In vitro larvicidal potential against Anopheles stephensi and antioxidative enzyme activities of Ginkgo biloba,Stevia rebaudiana and Parthenium hysterophorous

Objective:To investigate in vitro larvicidal and antioxidant enzymes potential of the medicinal plants Ginkgo biloba（G.biloba）,Stevia rebaudiana（S.rebaudiana） and Parthenium hysterophorous（P.hysterophorous） against Anopheles stephensi（An.stephensi） 4th instars larvae. Methods:For evaluation of larvicidal potential,the ethanolic,methanolic and dichloromethane leaves extracts of three different plants were used in dose-dependent experiments in two media, while the antioxidant enzymes activities were investigated using four different methods viz., superoxide dismutase,peroxidase,ascorbate and catalase.Results:An.stephensi has developed resistance to various synthetic insecticides,making its control increasingly difficult.The comparative performance of ethanolic extracts（65%-90%） was found better than the methanolic extract（70%-87%） and dichloromethane extract（60%-70%）.Among the three plants extracts tested in two media,S.rebaudiana exhibited higher larvicidal activity with LC50（24 h） in methanolic extract than P.hysterophorous and G.biloba.G.biloba and P.hysterophorous exhibited the strongest antioxidative enzymes activity and S.rebaudiana were less active and no significant difference was observed.Conclusions:These three plants exhibit larvicidal potential and can be further used for vector control alternative to synthetic insecticide due to eco-friendly and diseases control,furthermore these plant species have potent antioxidative enzyme activities, therefore,making them strong natural candidate particularly for diseases which are caused due to free radicals.

Dengue fever treatment with Carica papaya leaves extracts

The main objective of the current study is to investigate the potential of Carica papaya leaves extracts against Dengue fever in 45 year old patient bitten by carrier mosquitoes.For the treatment of Dengue fever the extract was prepared in water.25 mL of aqueous extract of C.papaya leaves was administered to patient infected with Dengue fever twice daily i.e.morning and evening for five consecutive days.Before the extract administration the blood samples from patient were analyzed.Platelets count(PLT),White Blood Cells(WBC) and Neutrophils(NEUT) decreased from 176×10~3/μ L,8.10×10~3/μ L,84.0%to 55×10~3/μ L,3.7×10~3/μL and 46.0%.Subsequently,the blood samples were rechecked after the administration of leaves extract.It was observed that the PLT count increased from 55×10~3/μ L to 168×10~3/μ L,WBC from 3.7×10~3/μ L to 7.7×10~3/μ L and NEUT from 46.0%to 78.3%.From the patient feelings and blood reports it showed that Carica papaya leaves aqueous extract exhibited potential activity against Dengue fever.Furthermore,the different parts of this valuable specie can be further used as a strong natural candidate against viral diseases.

Anti-allergic effects of ethanol extracts from brown seaweeds

Ethanol extracts of brown seaweeds from Pakistan and China were isolated and compared for their antiallergenic activities. They included Sargassum tennerimum (ST) and Sargassum cervicorne (SC) from Pakistan, and Sargassum gramini- folium turn (SG), Sargassum thunbergii (STH), and Laminaria japonica (LJ) from China. The ethanol extracts of these brown seaweeds were optimized at 85% (v/v) ethanol for the maximum yield of phlorotannin, an inhibitor against hyaluronidase. Total phlorotannins contained in the crude extracts were measured as 1.71% (SG), 0.74% (STH), 0.97% (LJ), 3.30% (SC), and 5.06% (ST). The 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of Pakistani SC and ST were 109.5 and 21 μg/ml, respectively, lower than those of Chinese SG, STH, and LJ (134, 269, and 148 μg/ml, respectively). An antiallergic drug, disodium cromoglycate (DSCG), had an IC50=39 μg/ml, and a natural inhibitor of hyaluronidase, catechin, had an IC50=20 μg/ml. The IC50 of ST extract was found similar to that of catechin (21 vs 20 μg/ml) and lower than that of DSCG (21 vs 39 μg/ml). This suggests that ST is a potent inhibitor of hyaluronidase, indicating a promising future development of natural antiallergic medicines or functional foods.