Abstract
Tawa-tawa is usually abundant throughout the Philippines in waste places and open grasslands. The plant is an annual hairy herb, usually much-branched from the base. These branches are sim-ple or forked, ascending or spreading up to 40 centimeters long and often reddish or purplish. The leaves are opposite, distichous, oblong-elliptic to oblong-lanceolate, 1 to 2.5 centimeters long, toothed at the margin, and usually botched with purple in the middle. The plant deserves special attention because of its medicinal properties. Local tradition credits that this plant can help pa-tients stricken with dengue fever. While it does not fight with the virus, it promotes the develop-ment of blood platelets and softens the effect of the viruses which attack the blood. However the department of health advises the public not to be much dependent on the said herbal medicine, despite its proven efficacy. This study was conducted to elucidate the structure, antimicrobial and cytotoxicity of the extract. Twenty grams of air-dried tawa-tawa were percolated in ethyl acetate of 200 ml for one week, rota-evaporated and purified by wet column chromatography. The phyto-chemical tests revealed the presence of alkaloids and tannins. The structure of the constituents was partially elucidated by ultraviolet spectra and gas chromatography-mass spectra analysis. The λmax was at 420 nm with an absorbance of 1.233 and GC-mass spectra characterized 100 compounds. The antimicrobial analysis gave positive inhibition of P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, C. albicans and T. mentagrophytes with activity index of 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.2 respectively. The cytotoxicity test showed that a concentration of 36.7185 grams in water of 350 ml of the leaf extract was toxic based on the t-test of the live and dead cells by in-vitro analysis on the lymphocytes from normal blood cells.
Highlights
Tawa-tawa, gatas-gatas, magatas or botonis is abundant in open grasslands and waste places
One tenth (0.1) ml aliquots of the suspension of the bacteria and fungi were transferred into pre-poured Nutrient Agar (NA), Glucose Yeast Peptone (GYP) and Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) respectively, about 5 ml of the corresponding medium, melted and cooled to about 45 ̊C, was poured into the plate
The semipurified extracts were elucidated by UV-Vis spectrophotometer and gas chromatography-mass spectra analysis
Summary
Tawa-tawa, gatas-gatas, magatas or botonis is abundant in open grasslands and waste places. The scientific name is Euphorbia hirta; it is classified as a weed and is a native of India This is widely distributed in the Philippines, from sea level to an altitude of 500 meters. This weed can grow up to 60 cm long with a hairy stem which produces plentiful latex. The chemical constituents of this plant are the following: gallic acid, quercetin and a phenoilc substance C28H18O15. These substances are responsible for its medicinal properties. The department of science and technology of the Philippine Council for Health and Development is conducting several studies on this plant to determine the curative component of tawa-tawa for dengue and tuberculosis [1]. This study was undertaken to determine the cytotoxicity and antibacterial property of the plant
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