Abstract
BackgroundMyrsine africana is an herbaceous plant that is traditionally used as appetizer and carminative. Locally, it is used for the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis, rheumatism and diarrhea by healers. The aims of the current study were to screen the crude methanol extract obtained from the aerial parts (leaves and stem) of M. africana, for antispasmodic actions on isolated tissues and further to subject the ethyl acetate (EtOAc) fraction of plant to column chromatography for isolation of pure compounds.MethodsThe antispasmodic action of the crude methanol extract was measured on the spontaneous rabbit's jejunum preparations at concentration 0.01, 0.03, 0.1, 0.3, 1.0, 5.0 and 10.0 mg/ml. The crude extract was also applied, in similar concentrations, on KCl (80 mM) induced contractions to explain its possible mode of action.ResultsA new compound Myrsigenin was isolated from the EtOAc fraction of M. africana. The structure of the compound was identified with the help of 13C-NMR, 1H-NMR, HMBC, HMQC, NOESY and COSY. The plant crude methanol extract showed a significant antispasmodic action on rabbit jejunum and abolished the tissue contraction completely at concentration of 5.0 mg/ml.ConclusionThe study concludes that the methanol crude extract of aerial parts of M. africana has antispasmodic action possibly through the calcium channel blocking mechanisms. A new compound Myrsigenin was isolated from the EtOAc fraction of the plant.
Highlights
Myrsine africana is an herbaceous plant that is traditionally used as appetizer and carminative
Due to unique biodiversity and salubrious climate, Pakistan is quite rich in medicinal herbs which are scattered over a large area
Silica gel coated TLC card (GF-254, 20 × 20 cm, 0.25 mm thick, Merck) were used to check the purity of compound and were observed under UV light (254 and 366 nm) and ceric sulphate was used as a spraying reagent
Summary
Myrsine africana is an herbaceous plant that is traditionally used as appetizer and carminative. It is used for the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis, rheumatism and diarrhea by healers. Plants play an important role in many cultures. Human being uses these plants in the form of sheltering, clothing, feeding, hunting and nursing for their basic requirements. Plants are the basic source of medicines in the traditional system that provides mankind new remedies for different disease(s). There are up to 6,000 wild plant species out of which 400-600 are medicinally important [2]
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