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REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Phytochemical Analysis
Srinivasan et al. (2007) investigated the phytochemical and pharmacognostical
properties of Vicoa indica. Egwaikhide and Gimba (2007) analyzed the hexane, ethyl
acetate and ethanol extracts of Plectranthus glandulosis for their secondary
metabolites. Infrared spectroscopic analysis of the hexane, ethyl acetate and ethanol
extracts of Plecthranthus glandulosis revealed the presence of O-H, C=O, C-H, C-N
and C-O bond stretching.Venkatesh et al. (2008) evaluated the pharmacognostical
studies on Dodonaea viscosa leaves.
Kalidass et al. (2009) evaluated the pharmacognostic studies including
microscopic, physicochemical constant (ash & extractive values), fluorescence
analysis and preliminary phytochemical evaluations of the root and stem of the
Ichnocarpus frutescens. Badgujar and Jain (2009) have isolated and characterized β-
sitosterol from the petroleum ether extract of Helicteres isora.
Bharat and Parabia (2010) studied the pharmacognostic evaluation of
Mimusops elengis stem bark and seed powder for ash and extractive value,
fluorescence and phytochemical analysis. Zaveria and Jain (2010) investigated the
phytopharmacognostical studies of root bark of Oroxylum indicum. Mathur et al.
(2010) studied the macroscopic, microscopic and preliminary phytochemical
investigations of leaves of Amaranthus spinosus.
Handral et al. (2010) evaluated the morphological, microscopic characters,
physicochemical constant and phytochemical screening of Murraya koenigii leaves.
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Prathyusha et al. (2010) analyzed the morphological characters, organoleptic and
phytochemical studies of Abrus precatorius seed.
Chandak et al. (2010) investigated preliminary phytochemical analysis of
different extracts of leaf of Pergularia daemia and isolated β-Sitosterol, Stigmasterol
by using thin layer and column chromatography from diethyl ether and acetone
extract of the above said plant. The chemical structures of the isolated compounds
were established by spectroscopic techniques such as UV, IR and NMR. Mulla et al.
(2010) investigated the preliminary pharamacognostical and phytochemical
evaluation of petroleum ether, chloroform, ethanol and aqueous extracts of whole
plant of Portulaca quadrifida.
Pratima and Pratima (2011) evaluated the pharmacognostic characters of
Cajanus cajan leaf. Sutha et al. (2011) studied the macroscopic, microscopic features
and pharmacochemical characterizations like physicochemical constant, fluorescence
analysis, preliminary phytochemical analysis of leaf of Alstonia venenata. Kala et al.
(2011) evaluated the pharmacognostic and phytochemical analysis of different
extracts of four medicinally important plants viz, Enicostemma littorale, Euphorbia
hirta, Tephrosia purpurea and Desmodium laxum.
Rajan et al. (2011) investigated the pharmacognostical studies including
organoleptic, macroscopy, microscopic, physicochemical parameters and
phytochemical of Albizia odoratissima leaf. Dinakaran et al. (2011) evaluated
pharmacognostic character such as morphological, microscopic, histological and
physicochemical on Crotalaria juncea.
Sivakumar et al. (2011) studied the phytochemical analysis using paper
chromatography, HPTLC, UV and FTIR for the detection of some alkaloid content on
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the Polygonum glabrum. Anwar et al. (2011) analyzed the chloroform fraction of
Psoralea corylifolia by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), Fourier
transform infrared (FT-IR), Fourier transform near infra red (FT-NIR) and UV-
Spectrophotometric methods.
Pandey et al. (2011) isolated p-β-D-Glucosyloxybenzoic acid, p-
Hydroxybenzoic and Caffeic acid from the whole plant of Abutilon indicum.
Kalimuthu et al. (2011) isolated colourless crystalline compounds of lacceroic acid
and Do-triacontanoic acid from the Limnophila polystachya. Sandeep et al. (2011)
investigated the organoleptic, microscopic characters, physicochemical, fluorescence
analysis and preliminary phytochemical studies of Crotalaria burhia.
Charles et al. (2011) studied the phytochemical analysis of bark extract of
Alseodaphneseme carpifolia. Gopalakrishnan and Vadivel (2011) investigated the
phytocompounds of ethanol extract of Mussaenda frondosa by GC-MS analysis.
Thenmozhi et al. (2011) reported the phytochemicals present in the methanol extract
of Eclipta alba and Emilia sonchifolia, using HPLC and FTIR.
Bairagi et al. (2012) studied the pharamacognostic evaluations,including
morphological, microscopic characters, physiochemical constants and phytochemical
screening of fresh leaf and flower of Quisqualis indica. Deepa et al. (2012)
investigated the pharmacognostic, fluorescence analysis and phytochemical screening
of leaf of Sapindus emarginatus in different solvents.
Kumar et al. (2012) studied the macroscopic, microscopic, physiochemical
analysis, preliminary phytochemical screening and fluorescence analysis of leaf of
Cayratia trifolia. Mazumder et al. (2012) investigated various pharmacognostical
parameters including macroscopic, microscopic, chemomicroscopic and behaviour of
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powdered drug on treatment with different chemical reagent and phytochemical
screening of the stem of Berberis aristata. Saha et al. (2012) analyzed
pharmacognostic studies and phytochemical screening on the aerial part of methanol
extract of Vernonia patula.
Kadam et al. (2012) studied the pharmacognostical parameters including
macromorphology, microscopical characters, physicochemical constants and
phytochemical screening of roots of Agave americana. Chothani and Patel (2012)
studied the preliminary phytochemical screening and pharmacognostic profile of leaf
of Gmelina arborea.
Prasanth et al. (2012) studied the phytochemical analysis of root of
Clerodendrum viscosum using petroleum ether, ethylacetate, chloroform and ethanol.
Singariya et al. (2012) determined the possible bioactive components (sterols)
in acetone extracts of Cenchrus setigerus using GC-MS. Anuradha and
Krishnamoorthy, (2012) studied the phytochemical analysis of methanol extract of
flower of Pongamia pinnata and then methanol crude extract was further fractionated
with the different solvents, benzene, diethyl ether and ethyl acetate and the chemical
composition of the ethyl acetate extract was determined by GC-MS. Abirami et
al.(2012) evaluated the bioactive compounds of methanol extract of Vernonia cinerea
using GC-MS.
Sermakkani and Thangapandian (2012) analyzed the methanol leaf extract of
Cassia italica using GC-MS. Mamzo et al. (2012) determined the possible bioactive
components of leaves of Phyllanthus amarus using GC-MS analysis. Ezhialn and
Neelamegam (2012) determined the possible chemical components in the whole plant
ethanol extract of Polygonum chinense by GC-MS.
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Sathish et al. (2012) characterized the bioactive constituents present in
different leaf extracts of Vitex altissima using UV-VIS, FTIR and GC-MS analysis.
Parikh and Rangrez (2012) investigated the presence of Oleic acid, tricosene, erucic
acid, tetra decanoic acid, pyrrolidinone, piperidine and eicosanoic acid like major
phytochemicals from the methanol extract of bark of Litsea glutinosa.
Palanisamy et al. (2012) carried out phytochemical screening using different
extracts of whole plant of Dipeteracanthus prostrates. Oluwayemi et al. (2012)
studied the phytochemicals from the Mitracarpus villosus, Euphorbia hirta and
Spermacoce ocymoides.
Shalini and Sampathkumar (2012) evaluated the phytochemical screening of
both methanol and aqueous extracts of Annona squamosa, Catharanthus roseus,
Sapindus emarginatus and Wrightia tinctoria.
Anand and Gokulakrishnan (2012) characterized the bioactive constituents
present in ethanol extract of Hybanthus enneaspermus using UV, FTIR and GC-MS.
UV profile showed different peaks ranging from 300-1100nm with different
absorption respectively. The FTIR spectrum confirmed the presence of phenols,
alcohols, alkyl halides, carboxylic acids, aromatics, nitro compounds and amines in
ethanolic extracts. The results of the GC-MS analysis provide different peaks
determining the presence of phytochemical compounds with different therapeutic
activities.
Antioxidant activity:
Kohen et al. (2000) evaluated the antioxidant activity of both water and lipid
soluble low molecular weight antioxidants (LMWA) using cyclic voltammetry
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approach. Chevion et al. (2000) identified the low molecular weight antioxidant
(LMWA) components of human plasma and animal tissues and further validated by
reconstruction of cyclic voltammetry tracing and by high-performance liquid
chromatography-electrochemical detection. Kilmartin et al. (2001) characterized the
phenolic antioxidants using cyclic voltammetry at a glassy carbon electrode.
Korotkova et al. (2002) suggested the highly attractive, convenient as
especially sensitive voltammetric approach for the study of antioxidant properties of
well-known antioxidants such as ascorbic acid and citric acid.
Roginsky et al. (2003) analyzed a series of eight green, eight oolong and 17
black teas for polyphenol content by absorbance at 272nm and cyclic voltammetry
response at an inert carbon electrode, a new method developed to provide a rapid
measure of easily oxidizable polyphenols in beverages.
Sousa et al. (2004) investigated the electrochemical oxidation of caffeic,
chlorogenicsinapic, ferulic and p-Coumaric acids by cyclic voltammetry on acetate
buffer, pH 5.6 on glassy carbon electrode and modified glassy carbon electrode.
Firuzi et al. (2005) evaluated the antioxidant activities of 18- structurally different
flavonoids by “Ferric reducing antioxidant power” (FRAP) assay modified to be used
to 96-well microplates.
Milardovic et al. (2006) proposed a new method for determination of
antioxidant activity of some water or ethanol soluble pure compounds of antioxidants
and of the samples of tea, wine and some other beverages based on the amperometric
reduction of1,1-diphenyl-2-pincrylhydrazyl (DPPH) at the glass carbon electrode.
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Zielinska et al. (2008) described the use of cyclic voltammetry (CV),
spectrophotometric methods [Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), peroxyl
radical trapping capacity (PRTC), DPPH radical scavenging activity (RSA), and
Folin-Ciocalteu reagent (FCR) reducing capacity], and photochemiluminescence
(PCL) for the measurement of the antioxidant capacity of onion var.sochaczewskaa
and var.szalotka.
Arulpriya et al. (2010) studied the electrochemical bahaviour of ethyl acetate
and petroleum ether extracts of Samanea saman by cyclic voltammetry using a three
electrode system. The extracts were investigated for presence of phytochemical
constituents and antioxidant activity assessed from its oxidatial potential values at
glassy carbon electrode.
Santos et al. (2010) described the isolation of the secondary metabolites
identified as the quinonemethidesmaytenin and pristimerin from Maytenus ilicifolia
extract obtained from root barks of adult plants and roots of seedlings and their
quantification by high performance liquid chromatography coupled to a diode array
detector. The antioxidant properties of individual components and the crude extracts
of the root barks of Maytenus ilicifolia were compared and the possible synergistic
associations of quinonemethidetriterpenes and phenolic substances were investigated
by using rutin as a model phenolic compound.
Zielinstia et al. (2010) measured the antioxidant activity of rutin and selected
common buck wheat – originated materials, namely grout, hull, flour and sprouts
against stable, non-biological radicals such as 2,2’-azinobis-(3-ethyl-benzothiazoline-
6-sulphonate) radical cation (ABTS•+) and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picnylhydrazyl radical
(DPPH•) using a spectrophotometric assay, against the key reactive oxygen
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intermediate-superoxide anion radical (O2•-) with a photochemiluminescence assay
(PCL) while reducing capacity was determined with the cyclic voltammetry method
(CV).
Madan et al. (2010) investigated the antioxidant activity of various extracts of
root and leaf of Flemingia strobilifera using different in vitro methods such as DPPH
radical scavenging method, nitric oxide radical inhibition assay and scavenging of
hydroxyl radical by p-NDA method. Seruga et al. (2011) analyzed the total
polyphenols (TP) content, concentration of individual polyphenols and antioxidant
activity (AA) of some red wines by ABTS and DPPH methods.
Shestivska et al. (2011) investigated the antioxidant properties of
Metallothionein isolated from rabbit liver as a standard reference solution and
compared its activity with extracts from wild type tobacco plants and from twelve
clones of transgenic tobacco plants variously carrying human or yeast metallothionein
using voltammetry at a carbon paste electrode.
Simona-Carmen et al. (2011) evaluated the radical scavenging properties of
extracts of acclimatized Lonicerae caerulea fructus, Myrtilli fructus, Equiseti herba,
Millefolii herba and Medicagini herba using as model a long life time free radical
1,1’-diphenyl -2-picrylhydrazil (DPPH).
Segneanu et al. (2012) determined the antioxidant capacity of Camellia
sinensis extracts in aqueous, acid and alcoholic media. The content of caffeine was
determined by using two methods: cyclic voltammetry and high-performance liquid
chromatography (HPLC).
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Boruah et al. (2012) evaluated the antioxidative effects by monitoring the
change of the oxidant potential in the redox cycle of 1, 4-diaminobenzene in the
presence of hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of the herbal products.
Ahmed and Shakeel (2012) investigated the antioxidant activity potential of Berberis
lycium, Zanthoxylum armatum and Morus nigra extracts against superoxide anion
radical while employing cyclic voltammetry technique. The voltammetric response of
the electrochemically generated superoxide anion radical in DMSO was monitored in
the absence and presence of the plant extracts.
Bhadauria et al. (2012) investigated the antioxidant activities of the various
fractions of the hydromethonalic extract of the roots of Coccinia grandis
(Curcurbitaceae) by using in vitro assays and were compared to standard antioxidants
such as ascorbic acid, α-tocopherol, curcumin and butylated hydroxyl toluene (BHT).
Sonibane and Abegunde (2012) determined the total antioxidant activity and total
phenolic content of tuber extracts of Dioscorea dumetorum (edible and wild species)
and Dioscorea hirtiflora by using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and Folin-
Ciocalteau reagent. Khodaie et al. (2012) evaluated the antioxidant activity of
Pedicularis sibthorpii and Pedicularis wilhelmsiana which grow in Azerbaijan/Iran
with claimed a lot of therapeutic effects using DPPH assay.
Emynurshafekh et al. (2012) investigated the antioxidant potential of crude
methanol extract, chloroform and ethyl acetate soluble fractions of Vigna sinensis by
using total phenolic content, ferric reducing power, 2,2’-azinobis-(3-
ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) assay, ferric thiocyanate (FTC) and
thiobarbituric acid (TBA) tests. Ganga Rao et al. (2012) evaluated the antioxidant
activity of methanol leaf extract of Entada pursaetha by using superoxide radical,
hydroxyl radical and DPPH radical scavenging methods.
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Jothy et al. (2012) investigated the in vitro antioxidant activity of methanol
extracts from Polyalthia longifolia and Cassia spectabilis using established in vitro
models such as ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-
hydrazyl (DPPH•), hydroxyl radical (OH•) nitric oxide radical (NO•) scavenging,
metal chelating and antilipid peroxidation activities.
EI-Sayed et al. (2012) studied the defatted methanol extracts of leaves, stems,
fruits and flowers of Conocarpus erectus showed high free radical scavenging activity
toward DPPH radical with SC50 between 6.47-9.4mg/ml. Nandy et al. (2012) studied
the free radical scavenging potential of Leucas plukenetii by using ferrous sulphate
induced lipid peroxidation and superoxide scavenging models and using vitamin C
(5mM) as standard.
Deep et al. (2012) screened the hydro-methanolic extract from bark of Ginko
biloba for their in vitro antioxidant activity, determined by means of 1,1-diphenyl-2-
picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), Hydrogen peroxide(H2O2) and reducing power scavenging
activity. Sami et al. (2012) evaluated the antioxidant activity of Eight Libyan
medicinal plants belonging to different families, by using 1, 1-Diphenyl-2-picryl
hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging method.
Nomaani et al. (2012) studied the antioxidant activity of fresh and dry leaves
crude extracts of Lactuca sativa by well established free radical scavenging activity
(DPPH) method.
Yang et al. (2012) investigated the antioxidant activities of barks, buds, and
leaves of Cinnamomum cassia extracted with ethanol and supercritical fluid
extractions (SFE). Dasari et al. (2012) investigated the quantification of total
phenolic, alkaloid content and in vitro antioxidant activity of ethanol (70%),
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methanol, ethyl acetate and hexane extracts of Synadium grantii by taking gallic acid
and atropine as a standards and by using different free radicals (superoxide, hydroxyl
and DPPH).
Wang and Dai, (2012) studied the in vitro radical binding activity with DPPH
(1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazy radical) and total antioxidant power (ferric
reducing/antioxidant power, FRAP), total phenolic content of the water and alcohol
extracts of ten Chinese herbs from local pharmacy.
Arteaga et al. (2012) investigated the antioxidant activity of a number of small
(low molecular weight) natural compounds found in spices, condiments or drugs such
as gallic acid, sesamol, eugenol, thymol, carvacrol, vanillin, salicylaldehyde,
limonene, geraniol, 4-hexylresorcinol etc, using electrochemical and DPPH radical
scavenging measurements.
Ahmed and Shakeel, (2012) investigated the electrochemically generated
superoxide radical anion (O2•) in the presence of some commercial flavonoids.
Nicholson-Shain method was employed by him to estimate the bimolecular
homogeneous kinetics and on this basis control use of antioxidant is pointed out.
Anticancer activity
Cancer is the second major cause of death after cardiovascular diseases. It is a
disease characterized by unregulated proliferation of cells. The search for natural
products as potential anticancer agents dates back, at least, to the Ebers papyrus in
1550 BC, but the scientific period of this search is much more recent, beginning with
the investigations by Hartwell and co-workers in late 1960s on the application of
Podophyllotoxin and its derivatives as anticancer agents. A large number of plants,
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marine and microbial sources have been tested as leads, and many compounds have
survived the potential leads.
Plants have been of use in the treatment of cancer for a long period. Hartwell,
in his review plants against cancer, list more than 3000 plant species that have been
reportedly used in the treatment of cancer. The search for anticancer agents from the
plant source started in earnest in the 1950’s with the discovery and development of
Vinca alkaloids, Vincristine and Vinblastine and isolation of the cytotoxic
podophyllotoxins. These discoveries promoted the United States National Cancer
Institute (NCI) to initiate an extensive plant collection program in 1960. This leads to
the discovery of many novel chemotypes showing a range of cytotoxic activities,
including the taxanes and camptothecins. Taxol is a diterpenoid compound isolated
from Taxus brevifolia and these molecules called taxanes by the US Department of
Agriculture (USDA) for the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The use of various parts
of T. brevifolia and other Taxus species, T. canadiensis, and T. baccata were used for
the treatment of some non-cancerous conditions. The leaves of T. baccata are used in
traditional Asiatic Indian Ayurvedic medicine system, with one reported in the
treatment of cancer. Palitaxel, occurs in the leaves of various Taxus species has
provided a major renewable natural sources of natural drugs. It is used in the
treatment of breast, ovarian and non- small-cell lung cancer, and has shown efficacy
against Kaposi sarcoma (Cragg and Newman, 2004/Rev.2006).
Another important addition to the anticancer drug armametarium is the class
of clinically-active agents derived from camptothecin, which is isolated from the
Chinese ornamental tree Camptotheca acuminata (Nyssaceae), known in China as the
tree of joy. The derivatives of Camptothecine, Topotecin and Irinotecan, originally
developed by Japanese company. YAKUH Honsha, are now in clinical use. These are
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used for the treatment of ovarian lung cancer and colorectal cancers (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 the several genera of the Apocynaceae
family including Bleekeria vitensis have reputed anticancer properties (Cragg and
Newman, 2004/Rev.2006).
The two clinically active agents, etoposide and teniposide, which are semi
synthetic derivatives of the natural product, epipodophyllotaxin (an isomer of
podophyllotaxin), may be considered as being more closely linked to a plant,
Podophyllum species used for the treatment of cancer. Podophyllum peltatum
(American Podophyllum) and Podophyllum emodii from India (Indian Podophyllum),
have a long history of medicinal use, including the treatment of skin cancers and
warts. The major active constituent of this plant is podophyllotaxin. With the
identification of an increasing number of molecule targets associated with particular
cancers; anticancer drug discovery is now based on through screening of compounds
against a range of such target (Cragg and Newman, 2006)
Forty four extracts from sixteen plants were used traditionally as anticancer
agents and 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). The
ethanol, petroleum ether and dichloromethane extracts of Thelesperma
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megapotamicum, Oxalis erythrorhiza and Larrea divaricata showed high inhibitory
activity on MCF -7 (cell line from human breast cancer) cells line proliferation
(Bongiovanni et al.,2006). 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. The essential
oils of above said plants could be used as a potential natural antioxidant and
anticancer agents (Romeilah, 2009).
Some medicinal plants have been found effective in various types of
malignant (cancer) and benign tumours of humans and experimental animals. These
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; Patrinia hetrophylla 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 cancer;
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
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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, 1998; Eberhsrdt et al., 2000 ; Prajapati et al., 2003; Faried et
al., 2007).
Pradhan et al. (2008) studied the methanol 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. 70% methanol extract of Foeniculum vulgare have good antitumour
activity and 50% methanolic extract of Helicteres isora delayed good antitumour
activity. They stated that Foeniculum vulgare and Helicetres isora could be
considered as a normal resource of antitumour agents.
Nisa et al. (2011) examined the crude methanol extract and fractions of
Debregeasia salicifolia stem for their anticancer activity on MCF-7 cancer cell line by
3-(4,5-dimethlthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay.The ethanol
extract of Argemone mexicana (Papaveraceae), Polyalthia longifolia (Annonaceae),
Terminalia bellarica and Terminalia chebula (Combretaceae) have been reported to
possess the in vitro anticancer activity (Gacche et al., 2011). The results obtained
indicates that P. longifolia possess a potential inhibiting activity towards Hela-B75
[(68.22±0.71)%] HEP-3B [(39.15±0.12)%] and PN-15 [(55.21±0.42)%] cancer cell
lines.
Kanwal et al. (2011) studied the antitumour activity of crude methanol extract
(CME) and three fractions, n-Hexane (n-HF), ethyl acetate (EAF) and aqueous (AQF)
of Hedera nepalensis, an important medicinal plant from Pakistan.
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Sakarkar and Deshmukh (2011) studied the plants used previously and
recently identified for treatment of cancer and to reduce the pains during the treatment
of cancer. With advanced knowledge of molecular science and refinement in isolation
and structure elucidation techniques, various anticancer herbs has been identified
which execute their therapeutic effect by inhibiting cancer-activating enzymes and
hormones, stimulating DNA repair mechanism, promoting production of protective
enzymes, inducing antioxidant action and enhancing immunity of the body.
Baeshen et al. (2012) confirmed the potential anticancer activity of the
medicinal herb, Rhazya stricta decne (Harmal) against human breast cancer cell lines,
MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231. The defatted methanol extracts of leaves, stems, fruits
and flowers of Conocarpus erectus (Family: Combretaceae) been reported to exert
the high free radical scavenging activity toward DPPH radical with SC50 between
6.47-9.4µg/ml (Abdel-Hameed, et al., 2012). Due to the high antioxidant activity, it
was in-vitro assayed toward two human cancer cell lines; Hep G2 & MCF-7; using
sulphorhodamine-B assay method.
Marina et al. (2012) discussed the selective medicinal plants having anticancer
properties which could be further designed to produce cancer curing drugs. Medicinal
plants with their isolated lead molecules are also used as an alternative medicine for
treating neoplastic cells. Neoplastic cells are the anomalous proliferation of cells in
the body which cause cancer. Diverse efficient compounds derived from natural
products have been isolated as anticancer agents. These potential and successful
anticancer molecules include Vincristine, Vinblastin, Taxol, Camptothecin and
Podophyllotoxin.
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Antidiabetic activity
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
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
hypoglycemic effect in normal 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
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et al. (1994) reported that, Catharanthus roseus could be used as potential
hypoglycemic 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
experimental mice, decreased hyperglycemia 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 glycemia.
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). The results showed that the
gastric administration of C. cyminum significantly decreased the area under glucose
tolerance curve and the hyperglycemic peak.
Garg et al.(1997) reported that daily one time administration of the leaf juice
of Lantana camara, 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 hypoglycemic effect. Noor and Asherof (1998) observed that Tinospora
crispa stimulated insulin release via modulation of intracellular Ca2+ concentration in
pancreatic beta-cells. Oral administration of aqueous extract of Tinospora cordifolia
roots produced a significant decrease in glycemia and brain lipids in alloxan induced
diabetic rats (Stanley et al., 1999).The ethanol extracts of bark and leaf of Thespesia
populnea were investigated for hypoglycemic effects in streptozotocin induced
diabetic rats and this was compared with glibenclamide, a standard hypoglycemic
agent; also measured the lipid peroxide, superoxide dismutase and catalase enzymes
31
level in the kidney of the animal. The root and aerial part extracts of Sida cordifolia
showed hypoglycemic activity. Moreover, the methanol root extract significant
possessed hypoglycemic 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 hypoglycemic properties
(Atta-Ur-Rahman and Zaman, 1989; Ziyyat et al., 1997 and 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. 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 potentials 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). Adebayo
et al. (2009) demonstrated the antidiabetic properties of aqueous leaf extract of
Bougainvillea glabra on alloxan induced diabetic rats. Murugan and Reddy,. (2009)
32
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
extracts 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 Shanmugasundaram et al. (2011). Alagammal et al.
(2012) investigated the effect of whole plant ethanol extract of Polygala chinensis for
its antidiabetic and antihyperlipidaemic effects in wistar albino rats. Kala et al. (2012)
reported the antidiabetic activity of Eugenia floccosa leaves in alloxan induced
diabetic rats. Manohar et al. (2012) studied the hypoglycemic and antihyperglyemic
effects of Moringa oleifera aqueous extract in normal and alloxan induced diabetic
rabbits. Potential antidiabetic effect of Nymphaea pubescens tuber extract, in alloxan
induced diabetic rats, was investigated by Shajeela et al. (2012).
Hepatoprotective activity
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
33
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 have hepatoprotective properties (Sharma et al., 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 racemosa 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
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 abilities 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
34
used to nourish and improve the liver conditions, on acetaminophen induced
hepatotoxicity in rats.
The methanol extracts of plant materials like Casuarina equisetifolia, Cajanus
cajan, Glycosmis pentaphylla, Bixa orellana, Argemone mexicana, Physalis minima
and Caesalpinia bonduc have been reported to exert hepatoprotective activity against
Swiss albino rats with liver damage induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). The
highest activity observed for methanol extract of B. orellana at a dose of 500mg/kg
body weight(b.wt) and the reduction of serum level of alanine aminotransferase
(ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and cholesterol were 52.08 %, 57.37% and
52.90% respectively (Ahasan et al., 2009).
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 potential hepatoprotective agents in aflatoxin B1 intoxicated livers of
albino male wistar rats.
Reddy et al. (2010) studied the hepatoprotective activity of traditional
ayurvedic formulation “Vidakana Choornam” against carbon tetrachloride induced
hepatotoxicity in albino rats. Takate et al. (2010) evaluated the hepatoprotective
activity of ethyl acetate extract of aerial parts of Launaea intybacea in paracetamol-
induced hepatotoxicity in albino rats. Silymarin (200mg/kg) was given as reference
standard. The ethyl acetate extract of aerial parts of Launaea intybacea have shown
very significant hepatoprotection against paracetamol-induced hepatotoxicity in
albino rats in reducing serum total bilirubin, SALP, SGPT, SGOT levels and liver
homogenates LPO, SOD, CAT, GPx, GST and GSH levels.
35
The leaves of Coccinia indica have been reported to possess hepatoprotective
activity against carbon tetrachloride induced liver toxicity in rats (Shyam kumar et al.,
2010). The results shown hepatoprotective activity of Coccinia indica leaves extract
at a dose of 400mg/kg body weight was comparable with standard treatment
125mg/kg body weight of silymarin, a known hepatoprotective drug. An ethanol
extract of stem of Anisochilus carnosus have been reported to possess
hepatoprotective activity against carbon tetrachloride induced hepatotoxicity in rats
(Venkatesh et al., 2011). The hepatoprotective effect of the extract was evaluated by
the assay of liver function biochemical parameters like Serum Glutamate Pyruvate
Transaminase (SGPT), Serum Glutamate Oxaloacetate Transaminase (SGOT),
Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP), Total Bilirubin and Total Protein.
The ethanol extract of Ficus benjamina have been reported to exert
hepatoprotective activity against CCl4 induced hepatotoxicity in rats (Kanaujia et al.,
2011). The plant extract and isolated compound was effective in protecting the liver
against the injury induced by CCl4 in rats. This was evident from significant reduction
in serum enzyme SGPT, SGOT, ALP, serum bilirubin and liver weight.
Veena Rani et al. (2011) investigated the chloroform, alcohol and water
extracts of Bauhinia purpurea for its hepatoprotective activity against CCl4 induced
hepatotoxicity. Venkatalakshmi et al. (2011) evaluated the hepatoprotective activity
of Boerhavia diffusa against paracetamol induced hepatotoxi rats. Administration of
paracetamol (3g/kg. b.w.t.,) produced significant changes in the hepatocytes which
were reflected in the altered parameters such as, ALT, AST, GSH, Protein and serum
creatinine levels. Treatment with B. diffusa root extract (1g/kg. b.wt.) produced
remarkable changes and brought back the altered parameters to near normal,
proviving its hepatoprotective activity.
36
Bhoomannavar et al. (2011) tested the ethanol and aqueous extract of leaves
of Neptunia oleracea for their efficacy against carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced
hepatotoxicity in wistar albino rats. The phytochemical screening revealed the
presence of active phytoconstituents i.e. flavonoids, triterpenoids and tannins, which
may offer hepatoprotection. Suky et al. (2011) reported the hepatoprotective effect of
Balanites aeyptiace against CCl4 induced hepatotoxicity in rats. Rajalakshmi et al.
(2012) studied the efficacy of Andrographis paniculata, especially its major bioactive
compound-Andrographolide on paracetamol induced liver damage in rats with the
help of serum biochemical markers and histological studies.
Carica papaya leaves have been reported to possess hepatoprotective activity
against paracetamol induced hepatic damage in rats (Rajesh et al., 2012). The
substantially elevated serum levels of SGOT, SGPT, ALP, Total protein and Total
bilirubin were significantly restored by the leaf extract. Paracetamol intoxication
markedly decreased the level of reduced glutathione, SOD, catalase and glutathione
peroxidases which were significantly enhanced by Carica papaya leaf extract.
Bagban et al. (2012) investigated the hepatoprotective activity of the methanol
extract of Fagonia indica on CCl4 induced hepatotoxicity in albino rats. The degree of
protection was determined by measuring levels of biochemical marker like SGOT,
SGPT, ALP, Bilirubin (Total & direct) and cholesterol.
Lalee et al. (2012) investigated the hepatoprotective effects of ethanol extract
of Aerva sanguinolenta by oral route to adult male wistar albino rats.
Hepatoprotective activity of ethanol extract of A. sanguinolenta leaves may be due to
the presence of polyphenolic compounds.
37
Satyanarayanan et al. (2012) extracted the whole plant of Vigna munga using
petroleum ether, chloroform, ethanol consecutively and the obtained extracts were
screened for hepatoprotective activity using CCl4 induced liver damage model. Datta
et al. (2013) evaluated the hepatoprotective activity of the methanol extract of
Cyperus articulates against paracetamol induced liver damage in rats.
Hepatoprotective activity was evaluated by the biochemical estimation of liver
function parameters (SGPT, SGOT, ALP, total protein and total bilirubin) and
antioxidant assays of liver homogenate (lipid peroxidation, reduced glutathione
content, superoxide dismutase and catalase activity).
Antifertility
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
38
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 was well documented in rats, mice and human (Qian, 1986; 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 lipids’ profile of animals. Verma and Chinoy (2001) reported that the
Carica papaya seed extract altered cauda epididymal micro-environment.
Manivannan et al. (2004) observed the ultrastructural changes in the testes 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. Thus the
extract served as a potential antifertility agent.
Gupta and Sharma (2006) summarized the fertility regulatory plants with part
used, type of extract/isolated compounds (active principles) along with animal model
39
used. The traditional use of medicinal plants to treat different sorts of diseases,
including fertility related problems is widespread throughout the world as many plant
substances are known for their interferences with the male reproductive system. The
literature covered is of 25 years i.e. from 1980 to 2005 for 105 plants showing
antifertility activity in males.
Twenty five species of medicinal plants which are used by the local people in
kathiyavadi village, Vellore District, Tamilnadu, India, have been reported to exert an
antifertility activity (Sathiyaraj et al., 2012).
Citrus limonum seeds have been reported to possess reversible antifertility
effect on male albino rats (Kulkarni et al., 2012). Male albino rats were orally treated
with alcoholic extract and its fractions for 30 and 60 days. Then, testes and
epidadymis were removed and tested for sperm count, sperm motility, sperm
morphology and histo-pathological examination. Sperm counts were seen 90 days
after discontinuation of the treatment to see reversibility of effect.
Thangakrishnakumari et al. (2012) studied the antifertility effect of ethanol
extract of whole plant extract of Sarcostemma secamone in male albino rats. The
relative weight of the testes and epididymis were decreased. The epididymal sperm
count, motility and sperm abnormality were reduced significantly in treated rats. The
results of the hormonal assay showed that increased serum levels of FSH and estrogen
but decreased in the serum levels of LH and testosterone compared to control. The
results of fertility test indicated that the treated adult male rats reduced the number of
female’s impregnation.
Jain et al. (2012) evaluated anti-implantation and antiovulatory effect of
Tabernaemontana diavaricata leaves using different aspects of reproductive
40
physiology in albino mice. Ethanol extract of T. diavaricata at 250mg/kg and
500mg/kg showed significant inhibition of number of implant sites. Extract at the
dose of 500mg/kg showed 66.66% inhibition of implants in uterine horns when
compared with vehicle treated group.
Priya et al. (2012) presented the profiles of plants with antifertility, reported in
the literature from 1994-2010. The profiles presented include information about the
scientific name, family, the degree of antifertility activity and the active agents.
Various medicinal plant extracts have been tested for their antifertility activity both in
male and female animal models. Totally 50 species are listed in this review.
Various medicinal plant extracts have been reported to exert antifertility
activity both in male and female animal models (Umadevi et al., 2013). Numerous
herbs have been used hotorically to reduce fertility, and modern scientific research
has confirmed antifertility effects in atleast some of the herbs tested. Herbal
contraception may never reach the level of contraceptive protection as the pill, but it
offers alternatives for women who have difficulty with modern contraceptive options
or who just want to try a different way.
Antiinflammatory activity
The term ‘rheumatism’ embraces a variety of disorders that have in common
pain and stiffness referable to the musculoskeletal system. When such symptoms are
due to abnormality of the joint itself, the condition can be classified as arthritis. Non-
articular rheumatism includes those conditions in which the symptoms are produced
not by pathologic changes in the joints proper, but in the structures contiguous to, or
related to the joints. Although arthritis occurs in a number of different forms, there are
essentially two fundamental pathological processes that affect the joints viz.,
41
inflammation, which may be exudative or proliferative or a combination of each and
degenerative changes, which are primarily dependent on the limited capacity of
articular cartilage to repair itself (Loeb, 1971).The target should be to discover plant
based new drugs which may provide therapeutic cure and would be free from
undesirable effect as well as economical, which would be accepted by the developing
nations like India (Huang, 1999).
A systematic study of antiinflammatory effects of Indian medicinal plants
began by Gujral and his associates. They screened a number of plants for their anti-
arthritic 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
models of experimental inflammation like carrageenan induced paw edema in rats,
cotton pellet induced granuloma in rats, Freud’s complete adjuvant induced arthritis
etc., and 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 and 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 anti-
inflammatory activity (AIA) is an unending problem (Chawla et al., 1987 and Shen,
1981).
The oleoresin fraction of Commiphora mukul possessed significant anti-
arthritic and antiinflammatory activities. A steroidal compound isolated from C.mukul
displayed a significant dose dependent activity which was more potent than the resin
42
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).
Hye and Gafur (1975) observed the antiinflammatory activity of a flavanoid
glycoside, chrysoeriol 7-0-β-D glucopyranosyl-D-apiofuranoside, isolated from
Dalbergia volubilis. 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 edema in rats (Menon et al., 1982).
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 by Srimal and Dhawan, (1973). It is as potent as phenylbutazone in the
carrageenan induced edema test but half as 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, 9β-diol and quercetin from aerial parts of Heterotheca
inuloides (Asteraceae) and displayed their dose dependent activities and showed them
43
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 morindoides showed similar inhibition of classical pathway of
complement system (Kanyanga et al., 1995).
The dichloromethane extract of the aerial parts of Tanacetum microphyllum
yielded two anti-inflammatory flavonoids viz; 5,7,3’-trihydroxy-3,6,4’-trimethoxy
flavones (centaureidin) and 5,3’-dihydroxy-4’-methoxy-7-carbomethoxyflavonol
(Abad et al., 1993). Three flavonoids, namely 7-0-methylaromadendin, rhamnocitrin
and 3-O-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 edema
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
edema, formaldehyde induced edema 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 anti-
inflammatory and anti-arthritic activities of the oleogum of Boswellia serrate in
controlled clinical trials in arthritic patients.Its activity might be due to the boswellic
44
acids present in the oleogum. Two new triterpene saponins having phospholipase-D
inhibitory activity were isolated from extract of the leaves of Myrsine australis.
Oleanolic acid 3-β-glucoside isolated from the seeds of Randia dumetorum showed a
significant AIA in the exudative and proliferative phases of inflammation in rats
(Ghosh and Kumar., 1983). Singh et al. (1970) isolated β-sitosterol from Cyperus
rotendus and showed it a potent anti-inflammatory agent against carrageenan and
cotton pellet-induced edema in rats. Gupta et al. (1971) compared the anti-pyretic
activities of hydrocortisone and oxyphenbutazone. Α-spinasterol obtained from the
stem-bark of Symplocos spicata showed a significant activity against acute
inflammation induced by carrageenan in rats.
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 anti-arthritic 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 anti-
arthritic activities in rats by Kweifio-Okai and Carroll (1992 and 1993). The anti-
inflammatory activity of the aqueous extract of Bridelia ferrugiana stem bark was
45
evaluated using carrageenan induced paw edema in rats and mice (Olajide et al.,
1999). Suleyman et al. (1999) studied the antiinflammatory activity of the aqueous
extracts of Rumex patientia roots using carrageenan, histamine, dextrane, serotonin
and formaldehyde induced edema 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 mice.
The aqueous and alcoholic extracts of Tecoma sambucifolia flowers and pods were
analyzed to determine their anti-inflammatory activities using carrageenan induced
edema 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 edema (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
anti-inflammatory 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 edema 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
46
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, head ache, rheumatism, gonorrhoea and bronchial-pulmonary diseases
was investigated by Dongno et al. (2003) for its antiinflammatory and analgesic
properties using the hexane and methanol extracts of the stem bark. Laupattarakasem
et al. (2003) studied the antiinflammatory activities of aqueous and alcoholic extracts
of the leaves of the Acanthus ebracteatus, stem bark of Oroxylum indicum and the
stems 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 Tabernaemontana
pandacaqui was studied using carrageenan induced rat paw edema (Taesotikul et al.,
2003). Trongsakul et al. (2003) conducted pharmacological studies using
47
experimental animal models and evaluated the analgesic, anti-pyretic and
antiinflammatory activities of hexane extract of the dried stem of Diospyros
variegata.
Deb et al. (2007) investigated the antiinflammatory activityof the aqueous leaf
extract of Eucalyptus globulus in carrageenan induced paw edema and cotton pellet
granuloma 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 anti-
inflammatory 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 analyzed for its antiinflammatory activity by Das et al.
(2009). It exhibited a significant result at an oral dose of 200 and 400 mg/Kg body
weight.
The ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of Syzygium cumini leaves were
investigated for their antiinflammatory activities in carrageenan induced paw edema
in Wistar rats (Jain et al., 2010). Parthasarathy (2010) studied the antiinflammatory
activity of whole plant methanol extract of Spermacoce hispida. using carrageenan
induced paw edema albino rats, 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 edema in albino rats.
Sutha et al. (2011) screened the ethanol leaf extract of Alstonia venenata for its
antiinflammatory activity in carrageenan induced paw edema in albino rats. The
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whole plant ethanol extracts of Polygala javana and Polygala rosmarinifolia were
evaluated for their antiinflammatory activities using carrageenan induced paw edema
by Alagammal et al. (2012a and 2012b). Balamurugan et al. (2012) reported the
antiinflammatory activity of Polycarpea corymbosa against carrageenan induced paw
edema. Kalpanadevi et al. (2012) studied the ethanol extract of Entada pursaetha seed
for its antiinflammatory activity in carrageenan induced paw edema in albino rats.
The ethanol leaf and stem bark extracts of Naringi crenulata were evaluated for their
antiinflammatory activities using carrageenan induced paw edema by Sarada et al.
(2012).
Antiulcer activity
Afifi et al. (1997) investigated the antiulcerogenic activity of Laurus nobilis
seeds on experimentally induced gastric ulcer in rats. Pascual et al. (2001) studied the
antiulcerogenic activity of Lippia alba on the rat gastric mucosa. The following
behavourial parameters were evaluated; (a) gastric irritancy test in wistar rats;(b)
antiulcer activity, short term and long term; (c) acid secretion; (d) measurement of
total proteins; (e) estimation of total protein bound and non protein sulfhydryl groups.
Raintidine (100mg/kg, P.O.) was used as the reference antiulcer drug.
Mahendran et al. (2002) investigated the antiulcer activity of Garcinia
cambogia extract against indomethacin-induced gastric ulcer in rats. Sousa Falcao et
al. (2008) evaluated numerous natural products as therapeutics for the treatment of a
variety of diseases, including ulcer. Muniappan and Sundararaj (2003) studied the
antiulcer activity of the methanol extract of the leaf of Bambusa arundinacea in
albino rats.
49
Govindarajan et al. (2006) studied the gastroprotective potential of the
Anogeissus latifolia extract (ALE) on aspirin, cold-resistant stress (CRS), pylorus
ligated (PL) and ethanol-induced ulcers. High performance thin layer chromatography
(HPTLC) showed the presence of gallic acid and ellagic acid in the plant. Malairajan
et al. (2007) evaluated the antiulcer activity of ethanol extract of Toona ciliata
heartwood against aspirin plus pylorus ligation induced gastric ulcer (antisecretory),
HCL-ethanol induced ulcer (cytoprotective) and water immersion stress induced ulcer
in rats.
Muralidharan and Srikanth,. (2009) investigated the antiulcer activity of ethyl
extract of the fruits of Morinda citrifolia using different models of gastric and
duodenal ulceration in rats. Gastric ulcers were induced by oral administration of
ethanol, aspirin and by pyloric ligation and duodenal ulcers were induced by oral
administration of cysteamine HCL. Thirunavukkarasu et al. (2009) determined the
gastroprotective effect of Excoecaria agallocha bark in a model of NSAID induced
ulcer rat. The E.agallocha was able to decrease the volume and acidity of the gastric
juice and increase the mucosal defense in the gastric areas, thereby justifying its use
as an antiulcerogenic agent.
Khandare et al. (2009) evaluated the antiulcer activity of polyherbal
formulation (PHF) by using two methods. i.e., pylorus ligation and ethanol induced
ulcers in rats pretreated with the doses of 1ml/kg absolute ethanol, 100mg/kg PHF,
50mg/kg Ranitidine. PHF significantly (P<0.05) decreased free-acidity, total acidity,
ulcer index and gastric volume and significantly (P<0.05) increased the pH in pylorus
ligated model whereas ulcer index significantly (P< 0.05) decreased in ethanol
induced model.
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Mukherjee et al. (2010) determined the antiulcer potential of Gutgard TM, a
standardized extract of Glycyrrhiza glabra commonly known as licorice in pylorus
ligation, cold-restraint stress and indomethacin induced gastric mucosal injury in rats.
Rasika et al. (2010) investigated the antiulcer effect of ethanol extract of leaves of
Sesbania gradiflora using models of pylorus-ligated gastric ulceration in rats.
Omeprazole, ranitidine, misoprostol were used as reference drug. Vinothapooshan et
al. (2010) investigated the effect of methanol, chloroform and diethyl ether extracts of
Mimosa pudica in rats to evaluate the antiulcer activity by using three models, i.e.,
aspirin, alcohol and pylorus ligation models experimentally induced gastric ulcer.
Nair et al. (2010) evaluated the antiulcer efficacy of the polyherbal
formulation NR-ANX-C (composed of the extracts from Withania somnifera,
Camellia sinensis, Ocimum sanctum, shilajith and triphala) with potent antioxidant
activity in aspirin and pylorus ligature induced gastric ulcers in rats. Govind et al.
(2010) evaluated the antiulcer activity of methanol extract of leaf of Nerium indicum
in indomethacin induced ulcer model.
Dashputre et al. (2011) investigated the antiulcer activity of methanol extract
of Abutilon indicum leaves in pylorus ligated and ethanol induced ulceration in the
albino rats. In pylorus ligation induced ulcer model, various parameters were studied
viz, gastric volume, pH, total acidity, free acidity and ulcer index. Prabha et al. (2011)
investigated the anti-ulcerogenic activity of Musa sapientum on peptic ulcer by
performing hematological, mucosal, antioxidant profile in comparison with the
standard drug omeperazole. The High-Performance Thin Layer chromatography
(HPTLC) analysis showed that Musa sapientum has an active compound, amonomeric
flavonoid (Leucocyanidin) with anti-ulcerogenic activity.
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Srinivas et al. (2011) evaluated the ethanol extract of flowers of Ixora pavetta
for the antiulcer activity by aspirin induced and pylorus ligation of rats. The extract
significantly decreased the gastric secretion, free acidity as well as gastric ulcer in the
aspirin induced and pylorus ligated rats and the effects were compared with
omeprazole.Venkat Rao et al. (2011) evaluated the antiulcer activity of ethanol and
water extracts of fruit of Momordica charantia in various animal models like pylorus
ligation, aspirin, stress induced ulcer models in rats and the activities are due to the
presence of phytochemical constituents such as saponins, sterols, mucilage, glycoside,
alkaloids, steroidal saponins as these phytochemical constituents were already
reported for the above mentioned effects.
Kakasaheb et al. (2011) studied the antiulcer activity of aqueous extract of
Spinacia oleracia in rats in which gastric ulcer were induced by oral administration of
ethanol or aspirin or by pyloric ligation. Ranitidine and Sucralfate were used as
reference drug. Kalra et al. (2011) studied the methanol extract of the seed coat of
Tamarindus indica to evaluate its antiulcer potential on ibuprofen, alcohol and pyloric
ligation induced gastric lesions. Ranitidine at a dose of 50 mg/kg was used as a
standard drug for these gastric ulcer models. Balekar et al. (2011) investigated the
antiulcer effect of whole plant extract of Malvastrum tricuspidatum on ethanol
induced, aspirin induced, cold-restraint-stress and pylorus-ligation induced gastric
ulcer models in rats. The ethanol extract of M. tricuspidatum showed concomitant
attenuation of gastric secretory volume, free acidity, total acidity and peptic activity in
ulcerated rats.
Vimlesh et al. (2012) investigated the antiulcer activity of ethanol and
chloroform extracts of Plumeria rubra leaves in pylorus ligated and ethanol induced
ulceration in the albino rats. Panda and Sonkamble (2012) studied the antiulcer
52
activity of methanol extract of Ipomoea batatus tubers at two doses, viz., 400 and 800
mg/kg in cold stress and aspirin induced gastric ulcer models using cimetidine and
omeprazole respectively as standards.