Volume 76, December 05, 2015, Pages 467-471
(Article)
a Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa), Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Professor Gama Pinto, Lisbon,Portugal
b INSA, National Health Institute Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Avenida Padre Cruz, Lisbon,
b INSA, National Health Institute Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Avenida Padre Cruz, Lisbon,
Abstract
Senna podocarpa (Guill. & Perr.) Lock leaf and root are used in African countries to treat sexually transmitted diseases, namely gonorrhoea.A bioguided fractionation study was performed to evaluate the antibacterial activity of a S. podocarpa root hydro-ethanol extract (Spr). Spr, its major compounds and liquid-liquid partition fractions (Spr-1, diethyl ether; Spr-2, ethyl acetate; Spr-3, water) as well as chromatographically isolated main compounds of Spr-1, were tested against nine Neisseria gonorrhoeae reference and clinical strains, including strains with diminished susceptibility to penicillin, tetracycline, and ciprofloxacin. Spr showed anti-N. gonorrhoeae activity against all tested strains with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) ranging from 100 to 400 mg/L. The main compounds isolated from the most active fraction, Spr-1 (MIC: 50-100 mg/L) were identified as rhein (1), emodin (2), chrysophanol (3) and physcione (4) by LC-UV/DAD co-chromatography with reference standards. Rhein (MIC: 3.13 mg/L against all test strains) proved to be the most active of the isolates, while 2-4 and sennosides A and B (5-6), the major compounds of the total extract, were inactive in the range of tested concentrations (MIC > 75 mg/L). Rhein was shown to be responsible for the anti-N. gonorrhoeae activity of S. podocarpa root and it can be used as a marker compound to assess the antibacterial activity of this medicinal plant. © 2015 Elsevier B.V.
Author keywords
Antibacterial activity; Gonorrhoea; Neisseria gonorrhoeae; Rhein; Senna podocarpa
Indexed keywords
Engineering controlled terms: Chromatography
Anti-bacterial activity; Gonorrhoea; Neisseria gonorrhoeae; Rhein; Senna podocarpa
Engineering main heading: Plant extracts
GEOBASE Subject Index: antimicrobial activity; assessment method; bacterium; biotechnology; concentration (composition); disease transmission; fractionation; genetic marker; inhibitor; legume; medicinal plant; microbial activity; organic compound; plant extract; root; standard (reference)
Regional Index: Africa
Species Index: Neisseria gonorrhoeae; Senna podocarpa