Effects of two medicinal plants Psidium guajava L. (Myrtaceae) and Diospyros mespiliformis L. (Ebenaceae) leaf extracts on rat skeletal muscle cells in primary culture

Crude decoction, aqueous and ethanolic extracts of two medicinal plants (Psidium guajava and Diospyros mespili- formis), widely used in the central plateau of Burkina Faso to treat many diseases were evaluated for their antagonistic effects on caffeine induced calcium release from sarcoplasmic reticulum of rat skeletal muscle cells. These different extracts showed a decrease of caffeine induced calcium release in a dose dependent manner. Comparison of the results showed that Psidium guajava leaf extracts are more active than extracts of Diospyros mespiliformis and that crude decoctions show better inhibitory activity. The observed results could explaine their use as antihypertensive and antidiarrhoeal agents in traditional medicine, by inhibiting intracellular calcium release.

Number of Species and Geographical Distribution of Diospyros L.(Ebenaceae) in China

Diospyros L. is the largest, most widely distributed, and economically important genus of the family Ebenaceae. However, various researchers disagree on the number of species and geographical distribution of Diospyros in China. For the purpose of providing a scientific basis for the effective protection and rational use of Diospyros, the present study involved a comprehensive review of the literature, electronic databases, and herbaria as well as field investigations. The results showed as the following.(1) While 174 scientific names have been published for various taxa of Diospyros in China, by screening and excluding synonyms, 65 species names were considered acceptable; these account for about 12%of the total species of Diospyros globally.(2) A review of herbarium specimens documented that Diospyros occurs in 28 administrative regions of China, more than the literature records. Species richness decreases from south to north in China while Guangxi, Yunnan, Guangdong, and Hainan have the greatest number of species.(3) Among the 65 relatively reliable Diospyros species, 45 species are endemic to China and 18 species are stenochoric. Some species may have become extinct as a result of environmental degradation and the status of some germplasm remain unresolved. In brief, Chinese Diospyros includes abundant, China-specific, and widely distributed features. Nevertheless, comprehensive species delimitation and the analysis of phylogenetic relationships will still require further study.

In vivo sedative and muscle relaxants activity of Diospyros lotus L

Objective: To evaluate the sedative effect of Diospyros lotus L(D. lotus) extract in mice using the open field and Rota rod tests.Methods: For the sedative and muscle relaxants activities of extract/fractions of the plant, invivo open field and phenobarbitone-induced sleeping time were used, while the Roda rod test was employed in animals for the assessment of muscle relaxant activity.Results: Results from this investigation revealed that the extracts of D. lotus have exhibited significant sedative effect in mice(45.98%) at 100 mg/kg i.p. When the extract was partitioned with different solvents, the n-hexane fraction was inactive whereas the chloroform fraction was the most active with 82.67% sedative effect at 50 and 100 mg/kg i.p. On the other hand,the ethyl acetate and n-butanol fractions displayed significant sedative effects(55.65% and40.87%, respectively) at 100 mg/kg i.p. Among the tested extract/fractions, only chloroform and ethyl acetate fractions showed significant(P < 0.05) muscle relaxant activity in the Rota rod test.Conclusions: In short, our study provided scientific background to the traditional uses of D.lotus as sedative.

First record of the halophilic fungus Penicilliopsis clavariiformis from Diospyros paniculata

Penicilliopsis clavariiformis,an ascomycete fungus is reported for the first time from Diospyros paniculata.Conspicuous clavarioid ascomata of P.clavariiformis were found emerging out of fruits and seeds of D.paniculata growing in a sacred grove in Kerala State,India.Based on morphological and molecular evidences,the identity of the fungus was confirmed.

Eucleanal A and B:Two new napthalene derivatives from Euclea divinorum

Two new naphthalene derivatives named eucleanal A and B（1 and 2） were isolated from Euclea divinorum.The structures of the new compounds were elucidated by detailed spectroscopic analysis such as ~1H,^（13）C NMR,COSY,HMQC,HMBC and HREIMS mass spectrometry.