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Background: Montrichardia arborescens Schott (Araceae) is traditionally used for treating, among others, inflammatory conditions, but so far without scientific evidence. In this study, the fresh stem juice was assessed for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities and phytochemical content. Methods: The stem juice's anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated using a heat-induced bovine serum albumin (BSA) denaturation assay and a hypotonicity-induced human erythrocyte membrane lysis assay. Its antioxidant activity was determined by a DPPH free radical-scavenging assay and a FRAP assay. Diclofenac and Trolox were used as reference compounds. Its phytochemical content was qualitatively explored by standard methods. Data (means ± SDs; n ≥ 3) were evaluated for statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) using ANOVA with Bonferroni post hoc adjustments. Results: At ≥ 12.5% (v/v), the stem juice inhibited BSA denaturation by 50%-75% and membrane lysis by roughly 90%. At 0.20-7.0% (v/v), it did not affect BSA denaturation but stabilized membranes by > 50%. The juice scavenged DPPH free radicals at an EC50 of 2.0 ± 0.2% (v/v) and achieved at that dilution an antioxidant power of 2,616 ± 16 μM Fe2+ equivalents. All the effects were in the range of those found with diclofenac 50 μg/mL and Trolox 1.0-6.0 μg/mL. The stem juice contained phenolic compounds, flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids, saponins, and glycosides. Conclusion: The M. arborescens stem juice exhibited appreciable anti-inflammatory activities that might mainly be associated with the inhibition of the release of inflammatory mediators, along with notable antioxidant activity, which might be attributable to phytochemicals with known anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The current review article outlines current findings in literature from undertaken studies and review articles on the plant Elephantorrhiza elephantine from the past 20 years to date. The information presented in this article will include the following aspects of the plant. The plant description and taxomony, ethnomedical uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology of Elephantorrhiza elephantine. The article looks to discuss existing hurdles in research found on this plant and how to integrate any previous research with what is currently done in research on the plant. It aims on guiding the path of future research direction on the plant Elephantorrhiza elephantine. Methods: A total of 40 articles were selected and read through. The articles selected had included literature publications with the keywords such as; Elephantorrhiza elephantine, plant description, taxonomic of the plant, ethno medicinal usages, phytochemicals, pharmacological properties and plant toxicity, which were published between the years 2000 - 2021. There were 32 articles relevant for this review article and 2 dissertation that were written between the criteria of years. Results: The ethomedicinal uses of Elephantorrhiza elephantine have been investigated by various authors on the anti-microbial activities, anti-inflammatory, anticancer and in ethnoveterinary medicine on how the plant provides relief to individuals with illnesses/disease through its traditional uses. These studies have been conducted on both animals and humans. The experiments performed used the crude extract derived from parts of the plant such as the roots and leaves. These plant parts have phytochemical compounds that are extracted using varying polar solvents. In the animal studies, acetone extracts of E. elephantine roots demonstrated significant activity against a tick-borne disease in cattle livestock and parasite worms in goats. In humans, the dried leaf extracts of E. elephantine was also subjected to various polar solvents and water, investigated for phytochemical content, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic and cytotoxic activities, using standard methods. It was reported that the ethanol extract yielded the highest phytochemical content. Conclusion: The gap in knowledge has narrowed on medicinal plants effects of healing properties. This lead by extensive research carried out trying to understand the benefits of traditional medication and why majority of the population uses it as they primary healthcare choice. Investigating the mechanism of action of E. elephantine on its antimicrobial, anti-diabetic, antimalarial, anti-inflammatory and wound healing could lead to an enhanced understanding on the medicinal properties of the plant extracts and a commercialisation of a product in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The main aim of the study is to investigate the phytochemical screening of C. decapetala along with the content determination of different species of genus Caesalpinia with respect to their antidiabetic activity and identification of most bioactive species belonging to different origins. Methods: To achieve our goal different species of genus Caesalpinia collected from China and Pakistan were subjected to open column chromatography, High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), antioxidant and antidiabetic assays for evaluation. Results: From η-BuOH fraction of C. decapetala extract, eight compounds were isolated using open column chromatography and identified as apigenin-7-rhamnoside (1), 4-O-methylepisappanol (2), caesalpinol (3), daucosterol (4), astragalin (5), kaempferol (6), quercitrin (7), and naringin (8) using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. HPLC analysis of different species of genus Caesalpinia showed that the most active antidiabetic compound 'quercitrin' was present more in C. pulcherrima followed by decreasing order in C. sappan, C.decapetala, and C. bonduc. Conclusion: The results indicated that quercitrin is the most bioactive content and C. pulcherrima is most bioactive specie of China origin from genus Caesalpinia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]