10) and β-sitosterol (11), and sitosteryl-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (12). The structures of the new compound as well as those of the known ones were established by the means of usual spectroscopic methods: NMR (1H, 13C, DEPT, COSY, HSQC and HMBC) data and HR-ESIMS data. Crude extract and compounds 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7 were evaluated for their radical scavenging potency using DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) assay. Accordingly, the compound 6 showed significant antioxidant activity with IC50 = 25.10 ± 0.91 µg/mL, whereas the other compounds showed only moderate activity at high concentrations. Compounds 2, 6 and 7 were also evaluated for their cytotoxic activity among which the compound 7 exhibited a strong cytotoxic activity with a viability percentage of 3.5% on mouse lymphoma cell line L5178Y. تفاصيل المقالة

One new coumarinolignan, cleomiscosin F (1) along with ten known compounds namely 3,4-secotirucalla-4(28),7,24-trien-21-hydroxy-21,23-epoxy-3-oic acid (2), 3,4-secotirucalla-4(28),7,24-trien-3,21-dioic acid (3),ceramid A (4),ceramid B (5), mayombensin (6),aridanin (7), stigmasterol and β-sitosterol and their glucosides were isolated from the seeds and roots of Leplaea mayombensis (Meliaceae).Thestructures of the compounds were elucidated based on the interpretation of their spectroscopic data. Some of the isolated compounds (3, 4 and 5) were tested in vitro against bacteria strains Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas agarici, and Micrococcus luteus. Compound 3 displayed good activity against Bacillus subtilis, Micrococcus luteus, and Pseudomonas agarici with MIC values of 1.7, 2.3 and 9.8µM, respectively; while compound 4 showed significant activity against Micrococcus luteus with MIC value of 11.9µM. تفاصيل المقالة

The phytochemical study of the methanolic extract of the stem bark of Parkia bicolor A. Chev. (Leguminosae) led to the isolation and characterization of ellagic acid (1), 3,3’-dimethoxyel lagic acid (2), 3,3’,4,4’-tetramethoxyellagic acid (3), 3-glucopyranoside-3’-methoxyellagic acid (4), gallic acid (5), methylgallate (6), oleanolic acid (7), erythrodiol (8), β-amyrin (9), β-sitosterol (10), stigmasterol (11) and stigmasterol-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (12). The structures of these compounds were determined by spectroscopic analyses of 1D and 2D NMR and EI- and ESI-MS and comparison with the reported data. Compounds 1-4 are reported here from this species for the first time. The crude methanolic extract and isolated compounds 1-6 were submitted to micro dilution assay against the Gram negative bacteria Escherichia coli ATCC 8739 and Salmonella typhi clinical strain as well as the Gram positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus clinical strain. While the methanolic extract showed moderate to significant antibacterial activ ity against above tests strain with MICs in the range of 64-128 μg/mL, compound 4 displayed the best activity against Salmonella typhi and Staphylococcus aureus clinical strains with an MIC of 33.4 μM against both, compared to gentamycin with 0.1-2.0 μM. Compounds 1-3 and 5, 6 showed moderate to weak antibacterial activity with MICs in the range of 44.6 ± 0.9 to 376.4 ± 1.5 μM. MBCs were above the MICs in the range of 128-512 μg/mL for the methanolic extract resulting in MBCs/MICs in the range of 2 to 8. In antifungal assays, the methanolic extract when tested at 50 mg/mL gave growth inhibition of 34.3, 31.3, 28.3, 33.1, 30.6 and 22.4 % against Aspergillus flavus strain 1, Aspergillus flavus strain 2, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus gandidus, Ab sidia sp < /em>. and Penicillium sp < em>., respectively. When tested at 2 mg/mL, 4-glucopyranoside-4’-me thoxyellagic acid (4) showed a moderate inhibition potency against all the fungal strains with growth inhibition of 24.50 to 40.40% compared to fluconazole with 100% at 2 mg/mL. تفاصيل المقالة

One fatty acid (1), one monoglycol ester (2), three diterpenes (3-5), four steroids (6-9), four triterpenes (10-13), three flavonoids (14-16), three anthraquinones (17-19) and one benzoquinone (20), were isolated from the methanolic extract of the leaves and trunk of Senna alata. These compounds were obtained by extensive silica gel chromatography and their structures elucidated by 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) as well as comparison with literature data. Compounds (2-4) have been reported for the first time from this species. Some isolated compounds and methanolic crude extract of leaves and trunk were screened in vitro for their antimicrobial activities. Kaempferol (16) exhibited strong activity against all the tested strains, with MIC values varying from 15.5 to 31.2 µg/mL, emodin (18) was active with a strong activity (7.8 µg/mL) exhibited on Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The trunk crude extract showed a strong activity with MIC values varying from 15.6 to 62.5 µg/mL. تفاصيل المقالة

Forty traditional medicinal plants from the Cameroonian rain forest belonging to twelve families are reviewed related to botanical description, taxonomy, common names, traditional use, essential oil composition as well as bioactivity and toxicity of their essential oils. A correlation is drawn between traditional use and bioactivity in vitro/in vivo, and structures of seventy-three main oil ingredients are given. Collected data indicate that plant essential oils unfold their biological activity related to functional groups of major and minor compounds, in a complex, fine-tuned interaction, modulated by environmental factors like the vegetation cycle of the plant, the altitude and the presence or absence of plant pathogen microbes, certain crop weevils as well as nematodes, varying with climatic seasons. Comparison of traditional use with laboratory results indicates effectivity of a good number of essential oils received from various plant parts, like leaves, bark, fruit, roots and rhizomes against Plasmodium falciparum, food borne microbes, dermatophytes, the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae, cancer cell lines, river blindness as well as plant pathogen weevils and fungi. However, toxicological studies are needed before any recommendation for application can be given. Importantly, leaf and fruit oil of Cupressus lusitanica (Cupressaceae) displayed strong acute toxicity in animal model, and the bark oil of Cinnamomum verum (Lauraceae) showed high toxicity in a normal cell line, so that preparations should be applied with care. Preformulation and formulation studies will be needed to develop a range of suitable dosage forms to introduce optimized pharmaceuticals (high active, low toxic) as replacement of current crude plant essential oil preparations in Cameroon and other Subsaharan countries. تفاصيل المقالة