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REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Phytochemical screening
Phytoconstituents are the natural bioactive compounds found in plants. These
phytoconstituents work with nutrients and fibres to form an integrated part of defense
system against various diseases and stress conditions. Phytochemicals are basically divided
into two groups, i.e. primary and secondary constituents according to their functions in plant
metabolism. Primary constituents comprise of common sugars, amino acids, proteins etc.,
while secondary constituents consist of alkaloids, terpenoids, saponins, phenolic
compounds, flavonoids, tannins and so on (Koche et al., 2010). Phytochemicals are
naturally occurring biochemicals in plants that help to give plants their characteristic colour,
flavour, smell and texture. Apart from that, phytochemicals could prevent diseases
(including cancer and cardiovascular diseases) and inhibit pathogenic microorganisms
(Renu, 2005).
Faraz et al. (2003) carried out phytochemical screening in fifty five Iranian plants
belonging to 21 families. Wang et al. (2003) isolated the active principles from selected
Chinese herbs and used Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometric analysis for structure
elucidation. Theeshan et al. (2005) studied the phytochemical constituents of Cassia fistula.
Falodun et al. (2006) reported the occurrence of flavonoids, saponins, diterpenes and
phorbol estersin in the aqueous and methanol extracts of Euphorbia heterophylla. Two new
homoisoflavonoids were isolated from Caesalpinia pulcherrima by Maheswara et al.
(2006). Raghavendra et al. (2006) examined different solvent extracts of the powdered
leaf of Oxalis corniculata and reported the presence of phenols, glycosides, carbohydrates,
phytosterols and tannins. Rahaman et al. (2006) reported 3, 5, 7, 4-tetrahydroxy flavone
from the leaves of Cassia alata.
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Awoyinka et al. (2007) isolated eight bioactive compounds from the water and
ethanol extracts of dried leaf of Cnidoscolus aconitifolius. Sixty two compounds were
identified by Chowdhury et al. (2007), from the leaves of Lantana camara using
GC-MS technique. Different extracts of Semecarpus anacardium were analysed by
Mohanta et al. (2007) for their phytochemical properties. Onwukaeme et al. (2007)
detected reducing sugars, phenols, tannins and flavonoids in Pycanthus angolensis.
Uma Devi et al. (2007) carried out the phytochemical analysis in Achyranthes
bidentata. The methanol and acetone extracts of 14 plants belonging to different
families were evaluated to detect the presence of various phytochemicals by Vaghasiya
and Chanda (2007) and this study revealed the presence of tannins, cardiac glycosides,
steroids and saponins.
Arokiyaraj et al. (2008), by HPTLC finger print technique, evaluated methanol
extract of Pterocarpus santalinus leaf to detect the presence of various phytochemicals.
Ayoola et al. (2008) investigated the phytochemical components of four medicinal
plants used in the treatment of malaria in Southwestern Nigeria. Ivana et al. (2008)
used GC-MS technique to analyze the chemical composition of the leaf extracts of
Stevia rebaudiana. The extracts of two varieties of Aloe greatheadii were examined,
quantified and compared for the phytochemical contents using GC- MS technique
(Lisa et al., 2008). Suhad and Viorica (2008) conducted quantitative analysis of the
bioactive compounds (flavonoids) in Hibiscus sabdariffa. Sathishkumar et al. (2008)
screened the in vitro antioxidant properties of ethanol extract of Canthium parviflorum
leaves. Mature and immature leaves and stems of eight plant species belonging to 7
families were screened for alkaloids, saponins, tannins and total phenolics contents by
Abdulkabirkhan et al. (2009).
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Aiyelaagbe and Osamudiamen (2009) screened Mangifera indica for its
bioactive active compounds. Aurapa and Wandee (2009) estimated total anthraquinone
glycosides from the fresh and cooked leaves of Senna siamea. Ayo et al. (2009)
studied the phytochemicals present in the methanol leaf extract of Cassia nigricans by
GC-MS technique. Bhise and Salunkhe (2009), by using TLC and HPTLC techniques,
screened the phytochemical components from Ashwagandha, Tulsi, Mulethi, Awala,
Shatavari, Gokharu, Arjun, Giloy, Safed musli, Kalimirchi, Haldi and Jaiphal.
Qualitative analyses were carried out for detecting the bioactive compounds present in
Acalypha indica, Cassia auriculata, Eclipta alba and Phyllanthus niruri (Chitravadivu
et al., 2009).
The aerial parts of Hypericum perforatum were analysed to find out the
bioactive compounds (Gioti et al., 2009). Krishna et al. (2009) conducted preliminary
phytochemical studies and also estimated the total phenolics and flavonoid contents in
the methanol extract of Justicia gendarussa. A comparative phytochemical study
between six Malaysian medicinal plants, belonging to different families, was carried
out by Krishnaiah et al., (2009). Methanol extract of Ocimum basilicum was analysed
by TLC/HPTLC techniques to detect the phytochemicals by Maria et al. (2009). The
leaf, stem and root of Ichnocarpus frutescens were investigated for their phytochemical
properties by Mishra et al. (2009). Nadjet et al., (2009) isolated and identified
flavonoids from Chrysanthemum myconis. GC-MS analysis of leaf extract of
Cleistanthus collinus revealed the presence of a number of phytochemicals
(Parasuraman et al., 2009). Quantitative estimation of phytochemical constituents
from the wood of Caesalpinia pulcherrima was carried out using Camag HPTLC
system (Pawar et al., 2009). Using HPTLC, Preeti et al. (2009) made qualitative and
quantitative analyses of phytochemical components in Leidium sativum. Ravirajsingh
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et al. (2009) conducted both qualitative and quantitative studies for detecting the
phytochemical constituents found in methanol extract of Clerodendron glandulosum.
Sazada et al. (2009) studied preliminary phytochemicals found in some important
medicinal and aromatic plants. Senthil Kumar and Venkatesalu (2009), using GC-MS
technique, analysed the phytochemical contents found in the leaf of Clausena anisata.
Shafaghat et al. (2009) extracted the essential oils found in the leaf, stem and root of
Chrysanthemum parthenium by distillation technique and studied phytochemicals by
GC and GC-MS methods. The results of GC-MS analyses of Mentha arvensis from
three different locations were compared by Sharma et al. (2009). Sirohi et al.
(2009) evaluated twenty one different herbal plants and their parts for total sugar,
protein, tannin and saponin contents using aqueous, methanol and acetone extracts.
Tannins, saponins, phlobatannins, flavonoids, anthraquinones, terpenoids, steroids,
alkaloids, carbohydrates and glycosides found in four medicinal plants belonging to
different families were investigated and compared by Victor Njoku and Chidi (2009).
Vikas Kumar et al. (2009) examined the phytochemical properties of the leaves of
Paederia foetida.
The dried leaf aqueous and methanol extracts of Vernonia amygdalina, Carica
papaya, Persea americana and Cnidosculous aconitifolius were evaluated by Asaolu
et al. (2010) for their phytochemical constituents. Ayo (2010) evaluated the extract of
Cassia nigricans for determining the phytochemical constituents. The petroleum ether
and alcohol extracts of Symplocos racemosa were screened for evaluating the
phytochemicals by Devmurari (2010). Hassanzadeh et al. (2010) obtained the essential
oils from the leaves of Cupressus lusitanica by hydro-distillation method and their
chemical nature were analyzed by GC-MS. Igwe et al. (2010) studied the
phytochemicals, minerals and vitamin A and vitamin C compositions found in the
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leaves of Spondias mombin. Karthishwaran et al. (2010) conducted preliminary
phytochemical screening in Pergularia daemia. They also separated and identified
compounds from the crude leaf extract using TLC, HPLC and HPTLC. Khaled et al.
(2010) extracted and characterised twelve fatty acids from the aerial parts of
Beaumontia grandiflora. Phytochemical analysis was carried out using the leaf extract
of Andrographis stenophylla by Parasuraman et al. (2010). The leaves and fruits of
Pedalium murex were examined to evaluate the phytochemical components
(Sermakkani and Thangapandian, 2010). HPTLC fingerprint was drawn for the
phytochemicals derived from the methanol leaf extract of Acacia nilotica by
Venkataswamy et al. (2010). Teffo et al. (2010) isolated four types of keampferol
methyl esters from the leaves of Dodonaea viscosa var. angustifolia.
Abirami and Murugan (2011) quantified flavonoids in Cassia occidentalis by
HPTLC. Swertiamarin found in 60% methanol extract of Enicostemma littorale was
analysed by Alam et al. (2011) by high performance thin layer chromatographic
densitometric method. Phytochemical and pharmacognostic analyses were carried out
in Dolichandrone arcuata by Bojaxa and Henry Joseph (2011). Chao and Lin (2011)
isolated and identified the bioactive compounds in Andrographis paniculata. Methanol
leaf extract of Bombax malabaricum was screened for phytochemical constituents by
Hassain et al. (2011). Hema et al. (2011) evaluated the bioactive components found in
Murraya koenigii leaves using GC-MS. Jeeva et al. (2011) identified the
phytochemical constituents in the methanol flower extracts of Albizia lebbeck, Cordia
sebestena, Thunbergia grandiflora and Antigonon leptopus. Joshi et al. (2011)
examined the entire plant extract of Cyathocline lyrata for phytochemical constituents
by TLC and HPLC. Kiruba et al. (2011) studied the phytochemical analysis of
various solvents extracts of the flower of Rhododendron arboretum Sm. spp
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nilagiricum. Laitonjam et al. (2011) isolated and compared the chemical constituents
present in the leaves of Cissus adnata and roots of Smilax lanceiefolia. Mamatha
(2011) collected Andrographis paniculata from different geographical locations in
India and quantified andrographolide by HPTLC. Maria Jancy Rani et al. (2011)
identified possible chemical components present in the leaves of Lantana camara
by GC-MS method. Momoh et al. (2011) studied the phytochemical composition of
leaf of Costus afer using the methanol extract. Nezhadali and Baghan (2011) followed
solid-phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) and gas chromatography- mass spectrometry
techniques for analysing volatile compounds present in the leaves of Malabila
isfahanica. Pascaline et al. (2011) screened some medicinal plants used by the
Nandis of South Nandi District, Kenya to find out the phytochemical constituents.
Zizyphus nummularia leaves were screened by Raghvendra et al. (2011) for detecting
the phytochemicals.
Sarumathy et al. (2011) studied the biochemicals present in Caesalpinia sappan
by GC-MS. Extraction, isolation and characterization of bioactive compounds from
some plants were done by Sasidharan et al. (2011). Savita and Prakashchandra (2011)
developed a sensitive HPTLC method for the estimation of wedelolactone in different
extracts of Eclipta alba. Sharafzadeh et al. (2011) isolated essential oils from the leaf
and stem of Melissa officinalis, by GC and GC-MS method. Sivaraj et al. (2011)
conducted preliminary phytochemical screening using five different solvents extracts
of Aegle marmelos, Ruta graveolens, Opuntia dillenii, Euphorbia royleana and
Euphorbia antiquorum. Phytochemical profiling of Mimosa pudica was carried out
by Sriram et al. (2011). Sukumaran et al. (2011) identified the phytochemical
constituents of methanol extract of flower of Peltophorum pterocarpum.
Phytoconstituents found in Tridax procumbens were isolated and characterized by
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Surendra and Talele (2011). Various organic solvent extracts of Pedalium murex were
subjected to preliminary phytochemical screenings by Thamizh Mozhi et al. (2011).
Thenmozhi et al. (2011) identified the phytochemicals present in methanol extracts
of Eclipta alba and Emilia sonchifolia using HPTLC and FTIR. Vaghasiya et al.
(2011) conducted preliminary phytochemical screening and estimated total phenolics
and flavonoid contents in 5 traditionally used medicinal plants from western region of
India. Quantitative determination of phytochemicals, by HPTLC, was done by Verma
et al. (2011) in Eucalyptus hybrid leaves. Using thin layer chromatography technique,
Vladimir-Knezevic et al. (2011) estimated the flavonoid, phenolic acid and tannin
contents, in three selected species of Micromeria growing in Croatia. Yamunadevi et
al. (2011) investigated alkaloids profile of Aerva lanata using HPTLC.
Bajaj et al. (2012) reported the phytochemicals present in the methanol extract
of Achyranthes aspera. Johnson et al. (2012) reported the phytochemical constituents
present in the methanol flower extracts of Helicteres isora, Spathodea campanulata,
Antigonon leptopus and Thunbergia grandiflora. The crude leaf extract of Pteridium
aquilinum was subjected to preliminary phytochemical screening by Kardong et al.
(2012). Manohar et al. (2012) reported the phytochemicals present in the ethanol and
methanol extracts of fruit of Terminalia bellerica. Narasimhan and Mohan (2012)
studied the preliminary phytochemical constituents of Sesamum indicum seed.
Nirupama et al. (2012) identified the phytochemical constituents in aqueous and
methanol extract of various parts of Aegle marmelos using HPTLC. The different
solvent extracts of Kirganelia reticulata leaves were screened for their phytochemical
constituents by Shruthi et al. (2012). Agnel Ruba et al. (2013 a) carried out
preliminary phytochemical analysis of Arthocnemum fruticosum leaf using five
different solvents. Packia Lincy et al. (2013 a) conducted the preliminary
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phytochemical study of Ventilago maderaspatana whole plant, using different
solvents. Mohan et al. (2013) studied the preliminary phytochemical study of stem of
Suaeda monoica. Agnel Ruba et al. (2013 b) carried out preliminary phytochemical
screening of stem of Avicennia marina. Daffodil et al. (2013 a) reported the
preliminary phytochemical analysis of Asystasia gangetica.
Antioxidant activity
Free radicals are involved in many disorders like neurodegenerative diseases,
cancer and AIDS. Antioxidants through their scavenging power are useful for the
management of these diseases. DPPH stable free radical method is relatively rapid and
sensitive way which when encounters proton donors such as antioxidants, the radicals
get quenched and absorbance gets reduced, and thus used to survey the antioxidant
activity of a specific compound or plant extracts (Koleva et al., 2002, Qureshi et al.,
2010).
Antioxidant activities of 23 Iranian Ocimum accessions were studied by
Javanmardi et al. (2003). Chen et al. (2004) used microplated ABTS (2,2-azino-bis-[3-
ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid]), H2O2 and HRP (Horseradish peroxide)
system for evaluating total antioxidant activity of several popular vegetables and
traditional Chinese herbals. An in vitro survey for the antioxidant potentials of three
local Mediterranean food plant extracts (Cichorium intybus, Sonchus oleraceus and
Papaver rhoeas) was made by Schaffer et al. (2005). Pourmorad et al. (2006) carried
out a comparative study on the antioxidant potentials of some selected Iranian
medicinal plant extracts. The antioxidant properties of 25 edible tropical plants were
studied by Wong et al. (2006). Badami and Channabasavaraj (2007) studied the
in vitro antioxidant activities of thirteen medicinal plants collected from Western
Ghats of India.
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Ademiluyi and Oboh (2008) studied the antioxidant activity of methanol leaf
extract of Viscum album. By using linolenic acid peroxidation and DPPH methods,
Effat et al. (2008) screened thirteen medicinal plant extracts for antioxidant activity.
Janat et al. (2008) prepared the crude extracts of stem and leaves of Adenia lobata and
Desmodium ascendens, root and leaves of Glyphea brevis and Palisota hirsuta and
analyzed antioxidant potentials using DPPH assay. Moni Rani et al. (2008) evaluated
antioxidant activities of methanol extract of Ixora coccinea by DPPH free radical
scavenging activity, reducing power and total antioxidant activity assays. Rahman
et al. (2008) using DPPH assay, confirmed free radical scavenging activity of
methanol leaf extract of Cassia sophera. Suresh Kumar et al. (2008) surveyed
antioxidant activities of Albizzia amara, Achyranthes aspera, Cassia fistula,
C. auriculata and Datura stramonium.
Aliyu et al. (2009) evaluated antioxidant potentials of Bauhinia rufescens leaf
extract by DPPH and reducing power assays. Amal Kumar et al. (2009) evaluated the
antioxidant potentials of leaf and bark of Azadirachta indica. Bushra et al. (2009)
prepared four solvent extracts of the leaves of Terminalia arjuna and Aloe
barbadensis, by adopting two extraction techniques, and observed their antioxidant
activities. Devi et al. (2009) evaluated the antioxidant activity of Nephellium
lappaccum. Demiray et al. (2009) screened the leaves of Tilia argentea and Crataegi
folium and roots of Polygonum bistorta for their antioxidant properties. Jaleel (2009)
evaluated the antioxidant potentials of leaf and root tissues of Withania somnifera.
Laetitia and Christian (2009) studied antioxidant activity of Crithmum maritimum.
The methanol leaf extracts of Aegle marmelos, Abroma augusta, Lagersroemia
speciosa, Cassia fistula, Anthocephalus chinensis and Syzygium cumini were evaluated
for their antioxidant potentialities by Laizuman et al. (2009). Ljiljana et al. (2009)
26!
studied the antioxidant activity of Hieracium pilosella extracts. Methanol and aqueous
leaf extracts of Martynia annua were evaluated by Nagda et al. (2009), for their
antioxidant abilities, using various in vitro systems like reducing power assay, DPPH
radical scavenging activity, nitric oxide scavenging activity, H2O2 radical
scavenging activity, superoxide radical scavenging assay and hydroxyl radical
scavenging activity. Nazin and Nur (2009) used the methanol leaf and flower
extracts of Lippia alba to determine antioxidant activities by DPPH and reducing
power assay. A comparative study on the antioxidant potentials of four varieties
of Solanum melongena was evaluated by Nisha et al. (2009), by DPPH radical
scavenging activity, total reducing power assay, superoxide radical scavenging activity
and metal chelating activity. Using five in vitro assays, Patel et al. (2009) investigated
the antioxidant activities of the methanol extract of Grangea maderaspatana.
Total phenolic contents were also determined by them to evaluate the
relationship between the antioxidant activity and the phytochemical constituents.
Rajendra and Shakti (2009) prepared various extracts of medicinal plants from Tripura
and screened them for free radical scavenging activity. Ramesh et al. (2009) made a
comparison between the antioxidant activities, total phenolic and total flavonoid
contents of the leaves, latex and roots of field grown and in vitro raised Calotropis
procera. The methanol extract of Portulaca oleracea was evaluated for its antioxidant
activity by DPPH free radical scavenging activity, reducing power by FeCl3, nitric
oxide free radical scavenging activity and superoxide scavenging activity (Sanja et al.
2009). Antioxidant activities of Mentha piperita, Origonum vulgare and Capsicum
annum were determined by Univer et al. (2009). In vitro antioxidant activity of
Gymnema sylvestre leaf extract was investigated by Rachh et al. (2009). Vidyadhar
et al. (2010) determined the in vitro antioxidant activity of chloroform extract of
27!
aerial parts of Securinega leucopyrus. The antioxidant capacity of leaf, stem and fruit
extracts of Andrographis paniculata was investigated by Arash et al. (2010). Ayesha
et al. (2010) assessed the antioxidant ability of the methanol leaf extract of Muntingia
calabura Dheeraj et al. (2010) assessed the antioxidant potentials of different dried
parts of Cassia sophera. Gayathri Devi et al. (2010) studied in vitro antioxidant
activities of leaves and stem of Aristolochia indica. Methanol extracts of Carica
papaya leaf, Fagara zanthoxyloides root, Cajanus cajan seed, and Parquetina
nigrescens leaf were evaluated for their antioxidant activities by Imaga et al. (2010).
Patel et al. (2010) studied the total phenols, flavonoids and radical scavenging
activities of certain medicinal plants in Gujarat region. Paula et al. (2010) evaluated
antioxidant properties of Jacaranda puberula leaf extract. Pavithra et al. (2010)
estimated antioxidant activity of methanol extract of Evolvulus nummularius. The
crude methanol extracts of four Philippine medicinal plants viz., Brucea amarissima,
Intsia bijuga, Laportea meyeniana and Pipturus arborescens were examined by
Peteros and Uy (2010), for their antioxidant activities. Praveen Kumar et al. (2010)
screened the leaf extract of Vitex negundo for its antioxidant activity. Rekha et al.
(2010) screened the antioxidant activity of dry soup mix extracts containing
Anethum sowa leaves.
The antioxidant activities of aqueous and methanol extracts of Erythrina indica
leaves were tested by DPPH, nitric oxide radical scavenging activity under in vitro
condition by Sakat and Juvekar (2010). Shajiselvin and Kottai Muthu (2010)
examined in vitro antioxidant potentials of various extracts of whole plant of Borreria
hispida by DPPH radical scavenging activity, Superoxide anion scavenging activity
and Iron chelating activity. The antioxidant capacity and total phenolic contents
present in the acetone and methanol extracts of different parts of Melothria
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maderaspatana were evaluated by Sowndharajan et al. (2010). Antioxidant potentials
of methanol leaf extracts of Caesalpinia coriaria, Flacourtia cataphracta, Hiptage
benghalensis, Sesbania sesban, Persea macrophylla and tubers of Gloriosa superba
were analysed by Amutha and Shanthi (2011). Gokhan et al. (2011) examined in vitro
antioxidant activity and fatty acid composition of Centaurea urvillei. Mishra et al.
(2011) screened the extracts of ten Indian medicinal plant species for their antioxidant
activities. Antioxidant potentials of Gynura procumbens, Achyranthes aspera and
Polygonum tomentosum were studied by Mon et al. (2011). The chloroform and
methanol leaf extracts of 124 Egyptian plant species belonging to 56 families were
investigated and compared by Moussa et al. (2011), for their antioxidant potentials.
Naveen Prasad et al. (2011) screened antioxidant potentials of some common
plants. Nithya and Balakrishnan (2011) screened 13 important medicinal plants for
their antioxidant properties. Panda et al. (2011) screened the in vitro antioxidant
activity of aerial parts of Cocculus hirsutus. Patil and Patil (2011) studied the in vitro
antioxidant activity of seeds of blue and white flowered varieties of Clitoria ternatea.
Using some in vitro antioxidant models like DPPH radical scavenging activity,
superoxide radical scavenging activity, ferric reducing power and hydrogen peroxide
scavenging activity, Priya et al. (2011) studied the antioxidant activity of aqueous,
ethyl acetate, ethanol and methanol extracts of Caralluma fimbriata. Sathisha et al.
(2011) determined antioxidant potentials of Curcuma longa, Coffea arabica, Tribulus
terrestris, Moniera cuneleolia and Trigonella foenum-graecum using various in vitro
assays. Antioxidant potentials of root, stem, leaf and tuber of Coleus forskohlii were
analysed by Selima et al. (2011). Sengul et al. (2011) analysed the antioxidant
activities of Artemisia santonicum and Saponaria officinalis, the native Turkish
medicinal and aromatic plants. Stankovic et al. (2011) derived twenty different
29!
extracts from stem, leaf and flower of Teucrium montanum and determined their
antioxidant activities. Sudha et al. (2011) screened the in vitro antioxidant activity of
fresh fruit of Solanum muricatum. Venkateshwarlu et al. (2011) studied the in vitro and
in vivo antioxidant activity of methanol extract of Solena amplexicaulis
Alsabri et al. (2012) reported the in vitro antioxidant activities of aerial parts
of Cistus incanus, C. parviflorus, Helianthemum lippii, Arbutus pavarii, Capparis
spinosa, Rhamnus alaternus, Quercus coccifera and Globularia arabica. Anitha et al.
(2012 a) reported the in vitro antioxidant potential of whole plant of Cynoglossum
zeylanicum. Various fractions of the hydromethanolic extract of the roots of Coccinia
grandis were evaluated for their in vitro antioxidant activity (Bhadauria et al.,
2012). Christabel et al. (2012) carried out in vitro antioxidant studies and
scavenging potential of Prunus persica fruit pulp and peel. In vitro antioxidant
activity of ethanol (70%), methanol, ethyl acetate and hexane extracts of Synadium
grantii were investigated by Dasari et al. (2012). The antioxidant activities of
methanol and aqueous extracts of 31 medicinal wetland plants in Taiwan were
investigated by Ho et al. (2012). In vitro antioxidant potentials of methanol extracts of
different parts of Sauropus bacciformis were screened by Jenecius et al. (2012).
Mudoi et al. (2012) studied the in vitro antioxidant activity of Garcinia
pendunculata. Narayanasamy and Ragavan (2012) studied the antioxidant potentials of
Zanthoxylum tetraspermum stem bark by superoxide anion radicals, hydroxyl radicals,
hydrogen peroxide and DPPH radical scavenging activity. Paulpriya and Mohan (2012,
2013) reported the antioxidant activity of methanol extract of Dioscorea oppositifolia
and Dioscorea pentaphylla tubers. Ganga Rao et al. (2012) evaluated the in vitro
antioxidant activity of methanol leaf extract of Entada pursaetha using superoxide
radical, hydroxyl radical and DPPH radical scavenging methods. Sakthidevi and
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Mohan (2012) made a comparative in vitro free radical scavenging activities of
Polygala javana, P. chinensis and P. rosmarinifolia. The antioxidant potentials of
different solvent extracts of Crataeva magna were evaluated using DPPH, ABTS,
superoxide radical, hydroxyl radical, nitric oxide radical scavenging activities and
lipid peroxidation inhibition assay (Sridhar et al. 2012). Tresina et al. (2012 a) studied
the in vitro antioxidant activity of leaf of Eugenia singampattiana using different
models like DPPH, hydroxyl, superoxide and ABTS radical cation scavenging activity.
In vitro antioxidant activities of various parts of Cinnamomum cassia extracted with
different extraction methods were evaluated by Yang et al. (2012).
Agnel Ruba and Mohan (2013) reported the in vitro antioxidant activity of
rhizome of Maranta arundinacea. Agnel Ruba et al. (2013 c) studied the antioxidant
potential of leaf of Arthocnemum fruticosum using different models like DPPH,
hydroxyl, superoxide and ABTS radical cation scavenging activity. Agnel Ruba et al.
(2013 d) reported the in vitro antioxidant activity of leaf of Avicennia marina using
various in vitro assay models. Daffodil and Mohan (2013) reported the in vitro
antioxidant activity of rhizome of Nymphaea pubescens. Daffodil et al. (2013 b)
studied the in vitro antioxidant activity of leaf of Salicornia brachiata. Jenecius and
Mohan (2013) studied the in vitro antioxidant activity of corm of Amorphophallus
paeoniifolius using various antioxidant model systems. Nishanthini et al. (2013)
reported the in vitro antioxidant activity of stem of Anthocnemum fruticosum using
various antioxidant models viz., DPPH, hydroxyl, superoxide and ABTS. Packia
Lincy et al. (2013 b) studied the in vitro antioxidant activity of stem of Suaeda
monoica. Paulpriya et al. (2013 a, b) reported the in vitro antioxidant activity of leaf
of Sesuvium portulacastrum and pneumatophores of Avicennia marina using
different models. In vitro antioxidant activity of methanol extract of tuber of
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Dioscorea tomentosa was evaluated by Rajalakshmi and Mohan (2013).
In vitro antioxidant activity of leaf of Hugonia mystex was evaluated by Rajeswari et
al. (2013). Sakthidevi and Mohan (2013 a) studied the in vitro antioxidant activity of
Dioscorea alata. Daffodil et al. (2014) studied the in vitro antioxidant activity of
Vernonia cinerea. Jegadeeswari et al. (2014 a, b) studied the antioxidant activities of
Aristolochia krysagathra and Aristolochia bracteata. Packia Lincy et al. (2014)
reported the in vitro antioxidant activity of aerial parts of Maerua apetala.
Rajendrakumar et al. (2014) determined the antioxidant activity of tuber of Ruellia
tuberosa. Sakthidevi et al. (2014) reported the in vitro antioxidant activity of leaf
extracts of Alangium salviforum.
Anticancer activity
Tumour is a mass of tissue which proliferates rapidly, spread throughout the
body and may eventually cause death of the host (Mohan, 2006). Chemotherapy is an
effective treatment against various types of cancer either singly or in combination with
surgery and/or radiotherapy. However, chemotherapeutic effects of most of the drugs
showed limited efficacies due to the development of various side effects.
Chemotherapy is still a major challenge to the cancer patients because such highly
potent drug can be toxic and less than 1% of injected drug molecules can reach their
target cells whereas the rest may damage healthy cells and tissue especially bone
marrow, epithelial tissues, reticulo-endothelial system and gonads (Kathiriya et al.
2010). The plant-derived compounds have always been an important source of
medicines for various diseases and have received considerable attention in recent years
due to their diverse pharmacological properties including cytotoxic and cancer chemo-
preventive effects (Gonzales and Valerio, 2006). Since medieval times, plants have
been the source of medicines for the treatment of diseases. Regardless of the
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availability of a wealth of synthetic drugs, plants remain, even in the 21st
century, an
integral part of the health care in different countries, especially the developing ones.
In the late 90s, the WHO stated that a big percentage of the world’s population
depends on plant based therapies to cover the needs of the primary health care
(WHO, 1999; Dikshit et al., 2004). The areas of cancer and infectious diseases have a
leading position in utilization of medicinal plants as a source of drug discovery.
Among FDA approved anticancer and antiinfectious preparations, drugs of natural
origin have a share of 60% and 75% respectively (Newman et al., 2003). It is worthy
to mention the vivid current interest in discovery of natural drugs for cancer treatment
and chemoprevention (Kucuk, 2002; Balunas and Kinghorn, 2005). Huge number of
plant species is screened and bioassayed for this purpose worldwide (Richardson,
2001).
Another important addition to the anticancer drug armamentarium is the class
of clinically-active agents derived from camptothecin, which is isolated from the
Chinese ornamental tree Camptotheca acuminata Decne (Nyssaceae), known in China
as the tree of joy. The derivatives of Camptothecin, Topotecin and Irinotecan, were
originally developed by Japanese company, YAKUH Honsha, are now in clinical use.
These are used for the treatment of ovarian cancer, lung cancer and colorectal cancer
(Cragg and Newman, 2004/Rev.2006).
Other plant derived agents in clinical use are homoharringtonine, isolated from
the Chinese tree Cephalotaxus harringtonia var. drupacea and elliptinium a derivative
of the ellipticine, isolated from species of several genera of the family Apocynaceae,
including Bleekeria vitensis have reputed anticancer properties (Cragg and Newman,
2004/Rev.2006). Some medicinal plants have been found effective in various types of
malignant (cancer) and benign tumours of humans and experimental animals. These
33!
include: Agrimonia pilosa in sarcoma-180; Ailanthus altissima in intestinal cancer,
sarcoma-180, sarcoma-37 and leukaemia-16; Akebia quinata in sarcoma-180 and
sarcoma-37; Chelidonium jajus var. asiaticum in stomach cancer; Chimaphila
umbellata in breast tumour; Coix lachrymahjobi in ascites cancer and yoshida’s
sarcoma; Fritillaria thunbergii in tumours of the throat, chest, neck and breast; Larrea
tridentata in various cancers, especially leukaemia; Lonicera japonica in ascites
carcinoma and sarcoma-180; Nidus vespae in gastric and liver cancer; Oldenlandia
diffusa in leukaemia, yoshida’s sarcoma, sarcoma-180 and ehrlich’s ascites sarcoma
(EAS); Patrinia heterophylla and P. scabiosaefolia in ascites cancer; Phaleria
macrocarpa in oesophageal cancer; Polygonum cuspidatum in sarcoma-180; Pteris
multifida in sarcoma-180, sarcoma-37 and yoshida’s sarcoma; Pygeum africanum in
prostate cancer; Pyrus malus in lung, colon, breast and intestinal cancers; Scutellaria
barbata in sarcoma-180 and ehrlich’s ascites carcinoma; Smilax chinensis and
S. glabra in sarcoma-180 and ascites sarcoma; Solanum lyrati in sarcoma-180,
sarcoma- 37, ehrlich’s ascites carcinoma and stomach cancer; Sophora flavescens and
S. subprostrata in sarcoma-180, leukaemia and cervical cancer-14 cells; Taraxacum
mongolicum in ascites cancer, sarcoma-180 and lung cancer cells and Vitex
rotundifolia in lung tumour (Hsu, 1990; Hecht et al., 1990; Pan, 1992; Chang, 1992;
Boik, 1995; Han and Xu, 1988; Eberhsrdt et al., 2000; Prajapati et al. 2003; Faried
et al., 2007).
The methanolic extracts of Caesalpinia bonducella leaves and Bauhinia
racemosa stem bark were evaluated for antitumor activity against ehrlich’s ascites
carcinoma bearing mice (Gupta et al., 2004). Rajeshwari et al. (2005) reported the
antitumor activity of Mucuna pruriens seeds against ehrlich’s ascites carcinoma in
Swiss albino mice. Zahran et al. (2005) studied the antitumor activity of aqueous
34!
extract of Salix safsaf against two types of tumours, ehrlich’s ascites carcinoma cells
(EACC) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Dongre et al. (2007) reported the
antitumour activity of methanol extract of Hypericum hookerianum stem against
ehrlich’s ascites carcinoma in Swiss albino mice. Pradhan et al. (2008) studied the
methanolic extracts of Foeniculum vulgare and Helicteres isora against normal human
blood lymphocytes by micronucleus assay and antitumour activity against B16F10
melanoma cell line by trypan blue exclusion assay for cell viability and found out that
70% methanolic extract of Foeniculum vulgare showed good antitumour activity and
50% methanolic extract of Helicteres isora exhibited good antitumour activity. They
concluded that Foeniculum vulgare and Helicetres isora could be considered as
normal resource of antitumour agents.
The methanol extract of Zingiber officinalis was evaluated for anticancer
activity against ehrlich’s ascites carcinoma (Hanafy, 2009). Some Egyptian medicinal
plants such as leaves of Luffa aegyptiaca, Solenostemma argha, Cassia italica,
Ocimum basillicum, Colocasia antiguorum, Beta vulgaris and fruits of Capsicum
frutescens were evaluated for in vitro anticancer activity against Acute Myeloid
Leukemia (AML) and Acute Lymphocyte Leukemia (ALL) and in vivo anticancer
activity against ehrlich’s ascites carcinoma (Nasar-Allah et al. 2009). The anticancer
activity of hydro-distilled essential oils obtained from flowers of Matricaria
chamomilla and the dried leaves of Marjorana hortensis against leukaemia HL-60 and
NB 4 cells were tested in vitro by Romeilah (2009), and the results obtained by him
proved that the essential oils of above plants could be used as a potential natural
antioxidant and anticancer agents. Bala et al. (2010) reported the anticancer activity of
Cleome gynandra in Swiss albino mice against ehrlich’s ascites carcinoma cell line.
Forty four extracts from sixteen plants, used traditionally as anticancer agents, were
35!
evaluated in vitro for their antiproliferative activity against Hep-2, MCF-7 and Vero
cell lines. Twenty of these extracts demonstrated significant antiproliferative activity
against one or more of the cell lines. Among the tested extracts, methanol fractions of
Ononis hirta aerial parts and Irula viscosa flowers were the most active fractions
against MCF-7 cells, (Talib and Mahasneh, 2010).
Anbu et al. (2011) studied the anticancer activity of petroleum ether extract of
Abrus precatorius seed against ehrlich’s ascites carcinoma in mice. Jeevanantham et
al. (2011) studied the anticancer activity of methanolic extract of aerial part of
Momordica cymbalaria against ehrlic’s ascites carcinoma in mice. The ethanol extracts
of Eugenia flocossa and Eugenia singampattiana leaves were evaluated for anticancer
activity against Dalton Ascites Lymphoma in Swiss albino mice (Kala et al.,
2011). Mahadik et al. (2011) studied the antitumor and antioxidant activity of
ethanolic extract of Vitis vinifera leaves against ehrlich’s ascites carcinoma induced
Swiss albino mice on dose dependent manner. The ethanolic extract of leaves of
Butea monosperma was evaluated for its anticancer activity against ehrlich’s ascites
carcinoma in Swiss albino mice (Rekha and Jayakar, 2011). The methanol extract of
Cucurbita maxima aerial parts was evaluated for its antitumor activity against
ehrlich’s ascites carcinoma model in mice (Saha et al. 2011).
Islam et al. (2012) studied the anticancer activity of petroleum ether extract
of Eucalyptus camaldulensis against ehrlich’s ascites carcinoma. Anticancer activity of
methanolic flower extract of Tecamo stans was evaluated using both in vivo and
in vitro methods (Kameshwaran et al., 2012). Kota et al. (2012) reported the anticancer
activity of various concentrations of ethanolic extract of the leaves of Achyranthes
bidentata against DAL and EAL cell lines. Lalee et al. (2012) reported the anticancer
activity of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Aerva sanguinolenta against ehrlich’s
36!
ascites carcinoma cells induced Swiss mice. Marappan and Subramaniyan (2012)
reported the antitumour activity of methanolic extract of Cynodon dactylon leaves
against ehrlich’s ascites carcinoma in mice. The ethanol extract of Madhuca
longifolia leaves was evaluated for its anticancer activity ehrlich’s ascites carcinoma in
mice (Sangameswaran et al. 2012). The acetone and ethanol extracts from the leaves of
Adina cordifolia were evaluated for anticancer activity against e hrlich’s ascites
carcinoma bearing Swiss albino mice (Sangameswaran and Saluja, 2012). Anitha
et al. (2012b) reported antitumour activity of ethanol extract of whole plant of
Cynoglossum zeylanicum against Dalton Ascites Lymphoma in Swiss albino rats.
Sarada et al. (2012) reported the anticancer activity of ethanol extract of leaf and bark
of Narirgi crenulata against ehrlich’s ascites carcinoma. The ethanol extracts of
Polygala chinensis, P. rosmarinifolia, and P. javana whole plants were evaluated for
their anticancer activity against DAL bearing mice (Alagammal et al., 2012a, 2013a).
The ethanol extracts of Polycarpea corymbosa and Melastoma malabathricum whole
plants were studied for their anticancer activity against Dalton Ascites Lymphoma
(Balamurugan et al., 2013 a, b.)
Antidiabetic activity
Diabetes is a disorder of metabolism, the way our body uses and digests the
food for growth and energy. Most of the food we eat is broken down into glucose, the
form of sugar in the blood. Glucose is the main source of fuel for the body. After
digestion, glucose passes into the bloodstream, where it is used by the cells for growth
and energy. For glucose to get into cells, insulin is essential. Insulin is a hormone
produced by pancreas, the large gland behind the stomach. When we eat, the pancreas
automatically produces the right amount of insulin to move glucose from blood into
our cells. In people with diabetes, however, the pancreas either produces little or no
37!
insulin, or the cells do not respond appropriately to the insulin that is produced.
Glucose built up in the blood, overflows into the urine, and passes out of the body in
the urine. Thus, the body loses its main source of fuel even though the blood contains
a large amount of glucose. The first stage in Type 2 diabetes is the condition called
insulin resistance; although insulin can attach normally to receptors on liver and
muscle cells, certain mechanisms prevent insulin from moving glucose into these
cells where it can be used. Most Type 2 diabetics produce variable, even normal or
high amounts of insulin, and in the beginning, this amount is usually sufficient to
overcome such resistance. Over time, the pancreas becomes unable to produce
enough insulin to overcome resistance. In Type 2 diabetes, the initial effect of this
stage is usually an abnormal rise in blood sugar right after a meal (called postprandial
hyperglycemia). This effect is now believed to be particularly damaging to the body.
Eventually, the cycle of elevated glucose further impairs and possibly destroys beta
cells, thereby stopping insulin production completely and causing full-down diabetes.
This is made evident by fasting hyperglycemia, in which elevated glucose levels are
present most of the time.
Diabetes mellitus is an epidemic occurring in adults throughout the world and
is the leading cause of kidney failure, heart attack, blindness and lower limb
amputation. It is the fourth main cause of death in most developed countries. The
prevalence of diabetes is estimated to reach 330 million by the year 2025, according to
International Diabetes Federation, with the greatest potential increase being in Africa
and Asia. This numerical increase will occur in developing countries. By the year
2025, over 75% of people with diabetes will reside in developing countries, as
compared to 62% in 1995 (Eseyin et al., 2012). Currently available therapies for
diabetes include insulin and various oral antidiabetic agents such as sulfonylureas,
38!
biguanides and glinides. Many of them have a number of serious adverse effects;
therefore, the search for more effective and safer hypoglycaemic agents is one of the
important areas of investigations (Patel et al., 2012). Many herbs and plants have been
described as possessing hypoglycaemic activity when taken orally (Rajan et al., 2012).
According to the World Health Organization, there are more than 1200 plant species
worldwide used in the treatment of diabetes mellitus and substantial number of plant
showed effective hypoglycaemic activity after laboratory testing (Rajasekar et al.,
2010). Recently, some medicinal plants have been reported to be useful in diabetes
worldwide and have been used empirically in antidiabetic and antihyperlipidemic
remedies. Antihyperglycaemic activity of the plants is mainly due to their ability to
restore the function of pancreatic tissues by causing an increase in insulin output or
inhibiting the intestinal absorption of glucose or to the facilitation of metabolites in
insulin dependent processes.
More than 400 plant species having hypoglycaemic activity have been available
in literature, however, searching for new antidiabetic drugs from natural plants is still
attractive because they contain substances which demonstrate alternative and safe
effects on diabetes mellitus. Most of the plants contain glycosides, alkaloids,
terpenoids, flavonoids, carotenoids etc., that are frequently implicated as having
antidiabetic effect (Malviya et al., 2010). However, the study of plant for
hypoglycaemic, antioxidant and hypolipidemic activities may give new
pharmacological approaches in the treatment of diabetes mellitus (Dangi and Mishra,
2010).
Several medicinal plants have been used as dietary adjunct and in the treatment
of numerous diseases without proper knowledge of their function. Although
phytotherapy is continued to be used in several countries, a few plants have received
39!
scientific or medical scrutiny. Moreover, a large number of medicinal plants possess
some degree of toxicity. For example, Marles and Farnsworth (1994) reported that
about one third of medicinal plants used in the treatment of diabetes are considered to
be toxic. Numerous animal studies have shown that the ethanol leaf and flower
extracts of Vinca rosea and Ficus racemosa lower the blood glucose levels (Ghosh
and Gupta, 1980).
The extract of Achyranthes aspera produced a significant dose-related
hypoglycaemic effect in normoglycaemic and alloxan induced diabetic rabbits. The
water and methanol extracts of this plant also decreased blood sugar levels in these
animals. This plant might be providing certain necessary elements like calcium, zinc,
magnesium, manganese and copper to the beta-cells (Akhtar and Iqbal, 1991). Oral
administration of Asteracantha longifolia extract significantly improved glucose
tolerance in healthy human and diabetic patients (Fernando et al. 1991). S-allyl
cysteine sulphoxide (SACS), a sulphur-containing amino acid of Allium sativum, is
the precursor of allicin and garlic oil. SACS had been found to show a significant
antidiabetic effect in alloxan induced diabetic rats. Administration of alloxan induced
diabetic rats, with SACS at the dose of 200 mg/kg body weight, significantly
decreased the concentration of serum lipids, blood glucose and activities of serum
enzymes like alkaline phosphatase, acid phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase and liver
glucose 6 phosphatase. It significantly increased the liver and intestinal HMG CoA
reductase activity and liver hexokinase activity (Sheela and Augusti, 1992). Benjamin
et al. (1994) reported that Catharanthus roseus could be used as potential
hypoglycaemic agent because the leaf extract of this plant was found to increase
insulin and in the restoration of blood glucose and body weight to normal levels.
Saponin, isolated from the leaves of Acanthopanax senticosus, when injected to
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experimental mice decreased hyperglycaemia induced by injection of adrenalin,
glucose and alloxan without affecting the levels of blood sugar in untreated mice (Sui
et al., 1994).
Mukherjee et al. (1995) studied the effect of methanol extract of Nelumbo
nucifera on streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats and reported a decrease in glycaemia.
The healthy rabbits were subjected to weekly subcutanaceous glucose tolerance test
after the gastric administration of water, tolbutamide or a traditional preparation of
Cuminum cyminum by Roman - Ramos et al. (1995), to study the antihyperglycaemic
effect. The results showed that the gastric administration of C. cyminum significantly
decreased the area under glucose tolerance curve and the hyperglycaemic peak.
Garg et al. (1997) reported that daily one time administration of the leaf
juice of Lantana camara, at different dose levels for 14 days in rats, resulted in an
alterations in various haematological and biochemical parameters. They observed that
1500 mg dose level had a strong hypoglycaemic effect. Noor and Asherof
(1998) observed that Tinospora crispa stimulated insulin release via modulation of
intracellular Ca2+
concentration in pancreatic beta-cells. Administration with the
extracts of Beta vulgaris var. cicla inhibited the increase in the non-enzymatic
glycosylation of skin proteins and blood glucose. These results demonstrated the
ability of this plant in preventing or at least retarding the development of some
diabetic complications (Tunali et al., 1998). Oral administration of with aqueous
extract of Tinospora cordifolia roots produced a significant decrease in glycaemia and
brain lipids in alloxan induced diabetic rats (Stanley et al., 1999). The ethanol bark
and leaf extracts of Thespesia populnea were investigated for hypoglycaemic effects in
streptozotocin induced diabetic rats and this was compared with glibenclamide, a
standard hypoglycaemic agent; also measured the lipid peroxide, superoxide dismutase
41!
and catalase enzymes level in the kidney of the animal. The root and aerial parts
extracts of Sida cordifolia showed hypoglycaemic activity. Moreover, the methanol
root extract was found to possess significant hypoglycaemic activity. Several plant
species such as Opuntia streptacantha, Trigonella foenum-graecum, Memordica
charantia, Ficus benghalensis, Polygala senega, Gymnema sylvestre, Allium sativum,
Citrullus colocynthis, and Aloe barbadensis were reported to possess hypoglycaemic
properties (Atta-Ur-Rahman and Zaman, 1989; Ziyyat et al., 1997; Bnouham et al.,
2002).
Chattapadhyay (1999) reported that the leaf extract of Azadirachta indica
significantly blocked the inhibitory effect of serotonin on insulin secretion mediated
by glucose. Moreover, A. indica leaf extract was found to have the most potent blood
sugar lowering property followed by Catharanthus roseus, Gymnema sylvestre and
Ocimum sanctum (Chattapadhyay, 1993). Uma Devi et al. (2006) reported the
antidiabetic and hyperlipidaemic effects of Cassia auriculata in alloxan induced
diabetic rats. Effect of Ficus carica leaf decoction, as a supplement to breakfast, was
studied in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) patients. The methanol leaf
extract of Costus pictus was investigated for its antidiabetic effect in wistar albino
rats by Jothivel et al. (2007). Pari et al. (2007) investigated the insulin receptor-
binding effect of Cassia auriculata flower extract in streptozotocin induced diabetic
male wistar rats. The antidiabetic potential of the whole plant petroleum ether, ethanol
and aqueous extracts of Phyllanthus fraternus was estimated in alloxan induced
diabetic albino rats (Garg et al., 2008). Noor et al. (2008) studied the antidiabetic
activity of Aloe vera in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats. Petroleum ether, ethyl
acetate and ethanol extracts of Dendrophthoe falcata leaves were investigated for their
antidiabetic activity in alloxan induced diabetic rats by Tenpe et al. (2008).
42!
Adebayo et al. (2009) demonstrated the antidiabetic properties of aqueous
leaf extract of Bougainvillea glabra on alloxan induced diabetic rats. Murugan et al.
(2009) studied the antidiabetic and hypolipidaemic activity of Mucuna pruriens leaves
in alloxan induced diabetic rats. The antidiabetic effect of Artemisia judaica extract on
alloxan induced diabetic rats was studied by Nofal et al. (2009). Gurjar et al. (2010)
reported the antidiabetic activity of Anthocephalus cadamba bark in alloxan induced
diabetic rats. Kumar et al. (2010) studied the antidiabetic activity of Euphorbia hitra
stem, leaf and flower extracts against normal and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.
Sharma et al. (2010) investigated the antidiabetic activity of Ficus glomerata in
alloxan induced diabetic rats. Maruthupandian and Mohan (2011) studied the
antidiabetic effects of ethanol wood and bark extracts and combined wood and bark
extract of Pterocarpus marsupium in wistar albino rats. The ethanol leaf extract of
Senna auriculata was investigated for its antidiabetic and antihyperlipidaemic
activities in wistar albino rats by Shunmugasundaram et al. (2011).
Alagammal et al. (2012c, d) investigated the effect of whole plant ethanol
extract of Polygala chinensis and P. rosmarinifolia for their antidiabetic and
antihyperlipidaemic effects in wistar albino rats. Anitha et al. (2012 c) reported the
antihyperglycaemic, antihyperlipidemic and antioxidant activity of whole plant of
Cynoglossum zeylanicum in alloxan induced diabetic rats. Halmi et al. (2012) reported
the antidiabetic activity of Opuntia ficus-indica. Kala et al. (2012 a) reported the
antidiabetic activity of Eugenia floccosa leaves in alloxan induced diabetic rats.
Manohar et al. (2012) studied the hypoglycaemic and antihyperglycaemic effects
of Moringa oleifera aqueous extract in normal and alloxan induced diabetic rabbits.
Neha et al. (2012) studied the antidiabetic activity of ethanol extract of Albizzia
lebbeck in alloxan induced diabetic rats. Ramachandran et al. (2012) reported the
43!
antidiabetic, antihyperlipidemic and in vitro antioxidant potentials of aqueous of
Anogeissus latifolia bark in Type 2 diabetic rats. Potential antidiabetic effect of
Nymphaea pubescens tuber extract, in alloxan induced diabetic rats, was investigated
by Shajeela et al. (2012).
Muthulakshmi et al. (2013) reported the antidiabetic, antihyperlipidaemic and
antioxidant activities of ethanol extract of leaf and bark of Feronia elephantum on
alloxan induced diabetic rats. Shajeela et al. (2013) reported the antidiabetic,
hypolipidemic and antioxidant effects of ethanol extract of corm of Xanthosoma
sagittifolium against alloxan induced diabetic rats. Thanga Krishna Kumari et al.
(2013a, b) studied the hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects of ethanol extracts of
whole plant of Sarcosrtemma secamone and Canscora perfoliata against alloxan
induced diabetic rats. Balamurugan et al. (2014a, b) studied the antidiabetic and
antihyperlipidaemic activity of whole plant ethanol extracts of Polycarpaea corymbosa
and Melastoma malabathricum in alloxan induced diabetic rats.
Hepatoprotective activity
Liver is the vital organ responsible for drug metabolism and appears to be a
sensitive target site for substances modulating biotransformation (Ahmad et al., 2002).
Liver diseases are mainly caused by toxic chemicals, excess consumption of alcohol,
infections and autoimmune disorders. Certain medicinal agents, introduced within
therapeutic ranges, may injure the organ some times. Other chemical agents, those used
in herbal remedies, may also induce hepatotoxicity (Boerth et al., 2002). Nowadays
drug induced liver injury has become a major health problem. Liver diseases such as
jaundice, cirrhosis and fatty liver are very common and large public health problems in
the world (Balamurugan et al., 2008). There is no rational therapy available for treating
liver disorders so that management of liver diseases is still a challenge to the modern
44!
medicine. The traditional system of medicine has a major role in the treatment of liver
ailments.
Ayurvedic and other traditional medical practitioners of the world have claimed
for centuries that extracts from plants can be effectively used for the alleviation of
different types of liver diseases (Subramaniam and Pushpangadan, 1999). Most of the
claims are however, anecdotal and a very few have received adequate medical or
scientific evaluation. Except for the use of appropriate vaccine for the treatment of
hepatitis caused by viral infection, a very few effective treatments are available today
to cure liver diseases. Therefore, it is not surprising that a considerable interest has
been taken by researchers to examine their numerous traditional plant remedies, used
for treating liver disorders. In recent years, investigations have been carried out to
provide experimental evidences confirming that many of these plants do have
hepatoprotective properties (Sharma and Gupta, 2003).
Mondal et al. (2005) reported that methanol extract of Diospyros malabarica
bark had a potent hepatoprotective activity against carbon tetrachloride induced liver
damage in rats. Dash et al. (2007) reported that chloroform and methanol entire plant
extracts of Ichnocarpus frutescens served as effective hepatoprotective agents in
paracetamol induced liver damage in rats. Iniaghe et al. (2008) reported that the
aqueous leaf extract of Acalypha racmosa served as an effective hepatoprotective agent
against CCl4 induced liver damage. Abdul-Razik et al. (2009) studied the effect of
ethyl acetate and n-butanol extracts and volatile oil of Juncus subulatus, in ethanol
induced hepatic injury, in female rats, and showed that all extracts served as potential
hepatoprotective agents. Jain et al. (2009) compared the hepatoprotective potentials
of ethanol and aqueous extracts of Amorphophallus campanulatus tubers using carbon
tetrachloride induced hepatic damage in rats. This study revealed that the ethanol
45!
extract was more hepatoprotective than the aqueous extract. Aqueous extracts of seeds
of Areca catechu and nutgalls of Quercus infectoria were investigated for their
hepatoprotective activities, against liver injury, induced by carbon tetrachloride
(CCl4) in rats (Pithayanukul et al., 2009). Tiwari and Khosa (2009) evaluated the
hepatoprotective effects of aqueous and methanol extracts of flower heads of
Sphaeranthus indicus, a traditional Indian medicinal plant commonly used to nourish
and improve the liver conditions, on acetaminophen induced hepatotoxicity in rats.
Hepatoprotective activity of water and alcoholic extracts of Luffa acutangula,
against carbon tetrachloride and rifampicin-induced hepatotoxicity in rats, was
evaluated by Jadhav et al. (2010). Shyamal et al. (2010) reported that ethanol root
extracts of Ixora coccinea, Rhinacanthus nastus and whole plant extract of Spilanthes
ciliata served as potental hepatoprotective agents in aflatoxin B1 intoxicated livers of
albino male wistar rats. Ravikumar et al. (2011) reported the hepatoprotective activity
of ethanol extract of Suaeda monoica leaves against concanavation-A induced
hepatoxicity in rats. Suky et al. (2011) reported the hepatoprotective effect of
Balanites aeyptiace against CCl4 induced hepatotoxicity in rats. Banu et al. (2012)
studied the hepatoprotective activity of methanol extract of Barleria montana leaves
against ethanol induced rat hepatic injury.
Anitha et al. (2012 d) reported the hepatoprotective and antioxidant activity of
ethanol extract of whole plant Cynoglossum zeylanicum against CCl4 induced
hepatotoxicity in rats. Gnanasekaran et al. (2012) reported the in vitro hepatoprotective
activity of ethanol extract of Indigofera tinctoria whole plant against CCl4 induecd
hepatotoxicity. Methanol extract of root of Elephantopus scabes was evaluated for its
hepatoprotective activity against carbon tetrachloride induced liver damage in rats
(Sheeba et al., 2012). Alcoholic and aqueous extracts of Embelia tsjeriam fruits were
46!
evaluated for their hepatoprotective activity against carbon tetrachloride induced
hepatoxicity in rats (Sudhir and Suhas, 2012). Ethanol extracts of whole plants of
Canscora perfoliata and Sarcostemma secamone were evaluated for hepatoprotective
activity against CCl4 induced hepatotoxicity in rats (Thangakrishnakumari et al., 2012
c, d). Alagammal et al. (2013 b) reported the hepatoprotective activity of ethanol
extract of Polygala rosmarinifolia whole plant against CCl4 treated rats. Kala et al.
(2013a) investigated the hepatoprotective effect of ethanol extract of Eugenia
singampattiana leaf CCl4 treated rats. Sakthidevi and Mohan (2013b) evaluated the
hepatoprotective activity of Polygala chinensis whole plant against CCl4 induced
hepatotoxicity in rats. Sakthidevi et al. (2013) studied the hepatoprotective activity of
ethanol extract of Polygala javana whole plant against CCl4 treated rats.
Antifertility activity
Population growth throughout the world, more particularly in underdeveloped
countries, has tremendous effect on the economic progress. There is a global need to
support individuals in family-planning due to the increasing growth rate of the world’s
population with its negative impact on environment as well as on social system.
Although considerable progress has been made in the development of highly effective
variety of synthetic contraceptive drugs, the most challenging pursuits in health care
system is the search for newer, more potent, additional safe and less expensive methods
that require self administration and can be available to the majority of population of any
country. It is why traditional medicine has received considerable interest in the
treatment of diseases in the third world population. Nearly 80% of the world
populations rely on traditional medicines for primary health care, most of which involve
the use of plant extracts (Sandhya et al., 2006). Several studies for induction of
infertility have been investigated over a long period including immunological,
47!
hormonal and chemical approaches (Gupta and Rahi, 2006). Many plants’ extract have
been used as antifertility agents in folklore and traditional medicine without producing
apparent toxic effects (Singh and Singh, 2009).
Recently, efforts are being made to explore the hidden wealth of medicinal
plants for contraceptive use. With the exciting prospects of gene therapy, herbal
medicines remain one of the commonest forms of therapy available for much of
world’s population to maintain health and to treat diseases. There has been a steady
accumulation of information regarding the screening of plants having antifertility
efficacy (Hanshaw, 1953; Chopra et al., 1956; Chopra et al., 1958; Casey, 1960;
Bhakuni et al., 1969 and Farnsworth et al., 1975a and 1975b). The folklore
information and the ancient literature about the herbals can help antifertility program.
In the recent past, various researchers have done a number of works on plants and
isolated, identified and evaluated active principles from different parts of plants such
as root, stem, leaves, flowers, seeds or stem barks. These reports have been
exhaustively reviewed by Orzechowski (1972); Brondegaard (1973); Kholkute et al.
(1976); Kamboj and Dhawan (1982); Zhu (1982) and Satyawati (1983). A literature
survey for the period of past 25 years (1980-2005) revealed that there are about 105
plants possessing antifertility activity in males (Gupta and Sharma, 2006).
Hadley et al. (1981) isolated gossypol, a yellow phenolic compound from
cotton seed oil and confirmed it as a male contraceptive drug. They found that
gossypol treatment reduced the level of serum testosterone and luteinizing hormone
levels. Gossypol acts directly on testes and induces azoospermia or oligospermia (Xue,
1980; Xue, 1985 and Taitzoglou et al., 1999). A multi-glycoside extracted from the
root xylem of Tripterygium wilfordii was shown to have a reversible antifertility action
in male rats by Qian (1987) using Task-Force supported study. Its antifertility activity
48!
was well documented in rats, mice and human (Qian, 1986 and Qian et al., 1995).
Choudhary et al. (1991) studied antifertility effect of ethanol leaf extracts of
Alstonia scholaris, Cleistanthus collinus and Terminalia bellerica and root extract of
Murraya paniculata in male albino rats. Lohiya and Goyal (1992) administered
chloroform extract of Carica papaya seeds and showed a decrease in sperm count and
the suppression of cauda epididymal sperm motility in rats. They also suggested that
contraceptive effects were mainly post testicular in nature and without adverse
influence on the lipid profile of animals. Verma and Chinoy (2001) reported that
the Carica papaya seed extract altered cauda epididymal micro-environment.
Petroleum ether, benzene and ethanolic extracts of Crotolaria juncea seeds were
administered intraperitoneally, at the dose level of 25 mg/100 g body weight, to albino
male mice for 30 days by Vijaykumar et al. (2003). Manivannan et al. (2004) observed
the ultra-structural changes in the testis and epididymis of rats following treatment
with the chloroform extracts of the Carica papaya seeds.
Dehghan et al. (2006) reported that the Azadirachta indica seed extract altered
vas deferens and epididymal milieu and affected the spermatozoa. The ethanol and
aqueous extracts of the dried stem bark of the plant Crataeva nurvala (Capparidaceae)
have been found to possess significant antifertility effects in rats. (Bhaskar et al.,
2009). They exhibited a partial and complete resorption of implants at 300 mg/kg and
600 mg/kg body weight dose levels respectively. Bassia latifolia bud and Cajanus
cajan seed were evaluated for antifertility activity in mature female mice by
Bandyopadhyay (2010). Antifertility activity was evaluated by observing the estrus
cycle, body weight, wet weight of ovaries, steroidogenic enzymes and substrates.
Ahirwar (2011) studied the antifertility activity of alcoholic extract of Acacia
leucophploea root by evaluating estrus cycle study, genital organ weight and
49!
biochemical parameter. Raj et al. (2011) summarized the antifertility activity in terms
of antifertility botanical agents such as estrous cycle disruptors, antiestrogenic,
antiimplantation, abortifacient properties of different plants described by various
researchers. Sathiyaraj et al. (2011) evaluated the antifertility effect of aqueous leaf
extract of Andrographis paniculata in albino rats. The results suggest that the aqueous
extract of the leaves of A. paniculata has spermicidal activity. Priya et al. (2012)
reviewed the profiles of plants with antifertility, reported in the literature from 1994
to 2010. The profiles presented include information about the scientific name, family,
the degree of antifertility activity and the active agents. Vijaykumar et al. (2012)
reviewed 63 plants and 122 references with antifertility activity and profertility
activity including some other pharmacological activities.
Alagammal et al. (2013b) studied the antifertility effect of whole plant ethanol
extract of Polygala rosmarinifolia in male albino rats. The results revealed that the
ethanolic extract inhibited sperm concentration, motility and testosterone which
might result in a male sterility. Pare et al. (2013) studied the abortifacient potentials
of alcoholic root, stem and leaf extracts of Trianthema portulacastrum, in female
albino rats. Stalin et al. (2013) reviewed the works on antifertility agents of plant
origin. They highlighted that the extracts of various plants such as Abrus
precatorius, Aegle marmelos, Curcuma longa, Raphanus sativus etc., were biologically
very active and could be used as antifertility agents. Sundarrajan et al. (2013)
evaluated the antifertility activity of herbal oral contraceptive suspension containing
the extracts of Carica papaya leaves and Capparis aphylla aerial parts. Umadevi
et al. (2013) reviewed the studies of several researches on medicinal plants with
antifertility potentials.
Antiinflammatory activity
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The attention of pharmacologists, throughout the world, has been focused on
finding out safer and potent antiinflammatory drug. This is not surprising since
inflammatory disorders like rheumatoid arthritis have worldwide prevalence, occur in
all races and ethnic groups and have onset early adulthood, sometimes crippling the
afflicted person to render him economically non-productive (Wyngaarden et al., 1988).
Antiinflammatory drugs offer symptomatic relief in the inflammatory diseases when
the underlying cause of inflammation is unidentified. Antiinflammatory drugs,
presently available for the treatment of joint inflammation of various kinds, have
undesirable side effects such as causing peptic ulcers, Gastrointestinal complications,
including bleeding and perforation due to inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis
(Pascucci, 2002; Corley et al., 2003; Flower et al., 1980). Therefore search for safer
and effective drug is up surged. Plant remedies have become increasingly popular and
are often preferred to synthetically derived pharmaceuticals. The natural products
today symbolize safety in contrast to the synthetic drugs that are regarded as unsafe to
humans and environment. So, people are returning to the natural products with the
hope of safety and security. Numerous evidences have shown that increased
consumption of fruit and vegetables reduces the risk of various pathological events
such as cancer, cardiovascular, cerebro-vascular diseases (Goodwin and Brodwick,
1995; Rimm et al., 1996).
A systematic study on antiinflammatory effects of Indian medicinal plants
was s t a r t ed by Gujral and his associates. They screened a number of plants for their
antiarthritic effects. Subsequently, various workers from different laboratories in India
made significant contributions. In the sixties, formaldehyde induced arthritis and
croton oil induced granuloma pouch, in rats, were mainly used as the experimental
models of inflammation. Later, with the introduction of better and more specific
51!
models of experimental inflammation like carrageenan induced paw oedema in rats,
cotton pellet induced granuloma in rats, Freud’s complete adjuvant induced arthritis
etc., workers in different laboratories tested their drugs with the help of the later
models. Scientists in Central drugs Research Institute, Lucknow studied nearly two
thousand Indian medicinal plants for their various pharmacological properties
(Chatterjee and Pal, 1984; Shah et al., 2006). The greatest disadvantage in the
presently available potent synthetic antiinflammatory drugs lies in their toxicity and
reappearance of symptoms after discontinuation. Therefore, the search for their
antiinflammatory activity (AIA) is an unending problem (Chawla et al., 1987; Shen,
1981).
The oleoresin fraction of Commiphora mukul possessed significant
antiarthritic and antiinflammatory activities. A steroidal compound isolated from C.
mukul displayed a significant dose dependent activity which was more potent than the
resin fraction of C. mukul. A comparison between the antiinflammatory activities of
petroleum ether extract of C. mukul with standard drugs showed that the former to be
more effective. The ethyl acetate-soluble portion of the resin (guggalipid), on
fractionation, revealed that the acidic portion displayed a significant antiinflammatory
activity (Satyavati et al., 1969). Singh et al. (1970) isolated !-sitosterol from Cyperus
rotendus and showed it a potent antiinflammatory agent against carrageenan and cotton
pellet-induced oedema in rats. Gupta et al. (1971) compared the antipyretic activities
of hydrocortisone and oxyphenbutazone. Spinasterol obtained from the stem-bark of
Symplocos spicata showed a significant activity against acute inflammation induced by
carrageenan in rats. Hye and Gafur (1975) observed the antiinflammatory activity of a
flavonoid glycoside, chrysoeriol 7-0-!-D glucopyranosyl-D-apiofuranoside, isolated
from Dalbergia volubilis. Magniferin, a xanthone C-glucoside isolated from Canscora
52!
decusssata, mangostin and related compounds isolated from Garcinia mangostana by
Shankaranarayanan et al. (1979) and xanthones isolated from Calophyllum
inophyllum and Mesua ferrea by Gopalakrishnan et al. (1980) were shown to have
antiinflammatory activities. Swarnalakshmi et al. (1981) isolated epicatechin from
seed coat of Anacardium occidentale and showed it an antiinflammatory agent, as
effective as phenylbutazone, using various test models. Bergenin was isolated from
the pods of Peltophorum pterocarpum and was found to be equipmental to
phenylbutazone against carrageenan induced oedema in rats (Menon et al., 1982).
A flavonoid isolated from Hedychium spicatum showed a significant activity
with less ulcerogenic index than phenylbutazone (Srimal et al., 1984). The petroleum
ether extract of Curcuma longa rhizomes showed significant antiinflammatory activity
and was effective in delayed hypersensitivity. Curcumin, chemically known as
diferuloyl methane, a constituent of turmeric, was shown to be effective
antiinflammator agent by Srimal and Dhawan, (1973). It was as potent as
phenylbutazone in the carrageenan induced oedema test but as half potent in chronic
tests. Srivastava and Srimal (1985) showed that curcumin was found to be a stabilizer
of lysosomal membrane (more potent than Ibuprofen) and as an uncoupler of oxidative
phosphorylation in sub-acute inflammation rat models. Two naturally occurring
curcumin related analogues, feruloyl-4-hydroxycinnamoyl methane and bis (4-hydroxy
cinnamoyl) methane also showed AIA. Water soluble sodium curcuminate showed
better AIA than curcumin in albino rats. Delgado et al. (2001) isolated dicadalenol,
caryolane-1, 9!-diol and quercetin from aerial parts of Heterotheca inuloides
(Asteraceae) and displayed their dose dependent activities and showed them to be the
most active substances tested. Quercetin, quercetin 3-0-rhamnoside (quercitrin) and
quercitrin 3-0- rutinoside (rutin) isolated from 80% MeOH leaf extract of Morinda
53!
morindoides showed similar inhibition of classical pathway of complement system
(Kanyanga Cimanaga et al., 1995).
The dichloromethane extract of the aerial parts of Tanacetum microphyllum
yielded two antiinflammatory flavonoids viz; 5,7,3’-trihydroxy-3,6,4’-trimethoxy
flavones (centaureidin) and 5,3’-dihydroxy-4’-methoxy-7-carbomethoxy flavonol
(Abad et al., 1993). Three flavonoids, namely 7-0-methylaromadendin, rhamnocitrin
and 3-0- acetylpadmatin along with a sesquiterpene lactone inuvisolide; a
sesquiterpene acid, silicic acid; and a diagalactosyl-diacylglycerol, inugalacolipid-A
were isolated from Inula viscosa dichloromethane extract by Manez et al. (1999) and
were shown to have 12-0- tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate induced ear oedema
inhibitory activity in mice. Flavonone glycosides, diinsininol and diinsinin from the
rhizomes of Sacropthyta piriei (Balanophoraceae), showed prostaglandin synthesis
inhibition and inhibition of platelet activating factor-induced exocytosis, respectively.
Calophylolide isolated from the nuts of Calophyllum species effectively
reduced the increased permeability induced by the chemical mediators involved in
inflammation like histamine, serotonin and bradykinin. The triterpenoids of the
oleanene and ursene series were found to be active against carrageenan induced
oedema, formaldehyde induced oedema and formaldehyde induced arthritis in rats.
Bhargava et al. (1970) suggested that the antiinflammatory activity of the
triterpenoids of the oleanene series, with the polarity of compounds, were enhanced
by a number of hydroxyl groups in the molecule. Atal et al. (1980) observed the
antiinflammatory and antiarthritic activities of the oleogum of Boswellia serrata in
controlled clinical trials in arthritic patients. Its activity might be due to the boswellic
acids present in the oleogum. Two new triterpene saponins having phospholipase-D
inhibitory activity were isolated from Myrsine australis leaf extract. Oleanolic acid
54!
3-!-glucoside isolated from the seeds of Randia dumetorum showed a significant
AIA in the exudative and proliferative phases of inflammation in rats (Ghosh
et al., 1983).
Tylophorine, an alkaloid isolated from Tylophora indica, apart from the
anaphylactic and immunocytoadherence actions, significantly inhibited the primary
and secondary responses of adjuvant-induced arthritis in rats (Gopalakrishnan
et al., 1979). The alcoholic extract of Cardiospermum halicacabum leaves showed a
significant antiinflammatory activity in rats. The stem bark of Cedrus deodora
possessed a significant AIA in rat (Gopala et al., 1976). Gangetin, one of the
pterocarpens, isolated from hexane extract of Desmodium gangeticum root also
produced a significant AIA in the exudative and proliferative phases of inflammation
in rats (Ghosh and Kumar, 1983). Radiological findings by Hazeena Begum and
Sadique (1988) evidently supported the antiarthritic property of Withania somnifera.
Handa et al. (1992) cited that species of 96 genera belonging to 56 families
possessed antiinflammatory activities. The triterpenes, alpha-amyrin acetate, beta-
amyrin acetate and lupeol acetate of Alstonia boonei were evaluated for their
antiarthritic activities in rats by Kweifio-Okai and Carroll (1992 and 1993). The
antiinflammatory activity of the aqueous extract of Bridelia ferrugiana stem bark was
evaluated using carrageenan induced paw oedema in rats and mice (Olajide et al.,
1999). Suleyman et al. (1999) studied the antiinflammatory activity of the aqueous
extract of Rumex patientia roots using carrageenan, histamine, dextrane, serotonin and
formaldehyde induced oedema tests. The alcoholic extract of Clerodendron serratum
roots was evaluated for its antiinflammatory activity using animal models (Narayanan
et al., 1999). The analgesic and antiinflammatory properties of lyophilized aqueous
extract of Opuntia dillenii fruits were demonstrated by Loro et al. (1999) in rats and
55!
mice. The aqueous and alcoholic extracts of Tecoma sambucifolia flowers and pods
were analysed to determine their antiinflammatory activities using carrageenan induced
oedema test (Alguacil et al., 2000). Stephania tetrandrae, a traditional medicinal plant
to treat inflammatory diseases in Korea, possessed two major alkaloids namely
fangchinoline and tetraandrine. Choi et al. (2000) isolated fangchinoline and
tetraandrine and showed their antiinflammatory potentialities of using animal models.
The dried leaf methanol extract of Alstonia macrophylla was investigated for
its antiinflammatory activity in carrageenan induced rat paw oedema (Arunachalam
et al., 2002). Antiinflammatory activity of ethanol extract of Bouchea fluminensis
leaves was demonstrated by Delaporte et al. (2002). Hajhashemi et al. (2002) studied
the antiinflammatory activities of polyphenolic fraction of hydro alcoholic extract and
essential oil of the aerial parts of Satureja hortensis, an important Iranian folk
medicinal plant used as muscle and bone pain reliever, using carrageenan induced paw
oedema in rats. The crude ethanol extract and the chloroform and aqueous fractions of
Sideritis canariensis var. pannosa were examined for their antiinflammatory and
analgesic effects using several animal models (Hernandez-Perez and Rabanal, 2002).
The ethanol rhizome extract of Cistanche deserticola was evaluated for its
antiinflammatory activity (Lin et al., 2002). The hexane, chloroform and methanol leaf
and bark extracts of Aristolochia trilobata and Syngonium podophyllum, leaves of
Hamelia patens and Piper amalago and barks of Bursera simaruba were evaluated for
their antiinflammatory activities by Sosa et al. (2002). Mitragyna ciliata, a widely used
traditional medicinal plant to treat inflammation, hypertension, headache, rheumatism,
gonorrhoea and bronchial-pulmonary diseases was investigated by Dongno et al.
(2003) for its antiinflammatory and analgesic properties using the hexane and methanol
extract of the stem bark. Laupattarakasem et al. (2003) studied the antiinflammatory
56!
activities of aqueous and alcoholic extracts of the leaves of the Acanthus ebracteatus,
stem bark of Oroxylum indicum and the stem of Cryptolepis buchanani and Derris
scandens, the medicinal plants used to treat arthritis traditionally by the people of
Thailand, using three different in vitro systems.
Li et al. (2003) evaluated the antiinflammatory activities of ethanol extracts
of 9 vine plants used in the traditional Chinese medicine to treat inflammatory
conditions. Matu and Vanstaden (2003) evaluated the antiinflammatory activities of
aqueous, hexane and methanol extracts of 12 medicinal plant species, traditionally used
in Kenya. The methanol extract of Clerodendrum petasites was assessed by Panthong
et al. (2003) for antiinflammatory and antipyretic activities using experimental
animals. They found that the extract possessed moderate inhibitory activity on acute
phase of inflammation. The methanol-water extract of Barleria prionitis was
evaluated for its antiinflammatory and antiarthritic activities against different acute and
chronic animal test models (Singh et al., 2003). The antiinflammatory activity of the
alcoholic stem extract of Tabenaemontana pandacaqui was studied using carrageenan
induced rat paw oedema (Taesotikul et al., 2003). Trongsakul et al. (2003) conducted
pharmacological studies using experimental animal models and evaluated the
analgesic, antipyretic and antiinflammatory activities of hexane extract of the dried
stem of Diospyros variegata.
The effect of the root bark extract fractions of Securidaca longipendunculata
(Polygalaceae) on acute inflammation was evaluated by Okoli et al. (2005).
The antiinflammatory effects of Saponin and Iridoid glycosides from the flowers of
Verbascum pterocalycinum were investigated by Akkola et al. (2007). Deb et al.
(2007) investigated the antiinflammatory activity of the aqueous leaf extract of
Eucalyptus globulus in carrageenan induced paw oedema and cotton pellet granuloma
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technique in albino rats. The petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, ethanol and aqueous leaf
extracts of Calotropis gigantea were screened by Patil et al. (2007) for their
antiarthritic activities in albino rats. The petroleum ether, chloroform, methanol and
aqueous extracts of Sesbania sesban leaves were investigated for their
antiinflammatory activities in albino rats (Tatiya et al., 2007). The bark extract of
Xeromphis spinosa using a mixture of equal proportions of petroleum ether, ethyl
acetate and methanol was analysed for its antiinflammatory activity by Das et al.
(2009).
The ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of Syzygium cuminii leaves were
investigated for their antiinflammatory activities in carrageenan induced paw oedema
in wistar rats (Jain et al., 2010). Parthasarathy (2010), using carrageenan induced paw
oedema albino rats, studied the antiinflammatory activity of whole plant methanol
extract of Spermacoce hispida. Rajesh et al. (2010) investigated the antiinflammatory
activity of the petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate, ethanol and water leaf
extracts of Salvadora persica in albino rats. The methanol root bark and stem bark
extracts of Pittosporum tetraspermum were investigated for their antiinflammatory
activities by Rosakutty et al. (2010) in carrageenan induced paw oedema in albino rats.
Sutha et al. (2011) screened the ethanol leaf extract of Alstonia venenata for its
antiinflammatory activity in carrageenan induced paw oedema in albino rats. The
whole plant ethanol extracts of Polygala rosmarinifolia and P. javana were evaluated
for their antiinflammatory activities using carrageenan induced paw oedema by
Alagammal et al. (2012b and 2012c).
Balamurugan et al. (2012) reported the antiinflammatory activity of Polycarpea
corymbosa against carrageenan induced paw oedema. Kalpanadevi et al. (2012)
studied the ethanol extract of Entada pursaetha seed for its antiinflammatory activity
58!
in carrageenan induced paw oedema in albino rats. The ethanol leaf and stem bark
extracts of Naringi crenulata were evaluated for their antiinflammatory activities using
carrageenan induced paw oedema by Sarada et al. (2012). Amira et al. (2012) studied
the potential antiinflammatory activity of Myrtle (Myrtus communis) Sarsaparilla
(Smilax aspera), Arabian or French lavender (Lavandula stoechas) and Calamint
(Calamintha nepeta) along with their apoptotic effects on the pro inflammatory cells.
Myrtle extract exhibited the highest inhibitory activity in the paw oedema induced by
carrageenan (60% at 3h) whereas Calamint, Lavender and Sarsaparilla produced
inhibitions of 49%, 38% and 47% respectively.
Kataria et al. (2012) assessed the antiinflammatory activity of methanolic
extract of whole plant of Crotalaria burhia using formalin induced pain in mice and
acute, subacute models of inflammation in rats. The alcoholic bark extract of Pinus
roxburghii was evaluated for its antiinflammatory activity in experimental animal
models by Kaushik et al. (2012). Acute and chronic antiinflammatory activity was
evaluated by Carrageenan induced paw oedema in wistar albino rats using
indomethacin as the reference drug. Pandey et al. (2012) evaluated the
antiinflammatory activity of ethanolic leaf extract of Parthenium hysterophorus using
carrageenan induced rat paw oedema in rats. Ravipati et al. (2012) evaluated the
antiinflammatory properties of selected Chinese herbal extracts by measuring their
ability to inhibit the production of nitric oxide and TNF-" in RAW 264.7
macrophages activated by LPS and IFN-# respectively. Padmanabhan and Jangle
(2012) studied the in vitro antiinflammatory activities of four medicinal plants in terms
of effect of hypotonic solution-induced haemolysis on RBC membrane stabilization
and inhibition of protein denaturation activity. The hydro-alcoholic extract and
ethanolic extract of the Vitex leucoxylon leaves were screened for antiinflammatory
59!
activity using human red blood cell (MRBC) membrane stabilization method by
Faimum et al. (2013). Gonzalez et al. (2013) investigated the antiinflammatory activity
of chloroform and methanol extracts of Senecio salignus on 12-O-
tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate induced oedema in mice ears.
Borges et al. (2013) investigated the antiinflammatory activities of the
Synadenium umbellatum leaf extract using croton-oil induced ear oedema test and
Carrageenan induced peritonitis test. Sen et al. (2013) evaluated the antiinflammatory,
analgesic and antioxidant potentials of crude methanol extract of Pisonia aculeata
leaves, by oral administration, and showed a significant inhibition of carrageenan
induced paw oedema, pronounced at 4 h and 5 h, and at 200µg/mL dose the protective
effect against hypotonic solution and heat induced haemolysis of the extract was
77.67% and 38.51% respectively. Matthew et al. (2013) investigated t h e
antiinflammatory effect of ethanol and aqueous extracts of Kalanchoe pinnata
dried s tem against carrageenan induced paw oedema in rats.
Immunomodulatory Activity
Immunomodulation is a process, which alters the immune system of an
organism by interfering with its functions. This interference results in either
immunostimulation or immunosuppression. An immunomodulator is a substance that
helps to regulate the immune system. This regulation is a normalization process, so that
an immunomodulator helps to optimize immune response. Immnomodulators are
becoming very popular in worldwide natural health where as they do not tent to boost
immunity, but to normalize it. Keeping this in view, efforts have to be made to
modulate the immune response to termite effective treatment of various ailments
associated with immune system and thus there is an urgent need to develop safe and
effective immunomodulators for clinical use. Immunomodulators are biological
60!
response modifiers and exert their effects by improving host defense mechanism against
diseases. Immune regulation is a complex balance between regulatory and effectors
cells and any imbalance in immunological mechanism can lead to pathogenesis (Sehar
et al., 2008).
Puri et al. (1994) proved that the aqueous leaf extract of biopesticidal plant
Nyctanthus arbotristis to be a potent immunomodulator. This extract was evaluated as
an immunorestorative or antiimmunosuppressant using mice and by studying various
immunological parameters. The ethanol extract of Mollugo verticillata showed
immunostimulator activity (Ferreira et al., 2003). The assessment of
immunomodulatory activity of Haridadi ghrita was carried out by testing the tumoural
(antibody titre) and cellular (foot pad swelling) immune response. Fulzele et al. (2003)
evaluated the immunomodulatory properties of Emblica officinalis and Evolvulus
alsinoides, by antigenic challenge in sheep RBCs and by neutrophil adhesion test, in
adjuvant induced arthritic rat model. The ethanol root extract of Cryptolpis buchanani
caused significant stimulation of the delayed type hypersensitivity reaction and humoral
antibody production in mice (Kaul et al., 2003). Mehotra et al. (2003) described in vitro
immunosuppression by ethanol extract of Acorus calamus rhizome. Khanittha Punturee
et al. (2005) investigated the immunomodulatory effects of Thai medicinal plants,
including Murdannia loriformis, Cymbopogon citratus, Momornica charantia, Centella
asiatica, Allium sativum, Carthamus tinctorius, Eclipta alba, Cyperus rotundus, etc., on
the mitogen stimulated proliferation of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells
(PBMCs).
Gabhe et al. (2006) evaluated the immunomodulatory activity of the aerial roots
of Ficus benghalensis. Amirghofran et al. (2007a) reported that treatment of mice with
the extract of Haussknechtia elymatica, decreased the foot pad thickness indicating a
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dose related inhibitory effect on delayed hypersensitivity. This extract also reduced the
antibody titer significantly after immunization with sheep RBC. Amirghofran et al.
(2007b) reported that the methanol extract of Stachys obtusicrena possessed inhibitory
effect on both cellular and humoral immune responses. Sharififar et al. (2009)
demonstrated that the immunomodulatory activity of aqueous extract of Heracleum
persicum in mice. The methanol and aqueous extracts of Capparis zeylanica exhibited
immunomodulatory activity (Agarwal et al., 2010). Jeba et al. (2011) demonstrated the
immunomodulatory effect of aqueous extract of Ocimum sanctum in rats.
Kalpesh Gaur et al. (2009) assessed the immunomodulatory activity of
hydro-alcoholic extract of flowers of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, at 75 mg/kg, 150 mg/kg
and 300 mg/kg doses and ethanolic extracts of aerial parts of Cleome gynandra, at 50
mg/kg, 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg doses, by carbon clearance method for non-specific
immunity, haemagglutination antibody titre method for humoral immunity and footpad
swelling method for cell mediated immunity on wistar albino rats.
Gaikwad and Krishna Mohan (2011) found out immunomodulatory potential of
methanolic extract of leaves of Thespesia populnea, at 100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg, and 400
mg/kg doses using Levamisole (50 mg/kg body weight) as standard immunomodulatory
drug and Cyclophosphamide (30 mg/kg body eight) as standard immunosuppressant
drug. The measurement of immunomodulatory property was carried out by Delayed
Type Hypersensitivity (DTH), Humoral antibody (HA) titre response to SRBC, and
Cyclophosphamide induced myelosuppression. Rama Bhat et al. (2012) evaluated the
immunomodulatory activity of Salacia chinensis. Ashok kumar et al. (2012) evaluated
the immunomodulatory activity of Viscum album, Panax ginseng, Asparagus
racemosus, Azadirachta indica, Tinospora cordifolia, Polygala senega, Ocimum
santum, Withania somnifera. Smriti Tripathi et al. (2012) reported the
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immunomodulatory activity of ethanolic extract of Trigonella foenum-graeceum, an
Indian medicinal plant by phagocytic activity, cell mediated and humoral immune
system on mice.
Meenakshi et al. (2013) demonstrated Immunomodulatory activity of the
ethanol extract of Phallusia nigra against Dalton’s Lymphoma Ascites (DLA) cells on
Swiss Albino mice. Nahak and Sahu (2014) studied the immunomodulatory activity of
water extract of Ocimum kilimandscharicum leaf. !!
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