The use of and search for drugs and dietary supplements derived from plants have accelerated in recent years. Ethnopharmacologists, botanists, microbiologists, and natural-products chemists are combing the Earth for phytochemicals and “leads” which could be developed for treatment of infectious diseases. While 25 to 50% of current pharmaceuticals are derived from plants, none are used as antimicrobials. Traditional healers have long used plants to prevent or cure infectious conditions; Western medicine is trying to duplicate their successes. Plants are rich in a wide variety of secondary metabolites, such as tannins, terpenoids, alkaloids, and flavonoids, which have been found in vitro to have antimicrobial properties. This review attempts to summarize the current status of botanical screening efforts, as well as in vivo studies of their effectiveness and toxicity. The structure and antimicrobial properties of phytochemicals are also addressed. Since many of these compounds are currently available as unregulated botanical preparations and their use by the public is increasing rapidly, clinicians need to consider the consequences of patients self-medicating with these preparations.

Plant Products as Antimicrobial Agents

Antimicrobial activity of flavonoids

The antioxidative activity of a total of 92 phenolic extracts from edible and nonedible plant materials (berries, fruits, vegetables, herbs, cereals, tree materials, plant sprouts, and seeds) was examined by autoxidation of methyl linoleate. The content of total phenolics in the extracts was determined spectrometrically according to the Folin-Ciocalteu procedure and calculated as gallic acid equivalents (GAE). Among edible plant materials, remarkable high antioxidant activity and high total phenolic content (GAE > 20 mg/g) were found in berries, especially aronia and crowberry. Apple extracts (two varieties) showed also strong antioxidant activity even though the total phenolic contents were low (GAE < 12.1 mg/g). Among nonedible plant materials, high activities were found in tree materials, especially in willow bark, spruce needles, pine bark and cork, and birch phloem, and in some medicinal plants including heather, bog-rosemary, willow herb, and meadowsweet. In addition, potato peel and beetroot peel extracts showed strong antioxidant effects. To utilize these significant sources of natural antioxidants, further characterization of the phenolic composition is needed.

Antioxidant activity of plant extracts containing phenolic compounds

Advances in flavonoid research since 1992.

Phenolics are broadly distributed in the plant kingdom and are the most abundant secondary metabolites of plants. Plant polyphenols have drawn increasing attention due to their potent antioxidant properties and their marked effects in the prevention of various oxidative stress associated diseases such as cancer. In the last few years, the identification and development of phenolic compounds or extracts from different plants has become a major area of health- and medical-related research. This review provides an updated and comprehensive overview on phenolic extraction, purification, analysis and quantification as well as their antioxidant properties. Furthermore, the anticancer effects of phenolics in-vitro and in-vivo animal models are viewed, including recent human intervention studies. Finally, possible mechanisms of action involving antioxidant and pro-oxidant activity as well as interference with cellular functions are discussed.

/pdf/plant-phenolics-extraction-analysis-and-their-antioxidant-2ee2ft7zgl.pdf

Plant phenolics: extraction, analysis and their antioxidant and anticancer properties.

7. Bioactivity in plants: the link between phytochemistry and medicine

Traditional medicine in north Côte-d'Ivoire: screening of 50 medicinal plants for antibacterial activity.

A simple and rapid bioautographic enzyme assay on TLC plates has been developed for the screening of acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase inhibition by plant extracts. Enzyme activity was detected by the conversion of naphthyl acetate into naphthol and the formation of the corresponding purple-coloured diazonium dye with Fast Blue B salt. Inhibitors of cholinesterases produced white spots on the dye-coloured background of the TLC plates. The alkaloids galanthamine and physostigmine, which are known inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase, were used to determine the sensitivity of the assay. Various plant extracts were tested using the bioassay.

A rapid TLC bioautographic method for the detection of acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase inhibitors in plants

African plants have long been the source of important products with nutritional and therapeutical value. Coffee originates from Ethiopia, Strophanthus species are strong arrow poisons and supply cardenolides for use against cardiac insufficiency, the Catharanthus roseus alkaloids are well-known antileukaemic agents - just to mention a few examples. Research is continuing on the vegetable material from this continent in an endeavour to find new compounds of therapeutic interest. An outline is presented here covering the results obtained by the Institute of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry of the University of Lausanne during 15 years' work on African plants. The strategy employed for the study of these plants is outlined, covering all aspects from the selection of plant material to the isolation of pure natural products. Different bioactivities have been investigated: the search for new antifungal, molluscicidal and larvicidal agents has been the most important axis. Results are also included for antibacterial, cytotoxicity, anti-inflammatory testing

The Potential of African Plants as a Source of Drugs

A simple bioautographic agar overlay assay using Candida albicans as the indicator organism for the detection and activity-guided fractionation of antifungal compounds by thin layer chromatography has been developed. Inhibition of fungal growth was assessed by the detection of dehydrogenase activity with thiazolyl blue (methylthiazolyltetrazolium chloride; MTT). A series of clinically used antimycotic agents were tested in order to determine the sensitivity of the assay. The compatibility of the agar overlay technique with chemically modified silica gel (Diol and RP-18) plates and with various organic solvents was evaluated. The methodology is also applicable to the search for antibacterial compounds, as shown with Bacillus subtilis as a test organism.

Kurt Hostettmann

Papers

7. Bioactivity in plants: the link between phytochemistry and medicine

Traditional medicine in north Côte-d'Ivoire: screening of 50 medicinal plants for antibacterial activity.

A rapid TLC bioautographic method for the detection of acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase inhibitors in plants

The Potential of African Plants as a Source of Drugs

A bioautographic agar overlay method for the detection of antifungal compounds from higher plants