Several fruit characteristics of five loquat (Eriobotrya japonica (Thunb.) Lindl.) cultivars/selections grown in Dörtyol, Hatay, Turkey were investigated in 2008. The cultivars/selections included 'Baduna 5', Güzelyurt 1, 'Hafif Çukurgöbek', 'Ottaviani,' and Type 1. The characteristics evaluated included fruit weight, width, length, seed number and weight, flesh/seed ratio, total soluble solids (TSS), pH, acidity, total phenolic (TP) content, and total antioxidant capacity (TAC), determined by the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. The analyses were conducted by three replicates, with 30 fruits in each replicate. The results indicated that there were significant differences among the cultivars, for all the traits tested. For example, 'Hafif Çukurgöbek' and 'Ottaviani' had smaller fruits than others, although 'Hafif Çukurgöbek' had heavier seeds. The flesh/seed ratio was the highest in Type 1, while 'Hafif Çukurgöbek' had the highest pH and high soluble solids. 'Baduna 5' and 'Hafif Çukurgöbek' had the highest acidity. The TP ranged from 129 ('Baduna 5') to 578 ('Hafif Çukurgöbek') mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/kg fresh fruit (fw). 'Hafif Çukurgöbek' also had the highest FRAP mean (12.1 mmol Trolox Equivalent (TE)/kg fw). The results suggest that loquat cultivars have a variable range of TP content and a relatively high total antioxidant capacity, which is crucial for human health.

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The possible protective effect of Solanum nigrum fruit extract (SNFEt) was investigated for its antioxidant and antihyperlipidemic activity against ethanol-induced toxicity in rats. The experimental animals were intoxicated with 20% ethanol (7.9 g/kg/day) for 30 days via gastric intubation. SNFEt was administered at the dose of 250 mg/kg body weight along with the daily dose of ethanol for 30 days. From the result it was observed that ethanol-induced rats showed a significant elevation in the levels of Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), which lowered the antioxidant defense systems, such as, reduced glutathione (GSH) and vitamins C and E, when compared to the controls. In the lipid profiles, the levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low density lipoproteins (LDL), very low density lipoproteins (VLDL), free fatty acids (FFA), and phospholipids were significantly elevated in the ethanol-induced group, whereas, the high density lipoproteins (HDL) were found to be reduced in the plasma, and the phospholipid levels were significantly decreased in the tissues. Supplementation of SNFEt improved the antioxidant status by decreasing the levels of TBARS and altering the lipid profiles to near normal. These activities were also compared to the standard drug silymarin (25 mg/ kg body weight). Thus the findings of the present study indicated a significant antioxidant and antihyperlipidemic activity of Solanum nigrum fruits, which offered protection against ethanol-induced toxicity.

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Ageratum conyzoides has been used in folklore for the treatment of a wide range of diseases. In the present investigation, the in vitro activity of ethanol, petroleum ether, ethylacetate, butanol, and water extracts of A. conyzoides were screened in some cancer cell lines using the sulphorhodamine B (SRB) assay. These cell lines include: Human non-small cell lung carcinoma (A-549), human colon adenocarcinoma (HT-29), human gastric carcinoma (SGC-7901), human golima (U-251), human breast carcinoma (MDA-MB-231), human prostate carcinoma (DU-145), human hepatic carcinoma (BEL-7402), and mouse leukemia (P-388) cancer cell lines. Furthermore, kaempferol was isolated from the ethylacetate extract and the structure was elucidated by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectroscopy. The effect of DPPH antiradical activity on the extracts and kaempferol was also determined. The results showed that ethylacetate extract exhibited the highest cytotoxic activity on A-549 and P-388 cancer cells with IC ₅₀ values of 0.68 and 0.0003 µg/ml, respectively. Kaempferol isolated from the ethylacetate extract of A. conyzoides rapidly scavenged DPPH at a concentration of 130.07 ±17.36 g/kg. The result therefore showed that A. conyzoides possessed anticancer and antiradical properties.

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Thymus vulgaris L. (Lamiaceae) is a well-known medicinal plant that contains important compounds such as thymol and carvacrol and it has been used in many pharmaceutical dosage forms. Thymol and carvacrol in essential oils are often quantified by gas chromatography (GC) technique but in this work, a validated and reliable high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method has been developed for the analysis of these two components in T. vulgaris essential oil. The essential oil of the plant was analyzed by HPLC and GC techniques. The HPLC system consisted of ACE C ₁₈ column and an isocratic acetonitrile:water (50:50) as the mobile phase which was kept at a flow rate of 1 ml/min. The method was validated for selectivity, linearity (r² > 0.997 for both thymol and carvacrol), precision (intra-day 0.8-1.9, 1.7-2.6; and inter-day 3.5-4.5, 3.6-4.7) and recovery (97.7%, 97.6%) for thymol and carvacrol, respectively. The limits of detection (LODs) and limits of quantization (LOQs) were calculated to be 2.8, 0.6 μg/ml and 8.6, 1.8 μg/ml for thymol and carvacrol, respectively. The GC system consisted of flame ionization detector (FID) and CP-SIL 8 column. The concentrations of thymol and carvacrol in essential oil obtained by HPLC (41.2%, 4.3%) and GC (40.7%, 4.2%) were compared by statistical methods and they showed good agreement.

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Fourteen purple-black American elderberry accessions (Sambucus canadensis L.) obtained from various sites in midwestern USA and then grown at a single Ohio production site in USA were analyzed for their total phenolic (TP) and total monomeric anthocyanin (TMA) contents and for their antioxidant capacity by the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and DPPH radical scavenging assays. Total phenolic and anthocyanin contents were measured using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and the pH differential methods, respectively. Overall, the phytonutrient contents and antioxidant capacity of our elderberry accessions were similar to those typically reported for black raspberries, blackberries and other dark-fleshed small fruits. Variability among accessions was greatest for TMA content (CV 37.5%); individuals ranged nearly threefold from 1308 to 4004 μg cy3-GE/g on a fresh weight basis. Variation among accessions was also evident for TP, FRAP and DPPH values (CV 14.4, 21.7 and 26.8%, respectively). TP and TMA values were very highly correlated (r = 0.93), although individuals differed in the estimated proportion of total phenolics attributable to anthocyanins. Both TP and TMA also highly correlated to antioxidant capacity values (r = 0.70-0.85). Within this limited study of 14 accessions, variability for phytonutrient content and antioxidant capacity suggested the employment of wild germplasm within an elderberry improvement program to incorporate an array of superior horticultural, post-harvest or processing traits into new or existing cultivars with superior phytonutrient profiles.

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Tamarindus indica L. leaves are reported worldwide as antibacterial and antifungal agents; however, this observation is not completely accurate in the case of Cuba. In this article, decoctions from fresh and sun dried leaves, as well as fluid extracts prepared with 30 and 70% ethanol-water and the pure essential oil from tamarind leaves were microbiologically tested against Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Pseudomona aeruginosa and Candida albicans. Aqueous and fluid extracts were previously characterized by spectrophotometric determination of their total phenols and flavonoids, while the essential oil was chemically evaluated by gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC/MS). Experimental data suggest phenols as active compounds against B. subtilis cultures, but not against other microorganisms. On the other hand, the essential oil exhibited a good antimicrobial spectrum when pure, but its relative low concentrations in common folk preparations do not allow for any good activity in these extracts.

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Seeds of the cumin plant (Cuminum cyminum L.) have been used since many years in Iranian traditional medicine. We assessed the effect of cumin seed essential oil on the biofilm-forming ability of Klebsiella pneumoniae strains and on the integrity of a native resistance plasmid DNA from K. pneumoniae isolates, treated with essential oil. Antibacterial coaction between the essential oil and selected antibiotic disks were determined for inhibiting K. pneumoniae. The essential oil of the cumin seeds was obtained by hydrodistillation in a Clavenger system. A simple method for the formation of biofilms on semiglass lamellas was established. The biofilms formed were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effect of essential oil on plasmid integrity was studied through the induction of R-plasmid DNA degradation. The plasmid was incubated with essential oil, and agarose gel electrophoresis was performed. Disk diffusion assay was employed to determine the coaction. The essential oil decreased biofilm formation and enhanced the activity of the ciprofloxacin disk. The incubation of the R-plasmid DNA with essential oil could not induce plasmid DNA degradation. The results of this study suggest the potential use of cumin seed essential oil against K. pneumoniae in vitro, may contribute to the in vivo efficacy of this essential oil.

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Pereskia bleo and Pereskia grandifolia, belonging to the botanical family Cactaceae, have been traditionally used by the locals in Malaysia for treatment of various ailments. The current study reports the outcome of acute oral toxicity investigation of Pereskia bleo and Pereskia grandifolia, on ICR mice. No mortalities or evidence of adverse effects have been observed in ICR mice following acute oral administration at the highest dose of 2500 mg/ kg crude extracts of Pereskia bleo and Pereskia grandifolia. This is the first report on the acute oral toxicity of Pereskia bleo and Pereskia grandifolia and the findings of this study are in agreement with those of in vitro experiments and thus provide scientific validation on the use of the leaves of Pereskia bleo and Pereskia grandifolia.

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Thirteen Hypericum species growing in Bulgaria were investigated for free radical-scavenging activity, antioxidant activity, total tannins and total flavonoids contents. Methanolic extracts from the Hypericum species were analyzed for radical scavenging and antioxidant activities using DPPH-, ABTS- free radicals, total antioxidant activity and inhibition of lipid peroxidation by ferric thiocyanate (FTC) method. Butylated hydroxytoluene and ascorbic acid were used as positive controls. Methanolic extracts from H. cerastoides, H. perforatum and H. maculatum demonstrate the highest antioxidant activities and are potential sources of natural antioxidant compounds. The quantification of tannins and flavanoids were determined in Hypericum species using Folin-Chiocalteu reagent and AlCl3, respectively. The amounts of the tannins ranged from 1.30 ± 0.01 mg/100 g dw in H. elegans to 8.67 ± 0.02 g/100 g dw in H. perforatum. The highest concentration of flavonoids was found in H. cerastoides (1.22 ± 0.02 g/100g dw), and the lowest amount was established in H. olympicum (0.20 ± 0.03 g/100g dw).

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The objective of the study was to develop a topical poly herbal gel for the treatment of mild acne vulgaris. Aqueous extracts of Garcinia mangostana and Aloe vera were formulated in an aqueous based carbopol-934(1%w/w) gel system. Preformulation studies on solubility, partition co-efficient, MIC, MBC were determined along with compatibility studies using a validated HPLC method. Six formulations of the gel were prepared by varying the proportions of polymers and evaluated for their physicochemical properties like pH, spreadability, viscosity and microbial assay. Based on these tests, formulation F-6 containing 1% carbopol-934 was selected as best formulation and carried over to in-vitro drug diffusion studies wherein it showed Cumulative Drug Release of 81.03% at the end of 8 hours with a flux of 0.0879 mg/cm2/hr.The microbial assay of all the formulations demonstrated better inhibitory activity against Propionibacterium acne and Staphylococcus epidermidis compared to the marketed clindamycin phosphate gel in equivalent amounts of application. Conclusion: It was concluded from the study that aqueous extract of Garcinia mangostana and Aloe vera can be formulated in an aqueous based gel system for topical therapy of mild acne vulgaris.

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Mentha piperita essential oil was bactericidal in order of E. coli> S. aureus > Pseudomonas aeruginosa> S. faecalis > Klebsiella pneumoniae. The oil with total phenolics of 89.43 ± 0.58 μg GAE/mg had 63.82 ± 0.05% DPPH inhibition activity with an IC ₅₀ = 3.9 μg/ml. Lipid peroxidation inhibition was comparable to BHT and BHA. A 127% hike was noted in serum ferric-reducing antioxidant power. There was 38.3% decrease in WBCs count, while platelet count showed increased levels of 214.12%. Significant decrease in uric acid level and cholesterol/HDL and LDL/HDL ratios were recorded. The volatile oil displayed high cytotoxic action toward the human tumor cell line. The results of this study deserve attention with regard to antioxidative and possible anti-neoplastic chemotherapy that form a basis for future research. The essential oil of mint may be exploited as a natural source of bioactive phytopchemicals bearing antimicrobial and antioxidant potentials that could be supplemented for both nutritional purposes and preservation of foods.

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Psidium guajava L. leaves were subjected to extraction, fractionation and isolation of the flavonoidal compounds. Five flavonoidal compounds were isolated which are quercetin, quercetin-3-O-α-L-arabinofuranoside, quercetin-3-O-β-D-arabinopyranoside, quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucoside and quercetin-3-O-β-D-galactoside. Quercetin-3-O-b-D-arabinopyranoside was isolated for the first time from the leaves. Fractions together with the isolates were tested for their antimicrobial activity. The antimicrobial studies showed good activities for the extracts and the isolated compounds.

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A licorice infusion (LI) and its major constituents were investigated for their capacity to stimulate the activation and the cell cycle progression of human lymphocytes, measured by the CD69 expression and DNA content, respectively. The chemical profile of LI was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD). Results: Two major components of LI were identified as liquiritin (1) and glycyrrhizin (2); total flavones and flavonols were shown as its minor constituents. The LI (100-800 µg/ml) stimulated the expression of CD69 on lymphocytes in a concentration-independent manner. Values of the activation index (AI) of total lymphocytes treated with LI (100-800 µg/ml) did not differ significantly among them ( P < 0.05), but were 50% lower than the AI value exhibited by cells treated with phytohemagglutinin (PHA). The LI showed a similar effect on T cells, but on a lower scale. Compounds 1 and 2 (12-100 µg/ml) did not stimulate the CD69 expression on lymphocytes. The LI, 1 and 2 showed no meaningful effect on cell cycle progression of lymphocytes. The experimental data indicates that LI stimulates the activation of lymphocytes as a result of a proliferation-independent process. This finding suggests that LI could be considered as a potential specific immune stimulator.

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Bacterial infectious agents present a risk to populations, as they are responsible for high morbidity and mortality. For combating these pathogens, our main line of defense is the use of antibiotics. However, indiscriminate use of these drugs develops resistant strains to these same drugs. The present study has tested the antibacterial and modifying antibiotic activity of natural products from Nasutitermes corniger (Termitidae) (Motschulsky), a termite used in folk medicine in Northeast Brazil, by the microdilution and checkerboard methods, respectively. In this study, the aqueous extract from the nest of N. corniger (ANCE) was prepared and tested with chlorpromazine (CPZ) for its antimicrobial activity, using the microdilution method. CPZ and ANCE were used independently and also in combination with aminoglycosides, against a strain of Escherichia coli resistant to these antibiotics, to determine the participation of efflux systems in resistance mechanisms. The fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) index was calculated and evaluated for the occurrence of synergism, using the checkerboard method. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC) values were ≥ 2048 µg/mL for both strains of E. coli assayed, indicating low antibacterial activity. However, synergism was observed with kanamycin when the decoction was used, but when chlorpromazine was used, synergism was observed with kanamycin, amikacin, and neomycin. This synergism with CPZ indicated the involvement of an efflux system in the resistance to these aminoglycosides. Therefore, it was suggested that the natural products from N. corniger could be used as a source of zoo-derived natural products with kanamycin-modifying activity, resulting in a new approach against bacterial resistance to antibiotics.

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The fruits of eight myrtles, Myrtus communis L. accessions from the Mediterranean region of Turkey were evaluated for their antioxidant activities and fatty acid contents. The antioxidant activities of the fruit extracts were determined by using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and β-carotene-linoleic acid assays. The fatty acid contents of fruits were determined by using gas chromatography. The methanol extracts of fruits exhibited a high level of free radical scavenging activity. There was a wide range (74.51-91.65%) of antioxidant activity among the accessions in the β-carotene-linoleic acid assay. The amount of total phenolics (TP) was determined to be between 44.41-74.44 µg Gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/mg, on a dry weight basis. Oleic acid was the dominant fatty acid (67.07%), followed by palmitic (10.24%), and stearic acid (8.19%), respectively. These results suggest the future utilization of myrtle fruit extracts as food additives or in chemoprevention studies.

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Satureja Macrostema is used both as a functional food and as a drug. In this study, the antioxidative potential of the methanol extract of Satureja Macrostema (SM) was evaluated using various antioxidant assays, including DPPH, superoxide, nitric oxide (NO), hydroxyl radical scavenging and iron-chelating activity. Total phenolic and flavonoid content of SM was also determined by a colorimetric method. The extract exhibited powerful free radical scavenging, especially against DPPH, hydroxyl radical scavenging and iron-chelating activity as well as a moderate effect on NO and superoxide anions. The protective effects of methanol extract of SM were studied in carbon tetrachloride-reduced biochemical markers of hepatic injury such as glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT), serum glutamate oxalaoacetate transaminase (SGOT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), serum bilirubin, cholesterol alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels. The increased level of HDL demonstrated dose dependant reduction in the in vivo peroxidation induced by CCl4. SM could protect from paracetamol-induced lipid peroxidation eliminating the deleterious effects of toxic metabolites from paracetamol. Degree of protection was measured by using biochemical parameters such as serum transaminase (GOT and GPT), alkaline phosphatase (ALKP) and bilirubin. Hexane and chloroform extracts did not show any effects. Results obtained in the present study suggest that S. Macrostema elicits hepatoprotectivity through antioxidant activity on carbon tetrachloride- and paracetamol-induced hepatic damage in rats.

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A simple, precise, rapid and accurate, binary-phase high performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the determination of oleanolic acid and ursolic acid contents in the Ziziphora clinopodioides Lam. with short run time. Chromatographic separation is achieved by using HPLC system consisting of a Shimadzu LC-6AD and Kromasil C ₁₈ column (150 Χ 4.6 mm, 10 ΅m, with pre-column), the mobile phase consists of methanol and 0.03 M phosphate buffer (pH = 3, 90:10). Detection wavelength is 214 nm. The speed of flow is 0.5 ml/min. The specimen handing quantity is 10 μl. The oleanolic acid's linearity range is 0.4~1.2 mg/ml (r = 0.9996). The ursolic acid's linearity range is 0.6~1.8 mg/ml (r = 0.9996), and the linear relationship is accurate. The average recovery (n = 6) of oleanolic acid is 99.5% (RSD = 1.19%) and ursolic acid is 102.3%(RSD = 1.25%). The content of oleanolic acid and ursolic acid in Ziziphora clinopodioides are 0.76 mg/g and 1.176 mg/g, respectively. The developed HPLC method can therefore be applied to both in vitro studies of oleanolic acid and ursolic acid formulations as well as drug estimation in biological samples.

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Rosa canina L. is a member of Rosaceae family, which is well-known for its high phenolic contents. These compounds are known to possess antioxidant, antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic effects. However, they have yet to pass controlled clinical trials for efficacy, and their potential for prooxidant activity is an understudied field of research. In order to estimate the correlations between phenolic contents and antioxidant/proxidant effect mechanisms, different concentrations of R. canina fruit extracts were examined in this study. R. canina showed antioxidant activities at all concentrations with respect to the reducing power, hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity and superoxide anion radical scavenging (O2^·-) activity assays, whereas a negative correlation was observed with the metal ion chelating activity and free radical scavenging activity [1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazil (DPPH) % inhibition] assays at higher concentrations with the phenolic content of R. canina. These results suggest that R. canina may act not only as an antioxidant, but also as a prooxidant with the effects depending on its concentrations.

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The total phenolic distribution of juice, peel, and seed extracts of four Turkish pomegranate, Punica granatum L., cultivars ("Lefan," "Katirbasi," "Cekirdeksiz-IV," and "Asinar") was investigated. Total phenolic compounds were determined with the Folin-Ciocalteu colorimetric method. The results showed that the levels of total phenolic compounds changed depending on cultivars and fruit parts. In all cultivars, the highest levels of total phenolic content were obtained from the peel extracts. The total phenolic content ranged from 1775.4 to 3547.8 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/L among the cultivars. However, the total phenolic content of pomegranate juice and seed extract ranged from 784.4 to 1551.5 mg GAE/L and 117.0 to 177.4 mg GAE/L, respectively. "Lefan" displayed the highest amount of the total phenolic content among the four popular cultivars tested.

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The objective of the present study was to evaluate the toxic effect of Averrhoa carambola (star fruit) juice at different storage conditions in Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. Twenty female rats weighing 180 ± 20 g were randomly assigned into four groups with five rats per group (n = 5). First group served as the control group, fed with distilled water (vehicle). Second, third and fourth groups were orally treated with juice of A. carambola stored for 0, 1 and 3 h respectively for 14 days. Cage-side observations were done daily after each treatment. Body weight, food consumption and water intake were recorded on day-0, day-3, day-7 and day-14. All rats were fasted overnight prior to blood collection through cardiac puncture on day-15. The levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), urea and creatinine in blood serum were measured. Data were analyzed using Dunnett's test. From the results obtained, there was no lethality found and LD ₅₀ could not be determined. Increment of ALT levels (P < 0.05) was reported in those rats treated with A. carambola juice stored for 3 h. On the basis of these results, we can conclude that A. carambola juice stored for 0 hand 1 h are safe to be consumed. However, juice stored for 3 h exerts toxic effect on rat liver at hepatocellular level.

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In this work, the chemical constituents, antibacterial and modulatory activities of the essential oil of Lantana camara Linn were studied. The essential oil was extracted from the leaves of L. camara by hydrodistillation method using Clevenger's apparatus and its chemical constituents were separated and identified by GC-MS, and the relative content of each constituent was determined by area normalization. Among the 25 identified components, bicyclogermacrene (19.42%), isocaryophyllene (16.70%), valecene (12.94%) and germacrene D (12.34%) were the main constituents. The oil was examined to antibacterial and modulatory activities against the multiresistant strains of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus by microdilution test. The results show an inhibitory activity to E. coli (MIC 512 μg/ml) and S. aureus (MIC 256 μg/ml). The synergism of the essential oil and aminoglycosides was verified too, with significant reduction of MICs (7Χ, 1250-5 μg/ml) against E. coli. It is suggested that the essential oil of Lantana camara Linn could be used as a source of plant-derived natural products with resistance-modifying activity.

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The leaves of Pereskia grandifolia Haw. (Cactaceae), commonly known as "Jarum Tujuh Bilah" in Malaysia, have been traditionally used as natural remedy in folk medicine by the locals. In the present study, the antioxidant potential of P. grandifolia crude methanol and its fractionated extracts (hexane, ethyl acetate and water) have been investigated, employing three different established testing systems, such as scavenging activity on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals, reducing power assay and b-carotene method. The total phenolic content of the P. grandifolia extracts was also assessed by the Folin-Ciocalteau's method. The ethyl acetate extract showed significantly the highest total phenolic content, DPPH scavenging ability and antioxidant activity in b-carotene bleaching assay while the hexane extract possessed significantly strongest reducing power. The data obtained in these testing systems clearly establish the antioxidant potency of P. grandifolia. As such, this is the first report on the antioxidant activities of P. grandifolia.

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The present study was undertaken to explore the possible biochemical activities of Hyaenanche globosa Lamb. and its compounds. Two different extracts (ethanol and dichloromethane) of four different parts (leaves, root, stem, and fruits) of H. globosa were evaluated for their possible antibacterial, antityrosinase, and anticancer (cytotoxicity) properties. Two pure compounds were isolated using column chromatographic techniques. Active extracts and pure compounds were investigated for their antioxidant effect on cultured 'Hela cells'. Antioxidant/oxidative properties of the ethanolic extract of the fruits of H. globosa and purified compounds were investigated using reactive oxygen species (ROS), ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and lipid peroxidation thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) assays. The ethanolic extract of the leaves and fruits of H. globosa showed the best activity, exhibiting a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 3.1 mg/ ml and a minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of 1.56 and 6.2 mg/ml, respectively, against M. smegmatis. The ethanolic extract of the fruits of H. globosa (F.E) showed the highest percentage of inhibitory activity of monophenolase (90.4% at 200 µg/ml). In addition, F.E exhibited 50% inhibitory concentration (IC ₅₀ ) of 37.7 µg/ml on the viability of 'HeLa cells' using cytotoxicity MTT assay. Subsequently, F.E was fractionated using phase-partitioning with n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol. The cytotoxicity of these fractions were determined in vitro using different cancer cell lines. The n-hexane fraction exhibited the highest activity of toxicity. Therefore, this fraction was subjected to further separation by chromatographic methods. Two pure compounds known as: 'Tutin' and 'hyenanchin' were isolated and their structures were determined by NMR spectroscopic methods. Unpredictably, none of them showed significant ( P < 0.01) inhibition on cell viability/proliferation at the concentrations that were used. F.E showed significant anti-tyrosinase, antibacterial, and cytotoxicity effects, therefore it can be considered as an effective inhibitor alone or in combination with other plant extracts.

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Swertia spp. (Gentianaceae) grow widely in the eastern and southern Asian countries and are used as traditional medicine for gastrointestinal disorders. Swerchirin, one of the xanthones in Swertia spp., has many pharmacological properties, such as, antimalarial, antihepatotoxic, and hypoglycemic effects. Because of the pharmacological importance of Swerchirin in this investigation, it was purified from Swertia longifolia Boiss. as one of the main components and quantified by means of a validated high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) technique. Aerial parts of the plant were extracted with acetone 80%. Phenolic and non-phenolic constituents of the extract were separated from each other during several processes. The phenolic fraction was injected into the semi-preparative HPLC system, which consisted of a C ₁₈ column and a gradient methanol: 0.1% formic acid mode. Using this method, we were able to purify six xanthones from the plant, in order to use them as standard materials. The analytical method was validated for Swerchirin as one of the most important components of the plant, with more pharmacological activities according to the validation parameters, such as, selectivity, linearity (r2 > 0.9998), precision (≤3.3), and accuracy, which were measured by the determination of recovery (98-107%). The limits of detection and quantization were found to be 2.1 and 6.3 µg/mL, respectively. On account of the speed and accuracy, the UV-HPLC method may be used for quantitative analysis of Swerchirin.

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The hypolipidemic effects of ethanol extract of A. graveolens L. (Apiaceae) were investigated. Forty adult male albino rats weighing about 260 g each, were divided into four groups (n = 10). Experimental animals were gavaged at doses of 213 and 425 mg/kg body wt. for sixty consecutive days. Extract showed a significant decrease (p<0.05) of serum total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), and significant increase (p<0.05) in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) in the treated groups. The oral administration of ethanol extract of A. graveolens revealed good hypolipideamic effects in adult male albino rats. The results have given a considerable agreement to the traditional use of A. graveolens in the treatment of hyperlipidemia; it could possibly lead to appropriate changes in blood lipid profiles.

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