A total of 115 different plant extracts from our collection, representing 96 plant species, have been evaluated for in vitro antileishmanial activity against L. amazonensis promastigotes. In addition, the extracts were screened for cytotoxic activity against BALB/c mouse macrophages in order to assess a selectivity index. Crude extracts that showed a selectivity index (CC50 for macrophage / IC50 for promastigotes) ³ 5 or with IC50 < 12.5 μg/mL against promastigotes, a total of 28 extracts, were further screened for anti-amastigote activity. A total of 25 extracts showed promising activity against L. amazonensis promastigotes with low cytotoxic activity. Ten of these extracts showed selectivity indices, (CC50 for macrophages / IC50 for amastigotes) greater than 10 and are considered "hits", worthy candidates for further phytochemical exploration: Conostegia xalapensis methanol bark extract, Endiandra palmerstonii bark extract, Eugenia monteverdensis acetone bark extract, Eugenia sp. "fine leaf" acetone bark extract, Exothea paniculata chloroform bark extract, Mallotus paniculatus ethanol bark extract, Matelea pseudobarbata ethanol extract, Quercus insignis ethanol bark extract, Sassafras albidum dichloromethane bark extract, and Stemmadenia donnell-smithii acetone bark extract.

To investigate the cytotoxic effect of some Bangladeshi medicinal plant extracts, 16 Bangladeshi medicinal plants were successively extracted with n-hexane, dichloromethane, methanol and water. The methanolic and aqueous extracts were screened for cytotoxic activity against healthy mouse fibroblasts (NIH3T3) and three human cancer-cell lines (gastric: AGS; colon: HT-29; and breast: MDA-MB-435S) using the MTT assay. Two methanolic extracts (Hygrophila auriculata and Hibiscus tiliaceous) and one aqueous extract (Limnophila indica) showed no toxicity against healthy mouse fibroblasts, but selective cytotoxicity against breast cancer cells (IC(50) 1.1-1.6 mg mL(-1)). Seven methanolic extracts from L. indica, Clerodendron inerme, Cynometra ramiflora, Xylocarpus moluccensis, Argemone mexicana, Ammannia baccifera and Acrostichum aureum and four aqueous extracts from Hygrophila auriculata, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, X. moluccensis and Aegiceras corniculatum showed low toxicity (IC(50) > 2.5 mg mL(-1)) against mouse fibroblasts but selective cytotoxicity (IC(50) 0.2-2.3 mg mL(-1)) against different cancer cell lines. The methanolic extract of Blumea lacera showed the highest cytotoxicity (IC(50) 0.01-0.08 mg mL(-1)) against all tested cell lines among all extracts tested in this study. For some of the plants their traditional use as anticancer treatments correlates with the cytotoxic results, whereas for others so far unknown cytotoxic activities were identified.

This study aimed to evaluate the antioxidant activity of various plant extracts. A total of 94 kinds of edible plant extracts obtained from the Korea Plant Extract Bank were screened for cytotoxicity, following which the total phenolic content of 24 shortlisted extracts was determined. Of these, extracts from three plants, namely, Castanea crenata (CC) leaf, Camellia japonica (CJ) fruit, and Viburnum dilatatum (VD) leaf, were examined for antioxidant capabilities by measuring radical scavenging activity, ferric reducing/antioxidant power, and lipid peroxidation inhibitory activity. In addition, cellular antioxidant activities of the three extracts were assessed by a cell-based dichlorofluorescein assay and antioxidant response element (ARE) reporter activity assay. The results demonstrated that all three extracts concentration-dependently scavenged free radicals, inhibited lipid peroxidation, reduced the cellular level of reactive oxygen species, and increased ARE-luciferase activity, indicating antioxidant enzyme-inducing potential. In particular, CJ extract showed significantly greater antioxidative activity and antimigratory effect in a breast cancer cell line compared to CC and VD extracts. Hence, CJ extract deserves further study for its in vivo functionality or biologically active constituents.

Potyviruses (genus Potyvirus; family Potyviridae) are widely distributed and represent one of the most economically important genera of plant viruses. Therefore, their accurate detection is a key factor in developing efficient control strategies. However, this can sometimes be problematic particularly in plant species containing high amounts of polysaccharides and polyphenols such as yam (Dioscorea spp.). Here, we report the development of a reliable, rapid and cost-effective detection method for the two most important potyviruses infecting yam based on reverse transcription-recombinase polymerase amplification (RT-RPA). The developed method, named 'Direct RT-RPA', detects each target virus directly from plant leaf extracts prepared with a simple and inexpensive extraction method avoiding laborious extraction of high-quality RNA. Direct RT-RPA enables the detection of virus-positive samples in under 30 min at a single low operation temperature (37 °C) without the need for any expensive instrumentation. The Direct RT-RPA tests constitute robust, accurate, sensitive and quick methods for detection of potyviruses from recalcitrant plant species. The minimal sample preparation requirements and the possibility of storing RPA reagents without cold chain storage, allow Direct RT-RPA to be adopted in minimally equipped laboratories and with potential use in plant clinic laboratories and seed certification facilities worldwide.

Sleep complaints are common health issues in the general population. These conditions are associated with poorer physical and psychological activity, and they may have important social, economic, and personal consequences. In the last years, several food supplements with different plant extracts have been developed and are currently taken for improving sleep. Study Objectives. The aim of this study is to systematically review recent literature on oral plant extracts acting on sleep disorders distinguishing their action on the different symptoms of sleep complaints: difficulty in initiating or maintaining sleep, waking up too early, and quality of sleep.

Obesity is a global health problem. It is also known to be a risk factor for the development of metabolic disorders, type 2 diabetes, systemic hypertension, cardiovascular disease, dyslipidemia, and atherosclerosis. In this study, we screened crude extracts from 400 plants to test their anti-obesity activity using porcine pancreatic lipase assay (PPL; triacylglycerol lipase, EC 3.1.1.3) in vitro activity. Among the 400 plants species examined, 44 extracts from plants, showed high anti-lipase activity using 2,4-dinitrophenylbutyrate as a substrate in porcine pancreatic lipase assay. Furthermore, 44 plant extracts were investigated for their inhibition of lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 cells. Among these 44 extracts examined, crude extracts from 4 natural plant species were active. Salicis Radicis Cortex had the highest fat inhibitory activity, whereas Rubi Fructus, Corni Fructus, and Geranium nepalense exhibited fat inhibitory capacity higher than 30% at 100 μg/mL in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, suggesting anti-obesity activity. These results suggest that four potent plant extracts might be of therapeutic interest with respect to the treatment of obesity.

Bacteria are related do different oral diseases, such as dental caries and periodontal disease. Therefore, the control or/and eradication of microorganisms and their by-products is primordial for the success of their treatment. An alternative for decrease bacterial load is the use of plant extracts used in popular medicine. The cytotoxicity and antimicrobial action of extracts of Cariniana rubra Gardiner ex Miers, Senna martiniana, Anadenanthera colubrina (Vell.) Brenan and Spiranthera odoratissima St. Hil. against strains of Streptococcus mutans, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Aggregatibacter actinomyces- tencomitans and Candida albicans were investigated. Cytotoxicity was assessed at concentrations of 1, 10, 40, 80, 100 and 1000 μg/mL by means of the MTT test and compared to a control group with untreated cells. Those with acceptable cytotoxicity had the antimicrobial action measured by the XTT test. As a positive control, sodium hypochlorite was used. Cariniana rubra Gardiner ex Miers had the highest citototoxicity results while Spiranthera odoratissima St. Hil. had the best results, but all extracts showed acceptable cytotoxicity at different concentrations. The plant extracts showed higher activity against A. actinomycetencomitans: Anadenanthera columbrina (Vell.) Brenan (80.52%) at 40 μg/mL, Spiranthera odoratissima St. Hil (78.48%) in 1 μg/mL, Senna martiniana (73.28%) in the concentration of 40 μg/mL and Cariniana rubra Gardiner ex Miers (70.50%) in 10 μg/mL. All extracts analyzed showed acceptable cytotoxicity at different concentrations and were promising for inhibition of the pathogenic microorganisms studied.

Schistosoma mansoni remains a significant health problem in low-income countries. Praziquantel (PZQ) is the only drug available to treat schistosomiasis, and PZQ resistance is a potential threat towards control of the disease although PZQ is currently effective against all species of schistosomes. Moreover, PZQ is less efficacious against larval stages. In response to these challenges, multiple in vivo/in vitro studies evaluated the anti-S. mansoni activity of crude plant extracts in a bid for novel drug(s). However, these studies appear fragmented and patchy. This systematic review explored the extent of such studies in the past 11 years (2010-2020).

Cholera is one of the most deadly diarrheal diseases that require new treatments. We investigated the neutralization of cholera toxin by five plant extracts obtained from the Rosaceae family that have been traditionally used in Poland to treat diarrhea (of unknown origin).

Tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis remains an ongoing threat to human health. Several medicinal plants are used traditionally to treat tuberculosis in Ghana. The current study was designed to investigate the antimycobacterial activity and cytotoxicity of crude extracts from five selected medicinal plants.

Due to the constantly growing interest in ingredients of natural origin, this study attempts to evaluate the possibility of using extracts from three Ayurvedic plants in preparations for the care and treatment of skin diseases. Therefore, studies of antioxidant properties were carried out using DPPH and ABTS radicals, obtaining 76% and 88% of these radical scavenging, respectively. A significant decrease in the intracellular level of free radicals and an increase in the activity of the antioxidant enzyme-superoxide dismutase by almost 60% were also observed. In addition, the extracts were assessed for anti-inflammatory and anti-aging properties, obtaining over 70% inhibition of lipoxygenase activity and almost 40% of collagenase. Additionally, the cytoprotective properties of the obtained extracts on skin cells, keratinocytes and fibroblasts, were demonstrated. To assess the content of biologically active compounds, HPLC-electrospray ionization (ESI)-MS/MS multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) analyses were performed. The obtained results show that all three analyzed plants are a valuable source of biologically active substances with desired properties in the context of skin cell protection. Particularly noteworthy is the extract of Epilobium angustifolium L., for which the most promising results were obtained.

African swine fever is one of the most dangerous and fatal swine diseases, described for the first time roughly a hundred years ago. Even now, there is neither a commercially approved vaccine nor treatment available. The only way to hinder further spread of the disease is by culling the affected herds and applying prevention based mainly on proper biosecurity. Due to growing awareness of the potential ASF threat among pig producers, disinfection processes are considered as one of the most important preventive measures. Currently, a variety of chemical compounds are applied for the disinfection of pig farms. Meanwhile, these chemicals may pose a potential risk, due to their toxic, irritant or corrosive effect. The aim of this study was to determine whether any plant-based natural compounds may show a virucidal effect against ASFV, and simultaneously be depleted of some of the side-effects typical for chemical compounds. Ideally, natural virucidal compounds should be safe for both humans and animals, biodegradable, easily available and inexpensive. Fourteen plant extracts were selected and screened for their virucidal effect against ASFV, using the suspension test inspired by the PN-EN 14675:2015 European Standard procedure. The results of our study showed that most of the tested plant extracts were ineffective against ASFV. Some extracts suspended in a hydroglycolic medium exhibited high virus titre reduction, but it was confirmed that the effect resulted from medium composition. However, a 1.05% peppermint extract showed high effectiveness against ASFV, reducing the virus titre by ≥4 log10, thus demonstrating that natural compounds used as virucidal agents could potentially be used in disinfection procedures, being both effective and harmless to humans and animals.

The whole plant, Pergularia daemia (Family: Asclepediaceae), was extracted with 50% alcohol and a fresh batch of the plant material was successively extracted with petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and n-butanol to determine its diuretic activity. The diuretic activity of the different extracts at a dose of 400 mg/Kg was assessed orally in rats with furosemide as a standard drug using Lipschitzs test. All extracts except the petroleum ether extract showed significant increase (p < 0.001) in urine output. Urinary electrolyte excretion was also affected by the extracts: the alcoholic, ethyl acetate and n-butanol extract caused an increase in the urinary excretion of sodium and potassium ions. These findings suggest that among the mentioned extracts, ethanolic has the maximum diuretic activity followed by n-butanol extract.

Dengue virus types 1-4 (DENV-1-4) are positive-strand RNA viruses with an envelope that belongs to the Flaviviridae. DENV infection threatens human health worldwide. However, other than supportive treatments, no specific therapy is available for the infection. In order to discover novel medicine against DENV, we tested 59 crude extracts, without cytotoxicity, from 23 plants in vitro; immunofluorescence assay revealed that the methanol extracts of fruit, heartwood, leaves and stem from Ficus septica Burm. f. had a promising anti-DENV-1 and DENV-2 effect. However, infection with the non-envelope picornavirus, Aichi virus, was not inhibited by treatment with F. septica extracts. F. septica may be a candidate antiviral drug against an enveloped virus such as DENV.

Bone lesions are an important public health problem, with high socioeconomic costs. Bone tissue repair is coordinated by an inflammatory dynamic process mediated by osteoprogenitor cells of the periosteum and endosteum, responsible for the formation of a new bone matrix. Studies using antioxidant products from plants for bone lesion treatment have been growing worldwide. We developed a systematic review to compile the results of works with animal models investigating the anti-inflammatory activity of plant extracts in the treatment of bone lesions and analyze the methodological quality of the studies on this subject. Studies were selected in the PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science databases according to the PRISMA statement. The research filters were constructed using three parameters: animal model, bone repair, and plant extracts. 31 full-text articles were recovered from 10 countries. Phytochemical prospecting was reported in 15 studies (48.39%). The most common secondary metabolites were flavonoids, cited in 32.26% studies (n = 10). Essential criteria to in vivo animal studies were frequently underreported, suggesting publication bias. The animals treated with plant extracts presented positive results in the osteoblastic proliferation, and consequently, this treatment accelerated osteogenic differentiation and bone callus formation, as well as bone fracture repair. Possibly, these results are associated with antioxidant, regenerative, and anti-inflammatory power of the extracts. The absence or incomplete characterization of the animal models, treatment protocols, and phytochemical and toxicity analyses impairs the internal validity of the evidence, making it difficult to determine the effectiveness and safety of plant-derived products in bone repair.

It was shown that plants derived agents are being used for treatment of cancer. In this study, crude ethanolic extract of Consolida orientalis L., Ferula assa-foetida L., Coronilla varia L., Orobanche orientalis G. Beck were screened in vitro for cytotoxic activity on Hela (Human cervical carcinoma) cell line.

The current study aimed to investigate ethanolic extracts from the following medicinal plant species cultivated in western Romania: Melissa officinalis L., Rosmarinus officinalis L. (RO) and Salvia officinalis L. (SO). Antioxidant activity, total phenolics content and a profile of the main hydroxycinnamic acids (HCAs), including caffeic, ferulic, coumaric and rosmarinic acids, was determined for each plant extract. The in vitro antimicrobial activity against four bacterial strains (Escherichia coli, Listeria-, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus), and the effect on cell viability in two melanoma cell lines (B164A5 murine melanoma and A375 human melanoma) was also assessed. The results indicated that total phenolics content was 73.76-274.73 mg GAE·g-1 and the antioxidant activity was 2.32-2.87 mM Fe2+·100 g-1. There was found a strong positive correlation (R=0.9691) between total phenolics content and the antioxidant activity in the investigated samples. Regarding the HCA profile obtained by high performance liquid chromatography, the results demonstrated that rosmarinic acid represents the main identified compound. The ethanolic extracts of RO and SO exhibited antibacterial activity against Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. RO was the most effective in terms of decreasing the cell viability of murine and human melanoma cell lines, while the HCAs did not exhibit any effect on cell viability. These findings suggest that plant extracts from the Lamiaceae family may used in the clinic as natural antibacterial agents.

The main objective of this study was the screening of some selected aromatic plants very popular in Greece, with respect to their total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity, reducing activity, and oxidative stability. All plants were extracted with the conventional method, reflux with methanol. The essential oils of the plants were also analyzed for their antioxidant properties. The total phenolic content was determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu method using gallic acid as the standard, while the phenolic substances were identified and quantified by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) coupled with a multi-wavelength ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) detector. The antioxidant capacity of the plant extracts was measured by their ability to scavenge free radicals such as (a) DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and, (b) ABTS (2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiaziline-6- sulfonate). The Folin-Ciocalteu method proved the existence of antioxidants in the aromatic plant extracts. Taking into account the results of the DPPH and ABTS methods, the free radical scavenging capacity was confirmed. Eventually, all plants exhibited low but noticeable protection levels against lipid oxidation, as determined by the Rancimat test.

Influenza infection remains a major health threat for animals and humans which crucially requires effective antiviral remedies. The usage of herbal medications as readily available alternatives for their compatibility with the body and fewer side effects compared to synthetic chemical treatments has become popular globally. The aim of this study was to investigate and screen in vitro anti-influenza activity of extracts of five South African medicinal plants, namely Tabernaemontana ventricosa, Cussonia spicata, Rapanea melanophloeos, Pittosporum viridiflorum and Clerodendrum glabrum, species which are used traditionally for the treatment of several diseases such as inflammatory and respiratory diseases.

Reducing the use of antibiotics in livestock in order to contain antibiotic resistance and studying natural substance additives are key to sustainability. Among the various biological activities of plant extracts, antioxidant activity plays an important role. The present study assesses the total antioxidant activity and antioxidant reserves using the Kit Radicaux Libres test (KRL™ Kirial International, Couternon, France). One hundred and sixty piglets (Topics × Tempo) weaned at 28 days of age were divided into four dietary treatment groups that were fed a commercial diet (the control group, C); 500 mg/kg Boswellia extract (BOS); 200 and 50 mg/kg Uncaria and Tanacetum extracts (UT) respectively; and 225 mg/kg of an antioxidant plant extract mixture (AOX). The blood antioxidant activity of the piglets was measured using the KRL test and the reserves were analyzed on whole blood samples after hydrolysis with glucosidase, sulfatase and glucuronidase. No significant differences were observed in growth performance. The delta KRL values of the whole blood showed a significantly higher total antioxidant status of the piglets from the BOS and AOX groups than the UT and C groups (+30.7 BOS; +27.7 AOX vs. +17.81 UT +13.30 C; p = 0.002) between 18 and 28 days post-weaning. The delta KRL values of red blood cells (RBCs) showed a significantly higher total antioxidant status of the piglets from the AOX groups than the UT and BOS groups (+22.2 AOX; vs. +9.90 UT +9.4 BOS; p = 0.016) between the two sampling times. Reserves of UT and AOX were higher than C and BOS for all enzymes, glucosides, sulphates, and glucuronides. The biological KRL test proved to be an extremely sensitive tool to evaluate the piglets' antioxidant status. Determining the antioxidant reserve also provides a better understanding of the real antioxidant status of pigs.