Abstract
Numerous plants are known to exhibit considerable biological activities in the fields of medicine and agriculture, yet access to their active ingredients is often complicated, cumbersome and expensive. As a consequence, many plants harbouring potential drugs or green phyto-protectants go largely unnoticed, especially in poorer countries which, at the same time, are in desperate need of antimicrobial agents. As in the case of plants such as the Jericho tomato, Solanum incanum, and the common African tree Pterocarpus erinaceus, nanosizing of original plant materials may provide an interesting alternative to extensive extraction and isolation procedures. Indeed, it is straightforward to obtain considerable amounts of such common, often weed-like plants, and to mill the dried material to more or less uniform particles of microscopic and nanoscopic size. These particles exhibit activity against Steinernema feltiae or Escherichia coli, which is comparable to the ones seen for processed extracts of the same, respective plants. As S. feltiae is used as a model nematode indicative of possible phyto-protective uses in the agricultural arena, these findings also showcase the potential of nanosizing of crude “waste” plant materials for specific practical applications, especially—but not exclusively—in developing countries lacking a more sophisticated industrial infrastructure.
Highlights
Many plants are known to harbour biologically active ingredients, for instance against pathogenic bacteria, fungi and other microbes [1]
The results obtained as part of this study support the notion that it is possible to employ nanosizing as a one-step method to render crude plant materials otherwise of little or limited use into preparations with substantial biological activities
Whilst the nanosized material of S. incanum was effective against the model agricultural nematode S. feltiae, the nanosized bark of limited use into preparations with substantial biological activities
Summary
Many plants are known to harbour biologically active ingredients, for instance against pathogenic bacteria, fungi and other microbes [1]. In order to unlock this “treasure chest” of biological activity for nutritional, pharmaceutical or agricultural uses, it is often necessary to employ a vast and expensive barrage of techniques, from extractions with organic solvents to the fractionation and isolation of the active substances Once obtained, those compounds of interest subsequently have to be processed further to suitable forms of delivery (e.g., pills, creams, sprays, granules). Most regions, especially in the developing world, lack the kind of industrial manufacturing basis to embark on such a sophisticated production process This is rather tragic, as those regions, at the same time, are rich in many plant species, which at least in theory may be useful in the fields of medicine and agriculture. Alternative application forms, i.e., crude extracts or milled materials that exhibit adequate potential for treatment, would open up a new perspective for their use in developing countries
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