OBJECTIVETo reveal the antibacterial activity of sequentially extracted different cold organic solvent extracts of fruits, flowers and leaves of Lawsonia inermis (L. against) some pathogenic bacteria.

METHODSPowders of fruits, flowers and leaves of L. inermis were continuously extracted with dichloromethane (DCM), ethyl acetate and ethanol at ambient temperature. The dried extracts were prepared into different concentrations and tested for antibacterial activity by agar well diffusion method, and also the extracts were tested to determine the available phytochemicals.

RESULTSExcept DCM extract of flower all other test extracts revealed inhibitory effect on all tested bacteria and their inhibitory effect differed significantly (P<0.05). The highest inhibitory effect was showed by ethyl acetate extract of flower against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), and ethyl acetate extract of fruit on Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis). The ethyl acetate and ethanol extracts of flower, fruit and leaf expressed inhibition even at 1 mg/100 µl against all test bacteria. Among the tested phytochemicals flavonoids were detected in all test extracts except DCM extract of flower.

CONCLUSIONSThe study demonstrated that the ethyl acetate and ethanol extracts of fruit and flower of L. inermis are potentially better source of antibacterial agents compared to leaf extracts of respective solvents.

Anti-Bacterial Agents ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Bacteria ; drug effects ; Disk Diffusion Antimicrobial Tests ; Flowers ; chemistry ; Fruit ; chemistry ; Lawsonia Plant ; chemistry ; Phytochemicals ; chemistry ; Plant Components, Aerial ; chemistry ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Plant Leaves ; chemistry ; Solvents ; Sri Lanka

OBJECTIVETo study on growth characteristics of Curcuma wenyujin, and provide theoretical basis for the development of high-quality and high-yield medical material.

METHODThe morphological change of the plant was observed periodically, the content of volatile oil and dry matter in leaves, rhizome, root tuber was determine.

RESULTThe growth of C. wenyujin could be divided into 5 stages, i. e. seed germination, seedling, leaf growth, rhizome expansion, accumulation of dry matter, respectively. Before the stage of rhizome expansion, over 70% dry matter was accumulated in the aerial part of the plant, and during the stage of leaf growth, the maximum increase rate of dry matter in aerial part was 3.90 g/p/d. During the stage of rhizome expansion, the ratio of dry matter of rhizome increased quickly and reached above 33% , and the increase rate of dry matter of rhizome rise up to 3.83 g/p/d, in the end of the stage, the content of volatile oil in the rhizome also rose up to 1.20 mL x 100 g(-1).

CONCLUSIONDuring the whole growth stage, there are two growth centers, when the two curves of dry matter increase of aerial part and rhizome intersect, it is regarded as a signal that the growth transformed form the aerial part to rhizome. When the rate of dry matter from rhizome rise, the content of volatile oil in rhizome rises quickly with the increase of dry matter in rhizome. The optimal harvest time is in mid-December.

Curcuma ; anatomy & histology ; chemistry ; growth & development ; Germination ; Oils, Volatile ; analysis ; Plant Components, Aerial ; chemistry ; growth & development ; Plant Leaves ; chemistry ; growth & development ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; growth & development ; Plants, Medicinal ; anatomy & histology ; chemistry ; growth & development ; Rhizome ; chemistry ; growth & development ; Seasons ; Seedlings ; chemistry ; growth & development ; Seeds ; growth & development

OBJECTIVETo analyze the natural change rule of active components of E. purpuea by measuring content of cichoric acid.

METHODReverse HPLC method was used.

RESULTThe maximum cichoric acid content of the roots occured in seedling age of May, and that of the flowers occured in blooming stage of mid July, but cichoric acid in stems was generally low anyway. The maximum content of cichoric acid in the plant above ground occured in the blooming stage of mid July.

CONCLUSIONThe measuring method of content of cichoric acid is successful and reliable. The optimum stage of harvest in Echinacea purpuea should be guided by natural change rule of cichoric acid content.

Caffeic Acids ; analysis ; Echinacea ; chemistry ; Flowers ; chemistry ; Plant Components, Aerial ; chemistry ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Seasons ; Succinates ; analysis

The present study investigated the chemical constituents from the aerial parts of Glycyrrhiza uralensis. The ethanol extract of the aerial parts of G. uralensis was separated and purified by different column chromatographies such as macroporous resin, silica gel, and Sephadex LH-20, and through preparative HPLC and recrystallization. Thirteen compounds were isolated and identified as(2S)-6-[(Z)-3-hydroxymethyl-2-butenyl]-5,7,3'-trihydroxy-4'-methoxy-dihydroflavanone(1),(2S)-8-[(E)-3-hydroxymethyl-2-butenyl]-5,7,3',5'-tetrahydroxy-dihydroflavanone(2), α,α'-dihydro-5,4'-dihydroxy-3-acetoxy-2-isopentenylstilbene(3), 6-prenylquercetin(4), 6-prenylquercetin-3-methyl ether(5), formononetin(6), 3,3'-dimethylquercetin(7), chrysoeriol(8), diosmetin(9),(10E,12Z,14E)-9,16-dioxooctadec-10,12,14-trienoic acid(10), 5,7,3',4'-tetrahydroxy-6-prenyl-dihydroflavanone(11), naringenin(12), dibutylphthalate(13). Compounds 1-3 are new compounds, and compounds 10 and 13 are isolated from aerial parts of this plant for the first time.
Glycyrrhiza uralensis/chemistry* ; Plant Components, Aerial/chemistry*

OBJECTIVETo study the accumulation of active ingredients, the absorption and transformation of N, P and K in Anemarrhena asphodeloides and provide basis for determination of the harvest time and fertilizing.

METHODSamples were collected in different phrases and the weight of dry matter, the content of N, P and K of different organs and the content of sarsasapogenin were determined.

RESULTAbsorption of N, P and K started by the root and rhizoma after July. At the end of August, the N and K of the aerial part transfered largely into rhizome. The content of sarsasapogenin in rhizome was the highest in early spring.

CONCLUSIONAdditional fertilizer is helpful to increase the yield in July of the second year after the transplantation. The quality is the best when harvest in early spring.

Absorption ; Anemarrhena ; metabolism ; Fertilizers ; Nitrogen ; pharmacokinetics ; Phosphorus ; pharmacokinetics ; Plant Components, Aerial ; metabolism ; Plant Roots ; metabolism ; Plants, Medicinal ; metabolism ; Potassium ; pharmacokinetics ; Rhizome ; metabolism ; Seasons ; Spirostans ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate the chemical constituents from the aerial part of Atractylodes macrocephala.

METHODThe constituents were isolated and purified by repeated column chromatography on silica gel, Sephadex LH-20 and ODS. Their structures were identified by physicochemical properties and spectrum analysis.

RESULTFourteen compounds were isolated and identified as atractylenolide I-III (1-3), 2-[(2E) -3, 7-dimethyl-2, 6-octadienyl]-6-methyl-2, 5-cyclohexadiene-1, 4-dione(4), 2, 6-dimethoxyphenol (5), scopoletin (6), 4-methoxycinnamic acid (7), caffeic acid (8), ferulic acid (9) protocatechuic acid (10), 3-hydroxy-1-(4-hydroxy-3- methoxyphenyl) propan-1-one (11), dictamnoside A (12), syringin (13), D-mannitol (14).

CONCLUSIONAll the compounds were isolated from the aerial part of A. macrocephala for the first time and compounds 4, 5, 7-12, 14 were isolated from this species for the first time.

Atractylodes ; chemistry ; Chromatography, Gel ; Plant Components, Aerial ; chemistry ; Spectrum Analysis

The present study investigated the chemical constituents in the aerial part of Cannabis sativa. The chemical constituents were isolated and purified by silica gel column chromatography and HPLC and identified according to their spectral data and physicochemical properties. Thirteen compounds were isolated from the acetic ether extract of C. sativa and identified as 3',5',4″,2-tetrahydroxy-4'-methoxy-3-methyl-3″-butenyl p-disubstituted benzene ethane(1), 16R-hydroxyoctadeca-9Z,12Z,14E-trienoic acid methyl ester(2),(1'R,2'R)-2'-(2-hydroxypropan-2-yl)-5'-methyl-4-pentyl-1',2',3',4'-tetrahydro-(1,1'-biphenyl)-2,6-diol(3), β-sitosteryl-3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-6'-O-palmitate(4), 9S,12S,13S-trihydroxy-10-octadecenoate methyl ester(5), benzyloxy-1-O-β-D-glucopyranoside(6), phenylethyl-O-β-D-glucopyranoside(7), 3Z-enol glucoside(8), α-cannabispiranol-4'-O-β-D-glucopyranose(9), 9S,12S,13S-trihydroxyoctadeca-10E,15Z-dienoic acid(10), uracil(11), o-hydroxybenzoic acid(12), and 2'-O-methyladenosine(13). Compound 1 is a new compound, compound 3 is a new natural product, and compounds 2, 4-8, 10, and 13 were isolated from Cannabis plant for the first time.
Cannabis ; Biological Products ; Esters ; Dihydrostilbenoids ; Plant Components, Aerial

Six new ent-abietane diterpenoids, abientaphlogatones A-F (1-6), along with two undescribed ent-abietane diterpenoid glucosides, abientaphlogasides A-B (7-8) and four known analogs were isolated from the aerial parts ofPhlogacanthus curviflorus (P. curviflorus). The structures of these compounds were determined using high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HR-ESI-MS), one-dimensional and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra, and quantum chemical calculations. Notably, compounds 5 and 6 represented the first reported instances of ent-norabietane diterpenoids from the genus Phlogacanthus. In the β-hematin formation inhibition assay, compounds 2, 4, 7-10, and 12 displayed antimalarial activity, with IC₅₀ values of 12.97-65.01 μmol·L^-1. Furthermore, compounds 4, 5, 8, and 10 demonstrated neuroprotective activity in PC12 cell injury models induced by H₂O₂ and MPP⁺.
Abietanes/pharmacology* ; Antimalarials ; Hydrogen Peroxide ; Biological Assay ; Plant Components, Aerial

OBJECTIVETo study the shade-endurance property of Glycyrrhiza uralensis and provide rationale for the practice of inter-cropping G. uralensis with trees.

METHODBlack shading nets were used to provide five different environments of light intensities (light penetration rates of 100%, 75%, 65%, 50% and 25%, respectively). To assess the shade-endurance capacity of G. uralensis, several aspects were evaluated, including growth characters, physiological and ecological characters, biomass, and chemical contents.

RESULT AND CONCLUSIONG. uralensis is a light-favored plant. The growth indices such as plant height, stem diameter, leaves number, root diameter, biomass, and daily average photosynthetic rate (Pn) are highest when light permeation rate is 100%. All these indices decrease when light intensity decreases. However, G. uralensis possesses shade-endurance capacity to some degree; it adapts to the shading environment by increasing the leaf area and chlorophyll contents. Shading has no obvious effect on the absolute light energy utilization rate (Eu) or Fv/Fm ratio. The influence of shading on the chemical contents of G. uralensis is obvious.

Adaptation, Physiological ; Chlorophyll ; analysis ; Glycyrrhetinic Acid ; analysis ; Glycyrrhiza uralensis ; chemistry ; growth & development ; physiology ; Photosynthesis ; Plant Components, Aerial ; anatomy & histology ; Plant Leaves ; anatomy & histology ; chemistry ; physiology ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; growth & development ; physiology ; Sunlight ; Trees ; growth & development

To study the effect of high temperature, rice seedlings 20, 30, 40 and 50 d were kept at 5, 10, 15 and 20 cm water depth in a water pool. Meteorological findings indicated that water temperature varied up to 10 cm but became stable below this depth. Deep water inflicted higher tiller mortality, minimal increase in dry weight of aerial parts and leaf area, decrease in root length, and decrease in root dry weight especially at 20 cm water depth and produced an unbalanced T/R ratio (top versus root dry weight). However, deep water tended to increase plant length. These parameters, however, excel in shallow water. Older seedlings, with the exception of root dry weight, could not perform well compared to young seedlings in all physiological and morphological aspects. The study revealed that seedlings, particularly young ones, stand well in shallow water and can cope with high temperature.
Desiccation ; Organ Size ; Oryza ; anatomy & histology ; cytology ; growth & development ; physiology ; Plant Components, Aerial ; anatomy & histology ; growth & development ; Plant Leaves ; anatomy & histology ; growth & development ; Plant Roots ; anatomy & histology ; growth & development ; Seedlings ; cytology ; growth & development ; Temperature ; Time Factors ; Water ; analysis