Hypolipidaemic and antioxidant effect of Enicostemma littorale Blume

Objective:To investigate the hypolipidaemic and antioxidant effects of aqueous leaf extract of Enicoslemma littorale(E.littorale)Blume(Ens)against ethanol induced hepatic injury in albino rats.Methods:Male albino rats of six numbers in each group were undertaken for study.Hypolipidaemic and antioxidant effect of E.littorale Blume(Ens)aqueous leaf extract at a dosage of 250 mg/kg bw was evaluated.Results:Levels of serum and tissue cholesterol,triglycerides and free fatty acids were elevated and levels of tissue thiobarbituric acid reactive substances(TBARS)and lipid hydroperoxide were increased in ethanol treated rats.The activity levels of liver antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase(SOD),catalase(CAT),glutathione peroxidase(GPX)and glutathione-s-transferase(GST)were decreased.After adiminstration of extract of E,littorale Blume,levels of cholesterol,triglycerides and free fatty acids were decreased in serum and liver tissue,levels of TBARS and lipid hydroperoxide were decreased,and Ever antioxidant enzymes were increased in liver tissue;Conclusions:It can be concluded that the aqueous leaf extract of E,littorale Blume(Ens)has potent restorative effect on hyperlipidaemic and oxidative stress.

Preliminary study on the antimicrobial activity of Enicostemma littorale using different solvents

Objective:To study the antimicrobial activity of Enicostemma littorale(E.littorale) using different solvents.Methods:Chloroform,methanol and acetone extracts of different parts of E.littorale(leaf,stem and root) were evaluated for antimicrobial activity using disc diffusion method against some gram-negative species such as Escherichia coli,Klebsiella pnemoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa,Salmonella typhi and gram-positive species Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus,Bacillus subtilis and two fugal species viz.,Aspergillus fumigates and Aspergillus flavus.Results:The chloroform extracts showed the highest antibacterial activity.Among leaf, stem and root extracts,the stem extracts showed maximum antibacterial activity.All of the used extracts had no significant antifungal activity against Aspergillus fumigates and Aspergillus flavus.The chloroform stem extract showed highest activity(about 20 mm inhibition zone) against Bacillus subtilis(at 500 tng/mL) followed by the methanolic stem extract which showed highest activity against the same organism.The lowest antibacterial activity was observed by the acetone leaf extract(about 8 mm inhibition zone) against Escherichia coli.Conclusions:The findings of the study indicate littorale could also be a new source for antibiotics discovery.

Preliminary study on antifertility activity of Enicostemma axillare leaves and Urena lobata root used in Indian traditional folk medicine

Objective:To evaluate the possible antifertility activity of Enicostemma axillare(E.axillare) leaves and Urena lobata(U.lobata) root in adult male Wistar albino rats.Methods:Six groups of rats were treated with ethanolic(70%v/v) extracts of E.axillare(375 and 750 mg/kg body weight) and U.lobata root(300 and 600 mg/kg body weight) once daily for 55 days.Control groups received the distilled water and vehicle.All the treated rats had corresponding recovery groups.At the end of each treatment periods,animals were killed and organ weights,sperm characteristics,testicular and epididymal biochemicals as well as testicular enzymes were assessed.Results:The E. axillare and U.lobata at tested doses did not decrease body weight,whereas the weight of testes, epididymides and seminal vesicles were significantly(P【0.01) reduced.Significantly(P【0.01) more reductions in the sperm motility,viability and counts,epididymal and testicular protein contents were noted in the rats treated with higher dose of both the plants.Both the plants at the higher dose caused a marked increase(P【0.01) in sperm morphological abnormalities,testicular cholesterol and ascorbic acid contents were remarkably increased(P【0.01),while,the activities of testicular glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase(G-6-PDH) andΔ~5-3β-hydroxy steroid dehydrogenase(Δ~5-3β-HSD) were significantly reduced(P【0.01).However,reversal of these changes occurred after 55 days of treatment withdrawal.Conclusions:This study suggests that the ? axillare leaves and U.lobata root reversibly inhibited spermatogenesis and steroidogenesis indicating reversible antifertility activity which could partially support the traditional of these plants as male contraceptives.

Pharmacognosy of Enicostemma littorale:A review

Traditional medicine system of India comprised varieties of plants which are playing a significant role in curing diseases from ancient times.Among them,Enicostemma littorale blume(E.littorale)a perennial herb of the family Gentianaceae is cosmopolitan in occurrence in India.The bittery natured plant acts as a laxative,helps in curing fever,rheumatism,skin diseases,abdominal disorders,snake bite,obesity and helps to regulate blood sugar levels.The plant constituents have been reported for possessing antimicrobial,antioxidant,antiulcer,antiinflammatory,hypolipidaemic,hepatoprotective and hypoglycemic properties.This review provides a bird's eye view about geographical distribution,physicochemical parameters,phvtoconstituents and pharmacological properties of E.littorale.