CHAPTER II - Shodhgangashodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/8294/9/09_chapter 2.pdf · the world's tallest tree ferns, which reach heights up to 20 m. They are also very ancient

CHAPTER-II

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2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE

2.1 Past work on the plant Dalbergia paniculata, Cyathea gigantea,

Colebrookea oppositifolia and Entada pursaetha

An extensive literature survey has been carried out on selected

plants Dalbergia paniculata, Cyathea gigantea, Colebrookea oppositifolia

and Entada pursaetha along with their chemical constituents and biological

properties as described below.

List of Dalbergia paniculata,. (www.IPNI.org)

TABLE No. 2.1

PLANT NAME PLANT NAME PLANT NAME

Dalbergia acuta Dalbergia cucullata Dalbergia glabra

Dalbergia altissima Dalbergia cujabensis Dalbergia glandulosa

Dalbergia amerimnum Dalbergia cuscatlanica Dalbergia glaziovii

Dalbergia aturensis Dalbergia debilis Dalbergia glomerata

Dalbergia barretoana Dalbergia decipularis Dalbergia gracilis

Dalbergia berteroi Dalbergia delavayi Dalbergia granadillo

Dalbergia brasiliensis Dalbergia densa Dalbergia grandistipula

Dalbergia brownei Dalbergia densiflora Dalbergia guttembergii

Dalbergia calderonii Dalbergia ecastaphyllum Dalbergia hepperi

Dalbergia calycina Dalbergia elegans Dalbergia hiemalis

Dalbergia campechiana Dalbergia enneandra Dalbergia hortensis

Dalbergia candenatensis Dalbergia enneaphylla Dalbergia hygrophila

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Dalbergia cearensis Dalbergia ernest Dalbergia hypargyrea

Dalbergia chontalensis Dalbergia ferrugineo-

tomentosa Dalbergia hypoleuca

Dalbergia chontalensis Dalbergia foliolosa Dalbergia intermedia

Dalbergia cibix Dalbergia frutescens Dalbergia intibucana

Dalbergia congestiflora Dalbergia funera Dalbergia inundata

Dalbergia cubilquitzensis Dalbergia gautieri Dalbergia iquitosensis

2.2 Botanical Description of Dalbergia paniculata:

An attempt was made to bring out the details of each plant like its

origin and life history. The genus Dalbergia belongs to the family Fabaceae.

The Dalbergia genus is considered to be of medicinal importance

because of the presence of isoflavonoid glycosides and steroids in

various parts of the plant. The genus consists of 300 species and about

25 species occur in India. Many species of Dalbergia are important timber

trees, valued for their decorative and often fragrant wood, rich in aromatic

oils.

2.3 Geographical distribution of D. paniculata

The Plant is found in many parts of India. In Indian Subcontinent:

India - Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, MadhyaPradesh,

Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh.

Nepal, Andaman and Nicobar, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam.

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2.4 Taxonomical Classification of 1 D. paniculata

Kingdom : Plantae

Division : Magnoliophyta

Class : Magnoliopsida

Order : Fabales

Family : Fabaceae

Genus : Dalbergia

Species : paniculata

2.5 Vernacular names of D. paniculata:

Dalbergia paniculata is commonly called as Padru pachhali, Patri.

Hindi : Dhobein

Kannada : Biluga-Damara

Marathi : Sondhara

Tamil : Paingannni

Telugu : Sopera

2.6 Phytochemistry:

Several efforts made by eminent researchers on the isolation and

identification of compounds from various parts of D.paniculata, contibuted

enormous literature on the phytochemical work of the selected plants.

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Caviunin Dalpalatin

Dalpaniculin Dalpanol

Dalpatein Dehydrodalpan ol-O-glucoside

Sitosterol

The presence of Caviunin and sitosterol from their Phytochemical

study on leaves of Dalbergia paniculata was reported by J.R. Rao, M.A.

Ahamed., 1992. In 1972 D. Adinaraya, J. R. Rao. isolated two

Isoflavanoid glycosides dalpanitin & dalpatin and they isolated dalpanol in

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1975 from Dalbergia paniculata. J.R. Rao, S.R. Rao., Dalpaniculin, a

C- glycosylisoflavone from Dalbergia paniculata seeds in 1991.

2.7 Biological Activities:

A Careful review on different biological activities done was carried

out for the selected four plants and concluded below.

There are no published pharmacological reports till now on this

plant. Dalbergia genus possesses immense traditional application. So far,

a few species have been screened for their biological activity and

experimental results have shown a wide spectrum of such effects, the

important ones are as follows:

Alcoholic extract of D. sisso leaves have shown peripheral

analgesic activity and central analgesic activity in various models viz;

acetic acid induced writhings, hot plate method, tail-clip test in mice and

Randoll-selitto assay. Similar activity has also been reported in ethanolic

extract of D. lanceolata bark. The alcoholic extract of D. sisso leaves

extract also showed antipyretic activity in Brewers yeast induced pyrexia in

rats reported by A. V. Misar, M. Kale, M. Joshi and A.M. Mujbumder., 2005

The ethanolic extract of D. sisso leaves significantly inhibited

carragenin, kaolin, and nystatin induced paw edema as well as the weight

of granuloma induced by the cotton pellet. It also inhibited dye leakage in

acetic acid –induced vascular permeability test in mice (49). Biochanin- A

(5,7-dihyddroxy –4-methoxy isoflavone) isolated from flowers of D.

sissoids have shown to possess anti –inflammatory activity against PGE,

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bradykinin, 5-HT and histamine induced rat hind paw odema in dose

dependent manner.

The petroleum ether, alcohol and aqueous extracts of D.lanceolaria

had been found effective against arthritis when tested against

formaldehyde-induced arthritis in young growing albino rats by R.H. Singh

and G.N. Chaturvedi., 1966.

Citric acid extract of bark of D. melanoxylon have shown significant

antibacterial activity against gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli,

Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhimurium and Yersinia pestis)

and gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and

Staphylococcus aureus). The plant has potential antifungal activity against

Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger reported by M. Gundidga and N.

Gaza., 1993.

The decoction of dried leaves of D. sisso possesses antidiarrhoeal

activity. The ethanolic extract of the bark of D.lanceolaria have shown

activity against castor oil and magnesium sulphate induced diarrhoea in

albino mice.

The lyophilized aqueous extract (LAE) of D. monetaria have shown

a dose dependant inhibition of gastric lesions induced by indomethacin,

ethanol, pylorus ligature and hypothermic–restraint stress on oral

administration.

The oil extracted from wood scrapings of D. sisso has shown dose

dependent larvicidal activity, growth inhibiter and repellant action against

Anopheles stephensi, Ades aegypti and culex quinquefasciatus.

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The extracts and formononetin an isoflavone from the bark of D.

frutescans have shown significant activity against Giardia intestinalis with

an IC 50 value of 30ng/ml (approx. 0.1 µm) as compared to the value for

metronidazole, the current drug of choice of 100 ng/ml (approx. 0.6 µm)

Khan et al., 2000.

The flavanoids isolated from air dried powdered heartwood of D.

louvelli showed antiplasmodial activity with IC 50 values ranging from 5.8

to 8.7 um. Triterpenoid glycosides, DSS, isolated from the root of

D.saxatilis have shown antifertility activity in female wistar rats at the dose

rate of 200mg/kg body weigtt at the premating period, inhibiting the

conception in 71.4% of the treated animals. Fertility index was 107.82

compared to 373.5 for control rats.

Butein isolated from D. odorifera have shown to inhibit the iron-

induced lipid peroxidation in rat brain homogenate in concentration

dependant manner with an IC 50 value 3.3±0.4µm. It was as potent as α-

tocopherol in reducing the stable free radical diphenyl-2-picarylhydryl

(DPPH) with an IC0.200 value 9.2±1.8 µm. It also inhibited the activity of

xanthine oxidase with IC 50 value 5.9±0.3µm. Butein scavenged the

peroxyl radical derived from 2,2-azobis (2-amidinopropane)

dihydrochloride (AAPH) in aqueous phase. Butein have also shown to

inhibited copper-catalyzed oxidation of human lowdensity lipoprotein (LDL)

in a concentration dependent manner. Butein caused endothelium

dependant relaxation of rat aorta, precontracted with phenylephrine.

Ethanolic extracts of the stem bark of the D. cultrate Grati and D.

nigrescens Kurz were found to exhibit a significant antitumor promoting

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activity on TPA (12-o-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetase, EBV-EA (Epstein

Barr virus early antigen) and TPAinduced EBV-EA activation.

The genus Dalbergia though known for its timber value also

possesses significant medicinal properties. Most of the work carried out on

the various species is on the extracts of the different parts. The biological

screening of D.paniculata will help to further explore the medicinal

potential.

2.8 List of Cyathea gigantean (ww.IPNI.org)

TABLE No. 2.2


Cyathea abbottii

Cyathea abbottii

Cyathea acanthophora

Cyathea acrostichoides

Cyathea acuminata

Cyathea affinis

Cyathea

Cyathea chinensis

Cyathea christii

Cyathea cincinnata

Cyathea cinerea

Cyathea coactilis

Cyathea colensoi

Cyathea confirmis

Cyathea corcovadensis

Cyathea costalisora

Cyathea costulisora

Cyathea crassa

Cyathea croftii

Cyathea cucullifera

Cyathea gleichenioides

Cyathea gregaria

Cyathea grevilleana

Cyathea halconensis

Cyathea hancockii

Cyathea havilandii

Cyathea henryi

Cyathea

heterochlamydea

Cyathea hooglandii

Cyathea hookeri

Cyathea hornei

Cyathea horridula

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Cyathea hotteana

Cyathea humilis

Cyathea Hunsteiniana

Cyathea hymenodes

Cyathea imbricata

Cyathea imrayana

Cyathea incana

Cyathea incisoserrata

Cyathea inquinans

Cyathea insulana

Cyathea javanica

Cyathea nigrolineata

Cyathea nigropaleata

Cyathea nilgirensis

Cyathea nockii

Cyathea obtusiloba

albidosquamata

Cyathea alderwereltii

Cyathea alleniae

Cyathea alpicola

Cyathea amboinensis

Cyathea amintae

Cyathea andersonii

Cyathea aneitensis

Cyathea annae

Cyathea apiculata

Cyathea apoensis

Cyathea approximata

Cyathea archboldii

Cyathea ascendens

Cyathea atropurpurea

Cyathea australis

Cyathea baileyana

Cyathea deckenii

Cyathea decrescens

Cyathea dicksonioides

Cyathea dimorpha

Cyathea doctersii

Cyathea dregei

Cyathea dryopteroides

Cyathea edanoi

Cyathea elongata

Cyathea erinacea

Cyathea eriophora

Cyathea

esmeraldensis

Cyathea everta

Cyathea exilis

Cyathea excavata

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Cyathea balanocarpa

Cyathea batjanensis

Cyathea biformis

Cyathea borneensis

Cyathea boytelii

2.8.1 Botanical Description of Cyathea gigantea :


origin and life history. The genus Cyathea belongs to the family

Cyatheaceae. The Cyatheaceae is the scaly tree fern family and includes

the world's tallest tree ferns, which reach heights up to 20 m. They are

also very ancient plants, appearing in the fossil record in the late Jurassic,

though the modern genera likely appeared in the Tertiary. Cyatheaceae is

the largest family of tree ferns, including about 500 species.

Cyatheaceae are leptosporangiate ferns, the most familiar group

of monilophytes (korall, et al., 2006). The Cyatheaceae usually have a

single, erect trunk-like rhizome (stem). Their fronds (leaves) are also very

large, some of the largest in the plant kingdom. Some species have fronds

reaching 3-4 m in length, and have a final crown width of some 6 m. The

fronds are circinate before unfolding and usually pinnately or bipinnately

compound, with leaflets that are deeply pinnately lobed. The large leaves

are covered in scales and hairs and bear sori (spore clusters) on the

underside (Judd et al., 2008). The sori are often covered by a flap of tissue

called an indusium, a useful characteristic for classifying the Cyatheaceae.

Some indusia are cup-shaped (cyatheoid), while others are hood-shaped

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(hemitelioid), enclose the sorus (sphaeropteroid) or scaly. Like most ferns,

members of the Cyatheaceae are homosporous. Cyatheaceae are found

in both New and Old World tropical wet montane forests and cloud forests,

with some species extending into south-temperate regions (Korall et al.,

2007). Most Cyatheaceae are terrestrial, with one sometimes

being epiphytic and others having a creeping habit, but these are

exceptions to the family norm.

2.8.2 Geographical distribution of C.gigantea:

Cyathea gigantea is a species of tree fern native to northeastern to

southern India, SriLanka, Nepal to Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam,

the Malay Peninsula, as well as central Sumatra and western Java. In

India it is spread all over the country and grows in moist areas up to

1000m.

2.8.3 Taxonomical Classification of C. gigantea:

Kingdom : Plantae

Division : Pteridophyta

Class : Pteridopsida

Order : Cyatheales

Family : Cyatheaceae

Genus : Cyathea

Species : gigantea

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2.8.4 Vernacular namesofC.gigantea:

Cyathea gigantea is also called as Alsophilla gigantea

Wallich exW. J. Hooker, 1844.

2.8.5 Phytochemistry:


identification of compounds from various parts of C.gigantea, contibuted


Sitosterol Hentriacontane

Oleanolic acid Diploterol

R. K. Juneja, S. C. Sharma and J. S. Tandon., in 1990 did their

Phytochemical work on tree fern Cyathea gigantea and identified

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hentriacontane, β-sitostenone, β-sitostanone, diploterol, sitosterol, hopan-

29-ol, and oleanolic acid from the hexane soluble fraction of the plant.

Das Talukdar, M. Dutta Choudhury, M.Chakraborty, B.K. Dutta in

2010 done Phytochemical work and confirmed the presence of alkaloids,

steroids, flavonoids, reducing sugar and tannins.

2.8.6 Biological Activities:



The reported pharmacological work related to Cyathea species was

as follows:

The in vitro antioxidant potential of the crude extract (CE),

precipitate (PPT), aqueous fraction (AQF), n-butanolic fraction (BUF) and

ethyl acetate fraction (EAF) from C. phalerata was evaluated through the

scavenging of diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate (DPPH), superoxide

anion (O2•−) (nitroblue tetrazolium assay) and hydroxyl radicals (OH•)

(deoxyribose assay), and lipid peroxidation in rat liver homogenate. In

these assays, it was observed that EAF had marked antioxidant potential,

especially as a scavenger of the OH• radical and in inhibiting lipid

peroxidation. The in vivo evaluation of oxidative stress (DNA

fragmentation, membrane lipoperoxidation and carbonyl protein formation)

and the antioxidant defenses (concentration of reduced glutathione, as

well as catalase and glutathione S-transferase activities) were measured

in mice pre-treated with EAF (10, 30 or 100 mg/kg, orally) and later

exposed to carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). The EAF decreased thiobarbituric

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acid reactive substances levels, DNA damage and carbonyl protein

contents, and increased catalase and glutathione S-transferase activities.

Based on these results, it is concluded that the EAF from C.

phalerata protects liver from oxidative stress induced by CCl4 in mice and

these effects are probably related to the antioxidant activity associated

with the free radical scavenging property of this fraction reported by

Mariana Appel Hort et al., 2007.

2.9 List of Colebrookea oppositifolia (ww.IPNI.org)

TABLE No. 2.3

Colebrookea oppositifolia.Sm.

Colebrookea oppositifolia.Lodd

Colebrookea ternifolia.Roxb

2.9.1 Botanical Description of Colebrookea oppositifolia:

The genus Colebrookea belongs to the family Lamiaceae with

Shrubs which are erect, densely lanate-tomentose. Stems are yellow-

brown. Leaves sometimes in whorls of 3, oblong-elliptic, dentate. They

are distributed worldwide and they belong to seed-forming, dicotyledonous

plants, comprises over 240 genera and 6500 species, following the family

circumscription of (Cantino et al. 1992). The main centre of diversity is the

Mediterranean region to central Asia. Members are found in tropical and

temperate regions. About 60 genera with ± 980 species occur in the Sub-

Saharan African region (Klopper et al. 2006).

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2.9.2 Geographical distribution of C.oppositifolia :

The plant is distributed throughout India, Pakistan, South-west

China (Yunnan), Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Indo- China. It grows in

Savanna forests, thickets in hot, dry regions up to 200-200 meters.

2.9.3 Taxonomical Classification of C.oppositifolia:

Kingdom : Plantae

Phylum : Eudicots

Class : Asterids

Order : Lamiales

Family : Lamiaceae

Genus : Colebrookea

Species : oppositifolia

2.9.4 Vernacular names of C.oppositifolia :

Telugu : jolidi, tolisi

Kannada : thuggi gida

Marathi : bhaman, bhamini, bhamni

Tamil : vitupucittalai

Oriya : tulia

Lepcha : umhyemkung

Hindi : binda, kala-bansa, pansra, bhirmoli,

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identification of compounds from various parts of C.oppositifolia and

E.pursaetha contibuted enormous literature on the phytochemical work of

the selected plants.

Chrysin Negletein

Ladanein Verbascoside

Fan Yang, Xing- Cong Li and Han-Qing Wang..1996., Isolated

flavonoid aglycones – chrysin, negletein, ladanein. Flavonoid glycosides –

negletein 6-glucoside;5,7,2’ –trihydroxyflavone 2’- glucoside from

Colebrookea oppositifolia.

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A acylated flavone glycoside i.e., Phenylethanoid – verbascoside

(also called acetoside or kusaginin) was isolated from Colebrookea

oppositifolia by Reddy RV, Reddy BA and Gunasekar.D., in 2009.




The methanolic and aqueous extracts of different parts

of Colebrookia oppositifolia were examined for antibacterial activities in

vitro by an agar diffusion method. Antibacterial activity of leaves, shoots,

and roots ofColebrookia oppositifolia was assessed against Gram positive

and Gram negative bacteria that were isolated and identified from water

samples by the API 20E method. Extract of roots showed more

antibacterial activities against Staph. aureus and B. cereus var. mycoides,

Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumonia, andShigella flexneri at

37°C, than extracts from leaves and shoots. The low est MIC (minimum

inhibitory concentration) and MBC (minimum bactericidal concentration)

were observed in roots as compared to shoots and leaves reported by

Ahmed et al., 2009.

The effect of aqueous extract of colebrookea oppositifolia on

bioavailability of amoxycilline in rabbits vide by Das et al., 2004.

Oral feeding of male rats with the ethanolic leaf extract of

Colebrookia oppositifolia at dose levels of 100 and 200 mg/kg for 8-10

weeks did not cause body weight loss, while the weights of testes and

epididymides were significantly decreased. Seminal vesicles and ventral

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prostate showed a significant reduction at the higher dose only. Treated

animals showed a notable depression of spermatogenesis and this

antifertility studies of Colebrookea oppositifolia leaf extract in male rats

with special reference to testicular cell population dynamics was reported

by Gupta et al., 2001.

Synergistic interaction between amphotericin B (AmB) and

acteoside, isolated from the aerial parts of Colebrookea oppositifolia.

Acteoside alone exhibited no intrinsic antifungal activity but it showed a

potent synergism in combination with AmB against selected pathogenic

species, with fractional inhibitory concentration indices in the range of

0.0312 to 0.1562. The combination of 3.12 micrograms ml-1 and 12.5

micrograms ml-1 concentration of acteoside with sub-MICs of AmB

resulted in a potent fungicidal effect and also significantly exhibited an

extended post-antifungal effect. The data presented here supports

synergism between acteoside and AmB and therefore it is proposed that a

prospective new management strategy for therapeutic application of this

combination should be explored and was reported.

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2.10 List of Entada pursaetha (ww.IPNI.org)

TABLE No. 2.4


Entada adans Entada abyssinica Entada acaciifolia

Entada adenanthera Entada africana Entada arborea

Entada arenaria Entada bacillaris Entada bequaerti

Entada boiviniana Entada borneensis Entada camerunensis

Entada chiliantha Entada cirrhosa Entada claessensii

Entada coulteria Entada dolichorrhachis Entada duparquetiana

Entada durissima Entada entada Entada flexuosa

Entada formosana Entada gandu Entada gigalobium

Entada gigas Entada glandulosa Entada gogo

Entada grandidieri Entada gandu Entada gigalobium

Entada adans Entada abyssinica Entada acaciifolia

Entada adenanthera Entada africana Entada arborea

Entada arenaria Entada bacillaris Entada bequaerti

Entada boiviniana Entada borneensis Entada camerunensis

Entada chiliantha Entada cirrhosa Entada claessensii

Entada coulteria Entada dolichorrhachis Entada duparquetiana

Entada durissima Entada entada Entada flexuosa

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2.10.1 Botanical Description:


origin and life history. An attempt was made to bring out the details of each

plant like its origin and life history. Entada pursaeta DC (Elelphant creeper)

belonging to the family Mimosae. Mimoseae is a tribe of leguminous plants

in the subfamily Mimosoideae. Where this is treated as a family of its own

(e.g. in the Cronquist system), the Mimoseae become the

subfamily Leguminosae-Mimosoideae belonging to order fabales.

(http://hortiplex.gardenweb.com/plants/p1/gw3000319.html). This is the

third largest family of flowering plants is the legume family, with more than

18, 000 species.

2.10.2 Geographical distribution of E.pursaetha:

It is distributed in India, it is endemic woody liana rarely distributed

in the subtropical Evergreen forests of Western Ghats of Karnataka,

Tamilnadu Kerala and Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh.

2.10.3 Taxonomical Classification of E. pursaetha:

Kingdom : Plantae

Division : Pteridophyta

Class : Rosidae

Order : Fabales

Family : Mimosoideae

Genus : Entada

Species : pursaetha

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2.10.4 Vernacular names of E. pursaetha:

Telugu : Tikka tivva Tilokayalo, Gila teega,

Peddamudupu.

Hindi : Barabi

Tamil : Irikki

Sanskrit : Bidhanta

Kannada : Ganape kayi

Popular name : Nicker bean.



identification of compounds from various parts of E.pursaetha contibuted


Amyrin Quercetin

Cyanidin Gallic Acid

29

Dopamine

Bark and seeds contain significant amounts of saponins including

an anti-tumour saponin, entanin, which on hydrolysis yields entagenic

acid. Seeds also contain a fixed oil, proteins, albumins and globulins,

essential amino acids, fatty acids such as oleic and linoleic acids;

phaseoloidin, tyrosine glucoside and dopamine glucoside and many

minerals. A new triterpenoid, entagenic acid and a crystalline sapogenin

have also been isolated from the seeds. Myristic, palmitic, stearic,

arachidic, behenic, and linolenic acids have been obtained from seed oil

hydrolysate. Seed oil also contains triglycerides comprised of

monounsaturated diolein and dilinolein, saturated oleolinolein,

dioleolinolein, trioleein, oleodilinolein and trilinolein. Pericarp contains β-

sitosterol, α-amyrin, quercetin, cyanidin chloride and gallic acid. Kernel

contains oleanolic and echinocytic acids and methyl mercaptan (the text

book of Indian Medicinal Plants by P.C. Khare, The Medicinal plants of

Bangladesh)




30

The antioxidant activity of the crude methanolic extract of the seeds

of Entada pursaetha was reported.

Five new triterpenoid saponins, pursaethosides A-E (1-5), were

isolated from the n-BuOH extract of the seed kernels of Entada pursaetha

along with the known phaseoloidin. The structures of 1-5 were elucidated

mainly by spectroscopic data interpretation and chemical degradation.

Pursaethosides C-E (3-5) possess as a common structural feature

entagenic acid as aglycon, which is rare among triterpene saponins.

Compounds 2-4 and phaesolidin were found to be not cytotoxic when

tested against HCT 116 and HT-29 human colon cancer cells.

Antibacterial and molecular docking studies of entagenic

acid, a bioactive principle from seed kernel of Entada pursaetha reported.

2.11. Objective and scope of work

The practice of herbal medicine dates back to the very earliest

periods of known human history. There is evidence that herbs have been

used in the treatment of diseases and for revitalizing the body system in

almost all ancient civilizations. There is a rapid progress in various fields of

human activity, the field of medicine and its allied sciences. All these have

made rapid strides.

Majority of the present day diseases are due to the shift in the

balance of the pro-oxidant and the antioxidant homeostatic phenomenon

in the body. The antioxidant defense systems, can only protect the body

when the amount of free radicals are within the normal physiological level;

but when this balance is shifted towards more of free radicals, it leads to

31

oxidative stress which may result in tissue injury and subsequent

diseases. (Rakesh and Rajesh, 2006)

The present study on these four Traditional Indian medicinal plants has

been aimed to focuss for their anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and

hepatoprotective potentials. The idea stemmed from the following fact:

� According to folkloric use, the plants were not screened for the

treatment of anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective conditions.

� The plant C.gigantea is becoming an endangered species now a

days and this enabled the author to perform individual studies and

also to identify the novel bioactivities from this amazing plant.

� The species Dalbergia, Cyathea, Colebrookea and Entada were

used traditionally in several formulations and this prompted the

author to develop formulations for producing significant activity in

anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective studies.

� Colebrookea and Entada have not been screened for antidiabetic

activity.

On the basis of the survey of ethnomedical, folkloric information and

literature, the following plants were selected:

Dalbergia paniciulata, Cyathea gigantea, Colebrookea oppositifolia

and Entada pursaetha.

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2.12 The objective of the proposed work:

The purpose of this research work is to investigate the

pharmacological activities and phytochemistry of these plants in a

scientific manner. The different steps adopted are given here under.

2.13 Collection of plant materials and extraction:

Exhaustive and upto date review of literature for antioxidant, anti-

inflammatory, hepatoprotective activities and their methods of screening ,

phytochemical and pharmacological review of the selected plants were

conducted.

The freshly collected leaves of the plants were shade dried and

powdered. The powdered materials were then subjected to maceration.

Dried powdered leaves of Dalbergia paniculata, Cyathea gigantea,

Colebrookea oppositifolia and Entada pursaetha were separately

macerated successively three times with methanol: water (70:30) for 10

days. The extracts thus obtained were concentrated under vacuum at

temperature of 430 c by using rotary evaporator.

2.14 Phytochemical Studies:

The extracts were tested for phyto-constituents by different

chemical tests and the prepared extracts have been subjected to column

chromatography over silica gel column with solvents of increasing order of

polarity. The separated constituents were characterized with the help of

spectroscopy, melting point, Co-TLC, etc.

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2.15 Antioxidant studies:

Sometimes endogenous antioxidants and the protective

mechanisms are found to be insufficient. Hence, the search for exogenous

antioxidants is continued. Recently, intensive research has been carried

out to characterize the antioxidant properties of extracts from several plant

materials. Hence the plant extracts were studied for in vitro antioxidant

free radical scavenging activity against superoxide, hydroxyl and DPPH

radicals.

2.16 Acute toxicity studies:

Toxicity studies conducted as per accepted protocol drawn under

OECD-425 guidelines for rats. The acute toxicity study was aimed at

establishing the therapeutic index i.e. the ratio between the

pharmacologically effective dose and the lethal dose, and also to perform

the primary screening.

2.17 Anti-inflammatory studies:

All the extracts were screened for anti-inflammatory activity using

carrageenan-induced rat paw oedema method. To assess the folk claims

and to find out the active constituents responsible for anti-inflammatory

activity.

2.18 Hepatoprotective studies:

All the extracts were screened for the hepatoprotective nature

against paracetamol-induced hepato-toxicity in rats, to know the

34

hepatoprotective potential of the crude extract and inorder to know the

fraction / phytoconstituent responsible for the hepatoprotective activity.

2.19 Documentation of results:

The results were tabulated and statistical significance (significance:

*P<0.05, **P<0.01, *P<0.001) of results was carried out by using unpaired

student’s t-test.

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CHAPTER II - Shodhgangashodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/8294/9/09_chapter 2.pdf · the world's tallest tree ferns, which reach heights up to 20 m. They are also very ancient