Pergularia daemia

Abstract: Background : The plant Pergularia daemia (Asclepiadaceae) and Carissa carandas (Apocynaceae) are traditionally used as a medicinal agent and they are widely distributed to tropical and subtropical region of India. In the present study the folklore uses of P. daemia and C. carandas was investigated. Methods : The analgesic activity was studied in mice using hot plate and acetic acid induced writhing methods, while carrageenan induced paw edema was used to access anti-inflammatory activity. The antipyretic activity was evaluated by Brewer's yeast induced pyrexia in rats. Results : The ethanol and aqueous extracts from roots of P. daemia and C. carandas exhibited significant (p < 0.01) analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic activities at the doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg body weight. In analgesic activity, the highest reaction time was observed (9.8 sec.) from ethanol extracts of P.daemia at a dose of 200 mg/kg body weight, while highest percentage of inhibition of abdominal constriction (72.67%) was observed for ethanol extracts of C.carandas at a dose of 100 mg/kg body weight. The ethanol and aqueous extracts of P. daemia and C. carandas were found to reduce significantly the formation of edema induced by carrageenan after 2 hrs. Both plants showed significantly competent on yeast induced hyperpyrexia in rats after 2 hrs. Conclusion : The results of this study indicated that the ethanol and aqueous extracts from roots of P. daemia and C. carandas possess significant analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic activities in rodent models.

Abstract: Development of resistance against the frontline anti-malarial drugs has created an alarming situation, which requires intensive drug discovery to develop new, more effective, affordable and accessible anti-malarial agents. Inspired by their ethnobotanical reputation for being effective against febrile diseases, antiplasmodial potential of ethyl acetate extracts (EAE) and methanol extracts (ME) of 17 medicinal plants collected from the Eastern Ghats of South India and Buchpora, North India were explored against Plasmodium falciparum in vitro using the SYBR Green assay. The results were validated both by confirmation that the fall in fluorescence signal was not due to quenching effects mediated by phytochemical extracts and by Giemsa-stained microscopy. Using EAE or ME, promising antiplasmodial activity (IC50 Pf3D7 ≤ 20 μg/ml), was seen in Aerva lanata (Whole aerial parts-EAE), Anisomeles malabarica (Leaf-EAE), Anogeissus latifolia (bark-EAE), Cassia alata (leaves-EAE), Glycyrrhiza glabra (root-EAE), Juglans regia (seed-ME), Psidium guajava (leaf-ME and EAE) and Solanum xanthocarpum (Whole aerial parts-EAE). EAEs from leaves of Couroupita guianensis, Euphorbia hirta, Pergularia daemia, Tinospora cordifolia and Tridax procumbens as also ME from Ricinus communis (leaf and seed) showed good antiplasmodial activity (Pf 3D7 IC50 21 - 40 μg/ml). Moderate activity (Pf 3D7 IC50: 40–60 μg/mL) was shown by the leaf EAEs of Cardiospermum halicacabum, Indigofera tinctoria and Ricinus communis while the remaining extracts showed marginal (Pf 3D7 IC50 60 to >100 μg/ml) activities. The promising extracts showed good resistance indices (0.41 – 1.4) against the chloroquine resistant INDO strain of P. falciparum and good selectivity indices (3 to > 22.2) when tested against the HeLa cell line. These results provide validity to the traditional medicinal usage of some of these plants and further make a case for activity-guided purification of new pharmacophores against malaria.

Abstract: Objective To evaluate the antibacterial efficacy of five Indian medicinal plants such as Acalypha indica L. ( A. indica ), Aerva lanata (L.) Juss. ex Schult. ( A. lanata ), Clerodendrum inerme (L.) Gaertn., Pergularia daemia (Forsk.) Chiov. and Solanum surattense Burm. f. against opportunistic bacterial pathogens isolated from HIV infected patients for the potential phytoconstituents in plant extracts. Methods The opportunistic bacterial pathogens such as Escherichia coli ( E. coli ), Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Salmonella typhi and Serratia marcescens from Gram-negative group and Staphylococcus aureus from Gram-positive group were isolated from HIV infected patients. The antibacterial efficacy of ethanolic extracts of selected medicinal plants was carried out by disc diffusion method. The potential phytoconstituents of medicinal plant extracts were identified by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis. Results Among the five medicinal plants tested, A. indica and A. lanata showed the significant antibacterial activity. A. indica showed potential activity against Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli . A. lanata significantly exhibited antibacterial activity against E. coli , Salmonella typhi and Pseudomonas aeruginosa . A total of 19 phytoconstituents were identified in the ethanolic extract of A. indica and A. lanata by GC–MS analysis respectively. Conclusions The results of the present investigation revealed that A. indica and A. lanata , possessed significant antibacterial activity when compared with the other plant extracts tested. The presence of 3- O -methyl- d -glucose by GC–MS analysis in both A. indica and A. lanata extracts has not been reported elsewhere in the literature and the findings in this study could be the first one to report.