Protective effect of Polyalthia longifolia var.pendula leaves on ethanol and ethanol/HCl induced ulcer in rats and its antimicrobial potency

Objective:To explore antiulcer and antimicrobial properties of methanolic extract of Polyalthia longifolia var.pendula.Methods:Gastroprotective potential of Polyalthia longifolia was studied on ethanol and ethanol/HCl induced ulcers at 2 different doses(270 and 540 mg/kg/body weight). Antimicrobial efficacy of Polyalthia longifolia(25 mg/mL) was also studied against six gram positive,seven gram negative bacteria and five fungi by agar well diffusion method.Minimum inhibitory concentration was determined by agar well diffusion method in two fold serial dilution, in the range of 97-25 000μg/mL.Results:The reduction of ulcer index in Polyalthia longifolia treated animals was found to be statistically significant with respect to control animals.The Polyalthia longifolia exhibited ulcer protection activity in dose dependent manner and was also better than the standard.In antimicrobial activity,gram positive bacteria were more susceptible to Polyalthia longifolia than gram negative bacteria and fungal strains.Conclusions:Results obtained confirm the antiulcer and antimicrobial potential of the Polyalthia longifolia.

Assessment of effect of hydroalcoholic and decoction methods on extraction of antioxidants from selected Indian medicinal plants

Objective:To assess the effects of extraction methods on antioxidant activities of selected Indian medicinal flora.Methods:Different parts of plants were extracted by hydroalcoholic and decoction methods using water and various concentrations of methanol(ME) viz.75%, 50%and 25%ME.The antioxidant activity of all the different extracts was evaluated using two different antioxidant assays viz.2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl(DPPH) free radical scavenging assay and superoxide anion radical scavenging assay.Total phenol and flavonoid content was also estimated.Results:The results showed that the extracting solvent significantly altered the antioxidant property estimations of screened plants.High correlations between phenolic compositions and antioxidant activities of extracts were observed.High levels of antioxidant activities were detected in Manilkara zapota(M.zapota) as compared with other screened plants. Conclusions:The results obtained appear to confirm the effect of different methods on extraction of antioxidants and antioxidant property of M.zapota.