Herbaceous Climbers Research Articles

Floristic Diversity of Climbing Plants of Ballari District: Its Utility and Conservation

This study embarked on a thorough investigation of climber species in Ballari district, yielding a rich repository of 40 species consisting of 16 families, with Cucurbitaceae 9 species, followed by Apocyanaceae 8 species and Convolvulaceae 7 species, emerged as the dominant 3 families,. Herbaceous climbers were 29 species followed by woody climbers with 11 species, with twining 24 species being the prevalent climbing mechanism, followed by tendrils 13 species and straggling unarmed 1 species. Notably, these climbers exhibited a wide range of uses, including medicinal, ornamental, economic, and other applications

Isolation, Characterization and Antibacterial Activity Study of Bioactive Compounds from Leaves of Cyphostemma cyphopetalum

Background:: Cyphostemma cyphopetalum is a herbaceous climber species within the Vitaceae family, found in various tropical and subtropical regions of Africa. It has a history of traditional use in Ethiopia for treating various health issues in humans and livestock, includ-ing snake bites, rabies, and eczema. Despite its reported ethnomedicinal uses, there is a lack of sufficient scientific literature regarding the isolation and characterization of its bioactive chem-ical compounds. Objective:: The objective of this work was to isolate bioactive compounds from the leaves of Cyphostemma cyphopetalum, characterize their chemical structures using FTIR and NMR spec-troscopy, and evaluate their antimicrobial activities. Methods:: Isolation was done using column chromatographic separation techniques. Spectro-scopic techniques, including Fourier transform infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance, were used for functional group identification and structural elucidation. Moreover, the paper disc dif-fusion bioassay method was used to evaluate the antibacterial activity of the isolated bioactive compounds. Results:: Three fractions were successfully isolated using chloroform with dichloromethane and chloroform with ethyl acetate as eluting solvents and silica gel as a stationary phase. After care-ful interpretation of the experimental results and comparison with the literature, the isolated fractions were constituted mainly by stigmasterol (fraction 1), β-sitosterol (fraction 2), and trans-resveratrol (fraction 3). The antibacterial activities of each isolated fraction were tested against Ralstonia solanacearum, a gram-negative bacterium, and Staphylococcus aureus, a gram-positive bacterial pathogen.Comparatively, the highest mean inhibitory value of 10.03 ± 0.13 mm was exhibited by fraction 2, which was followed by 6.25±0.05 mm inhibition activity recorded for fraction 1 against R. solanacearum, while fraction 3 did not exhibit any bacterial activity against both the strains. Conclusion:: We have successfully isolated and characterized three compounds (1-3) from leaves of C. cyphopetalum and evaluated their antibacterial activity. A maximum mean inhibi-tory value of 10.03 ± 0.13 mm was exhibited by compound 2 against R. solanacearum.

Low-coverage whole genome sequencing of diverse Dioscorea bulbifera accessions for plastome resource development, polymorphic nuclear SSR identification, and phylogenetic analyses.

Dioscorea bulbifera (Dioscoreaceae), a versatile herbaceous climber native to Africa and Asia, holds significant nutritional and medicinal value. Despite extensive characterization and genetic variability analyses of African accessions, studies on the genetic variation of this species in China are limited. To address this gap, we conducted low-coverage whole genome sequencing on D. bulbifera accessions from diverse regions across mainland China and Taiwan island. Our initial investigation encompassed comprehensive comparative plastome analyses of these D. bulbifera accessions, and developing plastome resources (including plastome-derived repetitive sequences, SSRs, and divergent hotspots). We also explored polymorphic nuclear SSRs and elucidated the intraspecific phylogeny of these accessions. Comparative plastome analyses revealed that D. bulbifera plastomes exhibited a conserved quadripartite structure with minimal size variation mainly attributed to intergenic spacer regions, reinforcing prior observations of a high degree of conservation within a species. We identified 46 to 52 dispersed repeats and 151 to 163 plastome-derived SSRs, as well as highlighted eight key divergent hotspots in these D. bulbifera accessions. Furthermore, we developed 2731 high-quality candidate polymorphic nuclear SSRs for D. bulbifera. Intraspecific phylogenetic analysis revealed three distinct clades, where accessions from Southeast China formed a sister group to those from South China and Taiwan island, and collectively, these two clades formed a sister group to the remaining accessions, indicating potential regional genetic divergence. These findings not only contributed to the understanding of the genetic variation of D. bulbifera, but also offered valuable resources for future research, breeding efforts, and utilization of this economically important plant species.

Climbing aroids in a Panamanian lowland forest: We should reconsider our categories

AbstractBackgroundIn contrast to woody climbers, information on community composition or vertical extension within the forest is scarce for herbaceous climbers, even in well‐studied field sites like Barro Colorado Island. Moreover, questions regarding ontogenetic patterns (site of germination, changes in root/shoot connection with the soil) are unresolved because of a lack of field data.LocationBarro Colorado Island, Panama.MethodsIn 17 plots of 400 m2 each, which were distributed all over the island, we recorded all potential hosts (trees, palms, lianas) with a diameter at breast height larger than 1 cm, and all climbing aroids attached to them. For aroids, we recorded species identity, number of shoots, root connections to the ground, and vertical shoot extension. By distinguishing three size classes for each species in our analyses we deduced the site of germination and ontogenetic changes in the root/shoot connection with the soil.ResultsOnly 16% of all potential hosts were occupied by climbing aroids. We recorded 1196 individuals of 17 species. Aroids preferred larger trees and old‐growth forest. Species differed strongly in vertical distribution. Hemiepiphytic species germinate epiphytically, often high up in tree crowns and later establish root contact with the soil, while the majority of species establish on or close to the ground and reach moderate heights of 5–15 m (forest height ca. 35 m). In all of these species, we observed dieback of the proximal portion of the shoot to a varying extent but contact with the soil was invariably retained via adventitious roots.ConclusionsWe provide rare quantitative data on species richness and abundance of herbaceous climbers in a tropical lowland forest. Few species fall neatly into the categories of vines, nomadic vines and hemiepiphytes. This highlights the need for longitudinal observational and experimental studies to resolve the current debate on the appropriate grouping of these climbers.

Identification of Native Root Nodulating Bacteria from Mucuna (Mucuna pruriens L.)

Background: Mucuna (Mucuna pruriens L.) is an annual herbaceous climber, grown as a medicinal, green manure, cover and smothering crop. The mucuna seeds contains L-DOPA (L-3, 4 dihydroxy phenylalanine), a non-protein amino acid, extensively used for Parkinson and hypertensive drug. Injudicious application of nitrogenous fertilizers leads to deterioration of soil quality which results into loss of crop yield and quality. The application of microbial inoculant containing efficient native rhizobia enhances the nodular properties, N2-fixation and soil quality. Therefore, Rhizobium strain associated with mucuna was isolated, biochemically characterized and identified. The 16SrRNA sequencing revealed that Sinnorhizobium mililoti, a gram negative symbiotic nitrogen fixing bacteria is present in root nodules of mucuna. Methods: Root nodules were extracted from mucuna grown at ICAR- Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Doddaballapura Taluk, Bengaluru Rural District, Karnataka, then cultured, screened and characterized in the laboratory. The 16SrRNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis was done to identify the native rhizobial strain. Result: Identification of native root nodulating bacteria through 16SrRNA sequencing concluded that Sinnorhizobium mililoti strain associated with the root nodules of Mucuna (Mucuna pruriens L.).

Ethnobotanical study on medicinal plant knowledge among three ethnic groups in peri-urban areas of south-central Ethiopia

BackgroundDocumenting traditional knowledge on plant use among ethnic groups has enabled researchers to obtain a better understanding of how indigenous flora is seen and used in daily life. Their therapeutic applications will also encourage future conservation and phytochemical research, potentially leading to the development of novel drugs. However, past ethnobotanical studies conducted in Ethiopia mainly focused on rural areas, and limited coverage to document the ethnobotanical knowledge at the rural‒urban interface. Therefore, this study was conducted to document and analyze traditional ethnobotanical knowledge on medicinal plants among three selected ethnic groups in peri-urban areas of south-central Ethiopia. In addition, we attempted to investigate the range of cultural similarity and disparity between the studied ethnic groups in relation to traditional medicinal plants and diseases treated.MethodsData were collected using semistructured questionnaires and in-depth interviews of 189 key informants, floristic species inventories, and field observations. Several cultural importance indices and Rahman’s similarity indices were applied to analyze the relevance of medicinal plants and cultural similarity among the ethnic groups.ResultsA total of 189 therapeutic plants representing 159 genera and 69 families were identified and documented across the three studied ethnic groups. Of these, the Sidama, Gedeo, and Oromo ethnic groups reported 28, 34, and 38%, respectively. Most medicinal plants were represented by herbs (36%), followed by shrubs (31%), trees (27%), and herbaceous climbers (7%). Rahman's similarity index (RSI) revealed considerable ethnobotanical knowledge variation among ethnic groups. Oromo and Sidama showed the highest disparity (63.8%), followed by Gedeo and Oromo (63.2%). Of the total collected therapeutic plants, 78 most important medicinal plants were selected for the cultural importance analysis, which revealed that Croton macrostachyus Hochst. ex Delile scored the highest point in the Gedeo and Oromo ethnic groups and Zingiber officinale Roscoe in the Sidama ethnic group. Whereas Cinnamomum verum J.Presl, Psidium guajava L., and Melia azedarach L. are the least.ConclusionThe present study revealed the presence of cultural differences in medicinal plant knowledge practices and therapeutic plant use among the studied ethnic groups in rural–urban interface areas of south-central Ethiopia. The diverse healing potential of plants would support future pharmacological investigations, emphasizing the need for adequate documentation of indigenous knowledge and versatile flora to prevent their further loss.

Investigation of In-vitro Antiproliferative activity of Ampelocissus latifolia root extract on MCF-7 breast cancer cells Ampelocissus latifolia root extract against MCF-7 breast cancer cells.

Background: Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer related death in women worldwide. Treatment of cancer has been plagued with toxic side effects of anticancer drugs. The need of the hour is the development of novel compounds with maximum cytotoxic effect on cancer cells with minimal toxicity to normal cells. The current direction of researchers worldwide is to identify anticancer compounds from natural sources. In India, traditional medicine has employed use of herbaceous climbers of grape family for treatment of ailments ranging from snakebites to diabetes. In the current study, an attempt has been made to explore the in vivo antiproliferative property of ethanolic extract of root of Ampelocissus latifolia against MCF-7 breast cancer cell line. Materials and Methods: The antiproliferative effect of Ethanolic extract of root of Ampelocissus latifolia (ERAL) was estimated by 3-(4, 5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2, 5-diphenyl--tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The MCF -7 cell viability in various concentrations of ERAL including 7.8mcg/ml, 15.6mcg/ml, 31.2mcg/ml, 62.5mcg/ml, 125mcg/ml, 250mcg/ml, 500mcg/ml and 1000mcg/ml was tested. The IC50 value was calculated. All the experiments were done in triplicates. This was followed up with DNA fragmentation assay and fluorescent staining and microscopy. Results: The MCF -7 cell viability in various concentration of ERAL including 7.8mcg/ml, 15.6mcg/ml, 31.2mcg/ml ,62.5mcg/ml, 125mcg/ml, 250mcg/ml, 500mcg/ml and 1000mcg/ml was found to be 69.01%, 62.39%, 55.04%, 48.00%, 41.17%, 33.82%, 26.78% and 20.06% respectively .The IC50 concentration was found to be in the range of 62.5mcg/ml.The cell viability was found to be dose dependant.DNA fragmentation assay and DAPI and PI staining of cells treated with IC50 concentration of ERAL were indicative of significant cell death. Conclusion: The concentration dependent inhibition of MCF-7 cells supported by DNA fragmentation and fluorescent staining indicate that Ampelocissus latifolia can be a source of novel anticancer molecules.

POLLINATION ECOLOGY, BREEDING SYSTEMS AND SEED DISPERSAL IN PASSIFLORA FOETIDA L. (PASSIFLORACEAE), A PERENNIAL HERBACEOUS CLIMBER WEED IN SOUTHERN PARTS OF ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA.

Passiflora foetida L. (Passifloraceae) is an herbaceous climber weed; grows up to 1.5 - 6.5m tall occur in riverbeds, wastelands, forest floors, crop fields, and roadsides, ascend about 4 to 10 m (13 to 32 feet) tall, exhibit peak flowering in July to December; produce white flowers marked with a ring of radially oriented purple streaks nectar guide, the flower opens along with sunrise and closes the same day noon. It exhibits three kinds of stigma positions in the same plant with different frequencies which determined the fertility rate of flower 1. Stigma below the anthers 64% (fully curved), 2. Stigmas above the anthers 16% (no curvature), 3. Stigmas above anthers 20% (partially curved). P. foetida flower shows both self-pollination and Cross-pollination. Xylocopa latipas sp. visits the flowers frequently among all of the forages and the Stigmas curved below the anthers produce height fruit set (68%) and seed set (82.14%). The fruits and seeds spread far destinations by animals (Zoochory). It cultivates in agricultural fields for their ornamental flowers, edible fruits, and pharmaceutical uses. The present study explored ecological importance, reproductive ecology and the pollinator interaction of the plant.

Ecological Distribution Patterns and Indicator Species Analysis of Climber Plants in Changa Manga Forest Plantation

Climbing plants have an important role in forest communities and ecosystems. Despite the significance of the climbers in ecosystems, most of the previous research work in Pakistan has been concentrated on trees, shrubs, and herbs, with little attention paid to climbing plants. The current study investigated the ecology of climbers and the influence of soil characteristics on diversity, richness, and indicator species distribution in the Changa Manga Forest Plantation, Punjab, Pakistan. Field surveys were carried out between 2020 and 2021, with the data gathered using a random sample approach for ordination and cluster analysis of each plant species and edaphic data from sample plots. We reported a total of 29 climber species belonging to 23 genera and 9 families from the area. The Convolvulaceae family was the most prevalent, followed by Apocynaceae and Cucurbitaceae. Herbaceous climbers were the typical life form (70% species) and species showed peak flowering during the months of August and September. The multivariate analysis and cluster analysis grouped the climbers into four distinct communities based on the indicator species, representing filtering of the species pool in the studied area. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) results showed that soil factors had a significant influence (p ≤ 0.002) on the climbers’ diversity and distribution pattern. Our research contributes to a deeper understanding of climbing plant ecology in response to soil variables, with immediate consequences for policy and practice in this Himalayan region, as well as research insights for neighboring Himalayan regions and elsewhere in the world.

Glimpse of Herbaceous and Woody Climbers of Hassan District, Karnataka

The study was carried out to document the species of herbaceous and woody climbers in the Western Ghats region of the Hassan district. A total of 170 species of climbers were documented belonging to 126 genera under 46 families. The dominant climber families are Leguminosae (26 spp.), Convolvulaceae (18 spp.), followed by Cucurbitaceae (17 spp.). Of the total climbers documented, 76 species belongs to herbaceous climbers and 94 species belongs to woody climbers. Of the six climbing mechanisms, twiners (54 %) are most predominant, followed by tendril climbers (21 %), stragglers-armed (13 %), stragglers-unarmed (8 %), root climbers (3 %), and hook climbers (1 %). Distribution among the vegetation revealed that a maximum number of species inhabit tropical dry deciduous forest (52 spp.), scrub forest (39 spp.), and wasteland (33 spp.) have the most species, followed by home garden (28 spp.), tropical semi-evergreen forest, (21 spp.), tropical moist deciduous forest (16 spp.), and other vegetation types. The study also documented the various uses of climbers for human consumption (42 spp.), medicinal purpose (98 spp.), ornamental purpose (26 spp.), and other uses (4 spp.).

A death due to wild tuber ingestion with literature review

The spectacular or famous glory lily is the national flower of Zimbabwe, Africa, and the state flower of Tamil Nadu, India. It is a herbaceous climber having tuberous roots and leaf-tip tendrils. The plant is elementary to cultivate in a warm conservatory, and it grows into a climber from an underground tuber. All plant parts are toxic, especially tubers, containing the poisonous alkaloid colchicine. Plant parts or extracts are used in rural areas by native practitioners for common ailments. In India and Africa, recently, there has been a resurgence in attention in extracting antimicrobial and medicinally valuable compounds to the level of growing the plant as the crop. The prevalence of this plant poisoning is relatively scarce. All the plant parts, mainly its tuber, are considered to be highly toxic parts. We report the case of a young female, a 36-year-old, who consumed the boiled tubers of Gloriosa superba mixed with edible tuber along with her husband as their routine food in the afternoon after agricultural work. This manuscript also outlines the clinicopathological aspects of Glory Lily poisoning. This case report highlights the accidental or unintentional usage of Gloriosa or its extracts resulting in potentially fatal poisoning.

Cationic Clitoria ternatea Seed Peptide as a Potential Novel Bioactive Molecule.

While several biologics have been reported from different parts of Clitoria ternatea, a herbaceous climber of the family Fabaceae, specific production of cationic peptides other than cyclotides (<3.7 kDa) has barely been investigated, or their bioactive potential been looked into. The study aims to uncover potential bioactivities and characteristics of novel cationic peptides from C. ternatea seeds. C. ternatea seed cationic peptide purified by simple and cost-effective procedures was analyzed by electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. Antimicrobial efficacy was evaluated against bacterial and fungal pathogens. Antioxidant potential was quantified by in vitro antioxidant assays. Physicochemical characterization and Tandem mass spectrometry were performed. An 8.5 kDa cationic peptide purified from C. ternatea seeds was active against Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus, Aeromonas hydrophila and Escherichia coli at a minimum inhibitory concentration in the range of 8-32 μg/ml. This activity was totally uncompromised at pH 5-8 or after 1 h of heat treatment at 70-80ºC, but was sensitive to protease treatment. Concentration-dependent free-radical scavenging activity and ferric-reducing capacity demonstrated the antioxidant potential of the peptide. Tandem MS analysis of trypsin-digested peptide based on shotgun proteomics detected matching peptide sequences with one or two cysteine residues but had low sequence coverage (≤17%) to known sequences in the C. ternatea protein database. Taken together, the distinct characteristics of this novel 8.5 kDa peptide clearly distinguish it from known cyclotides of C. ternatea. Insights have been obtained into the functional characteristics of what appears to be a novel cationic peptide from C. ternatea seeds, exhibiting significant antimicrobial and antioxidant activities.

The contributions of lightning to biomass turnover, gap formation and plant mortality in a tropical forest.

Lightning is a common source of disturbance, but its ecological effects in tropical forests are largely undescribed. Here we quantify the contributions of lightning strikes to forest turnover and plant mortality in a lowland Panamanian forest using a real-time lightning monitoring system. We examined 2,195 lightning-damaged trees distributed among 93 different strikes. None exhibited scars or fires. On average, each strike disturbed 451 m2 (95% CI: 365-545 m2 ), created a canopy gap of 304 m2 (95% CI 198-454 m2 ), and caused 7.36 Mg of woody biomass turnover (CI: 5.36-9.65 Mg). Cumulatively, we estimate that lightning strikes in this forest create canopy gaps equaling 0.39% of forest canopy area, representing 20.1% of annual gap area formation, and are responsible for 16.1% of total woody biomass turnover. Trees, lianas, herbaceous climbers and epiphytes were killed by lightning at rates 8-29 times greater than their baseline mortality rates in undamaged control sites. The likelihood of lightning-caused death was higher for trees, lianas, and herbaceous climbers than for epiphytes, and high liana mortality suggests that lightning is an important driver of liana turnover. These results indicate that lightning influences gap dynamics, plant community composition and carbon storage capacity in some tropical forests.

Diversity of climbers in Vallanadu Black-buck Sanctuary, Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu

In climbers the stems are weak and these plants need various climbing devices in order to support growth and development. The climbers are predominately angiosperms. The present study chiefly focuses on diversity of climbers in Vallanadu Black-buck Sanctuary. The present study recorded 28 herbaceous climbers and 14 lianas from the scrub forest of Vallanadu Black-buck sanctuary. In dicotyledons, 15 families containing 33 genera and 40 species were recorded. In monocotyledons, 2 families containing 1 genus and 1species each were recorded. The present study reported invasive species such as Ipomoea obscura, Ipomoea pes-tigridis, Clitoria ternatea and Passiflora foetida. The present study recorded 24 medicinal climbers. Conservation of climber and lianas is the need of the hour and climbers provide valuable germplasm as medicinal plants for the benefit of humankind.

Single and combined effect of two fungal diseases on growth of moth plant, Araujia hortorum (Apocynaceae)

ABSTRACT Araujia hortorum is a perennial, broad-leaved herbaceous climber native to South America considered an invasive weed in New Zealand and several other countries where it has been introduced. Ascochyta araujiae and Septoria araujiae are the causal agents of two of the most frequently encountered diseases affecting natural populations in Argentina, which on many occasions co-occur on the same plant. Host–pathogen interactions generally result in a decrease in host fitness. However, when two or more pathogens occur simultaneously on a single host the outcome of the combined interaction might be different from the sum of each acting individually. An experiment was conducted to investigate the single and combined effect of the two pathogens on growth of the host plant as compared with healthy control ones. Each pathogen individually, as well as the combination of both, had a significant effect on size and biomass production of diseased plants. The interaction of both diseases resulted in biomass reductions similar to those of A. araujiae acting alone. This is because A. araujiae, having a shorter latent period, induces earlier defoliation causing the loss of latent S. araujiae infections that never develop. The implications of these findings on the potential use of these pathogens as biological control agents are discussed.

Microencapsulation and spray drying on physicochemical and phytochemical attributes of lakum (Cayratia trifolia) dried powder

Lakum (Cayratia trifolia) berry is underutilized herbaceous climber containing a huge content of anthocyanin greatly contributing to health benefits. In order to increase its commercial value via deep-processing, this research was conducted at Soc Trang Nanotech laboratory in 2020 to evaluate the microencapsulation of anthocyanin from lakum extract by spray drying under various wall materials (whey protein, soy protein isolate, maltodextrin, cyclodextrin, gum Arabic, xanthan gum, inulin), inlet/outlet air drying temperatures (160/50, 165/55, 170/60, 175/65, 180/70, 185/75, 190/80, °C/°C). The anthocyanin retention, total phenolic content, hygroscopicity and wettability was verified. Results showed that gum Arabic as wall material with inlet/outlet temperature 175/65 °C/°C induced the most desirable attributes of lakum dried powder to achieve the highest anthocyanin retention (74.19%), total phenolic content (197.81 mg GAE/ 100 g), hygroscopicity (12.04%), wettability (0.74 minutes). Meanwhile the lowest anthocyanin retention (57.42%) and total phenolic content (134.20 mg GAE/ 100 g); the highest hygroscopicity (15.78%) and wettability (3.24 minutes) was noticed at whey protein. These findings proved the impact of wall material and inlet/outlet air drying temperature during microencapsulation under optimised spray drying circumstance.

Assessment of floral composition, structure and natural regeneration of the Tano Offin Globally Significant Biodiversity Area of Ghana

AbstractThreats of forest degradation of the Tano Offin Globally Significant Biodiversity Area present the need to generate eco-information pertinent for its conservational purposes. Ten 50 m × 50 m plots (tree layer) were assessed for plant life forms with diameter ≥ 10 cm. A 10 m × 10 m plot (shrub layer) was located within each of the 50 m × 50 m plots where plant life forms with diameter &lt; 10 cm were assessed. 1 m × 1 m quadrats (herb layer) were laid at the corners of the 50 m × 50 m plots and its centre for canopy closure and natural regeneration assessments. Plant species (240) belonging to 59 families were identified: 171 trees, 41 lianas, 11 shrubs, 7 herbs, 7 herbaceous climbers, 1 epiphyte, 1 grass and 1 fern. Species diversity (H´) of the tree, shrub and herb layers was 2.55, 2.54 and 2.48 respectively. The average maximum tree height was 46.19 m and the basal area was 28.36 m2/ha, which is below the 35 m²/ha conventional basal area value of tropical forests.Celtis mildbraediiandRinorea welwitschiiwere the most structurally significant species at the tree and shrub layers, respectively, and a total of 75 tree species were regenerating.

Glimpse of climber diversity in Saharanpur District, Uttar Pradesh, India

The present paper focuses on the herbaceous and woody climbers of Saharanpur District. A total of 66 species of herbaceous climbers, 33 species of woody climbers, 15 species of climbing shrubs, and two species of parasitic climbers belonging 27 different families have been recorded. Climbers belonging to the families such as Convolvulaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Fabaceae, and Apocynaceae were found to be dominant in this region. This study also records the occurrence of 14 species of threatened climbers.

Endemic Philippine Teak (&lt;I&gt;Tectona philippinensis&lt;/I&gt; Benth. &amp; Hook. F.) And Associated Flora In The Coastal Landscapes Of Verde Island Passage, Luzon Island, Philippines

The Philippine teak forest (PTF) is a formation with the Endangered Tectona philippinensis Benth. & Hook. f., Lamiaceae – an endemic tree flora in the Batangas Province along the Verde Island Passage, Luzon Island, Philippines. In this study, we determine the general floristic composition of PTF. Vegetation anal-ysis across coastal to inland continuum generated the data for general floristic richness, growth structure and diversity indices. A total of 128 species under 111 genera in 48 families was recorded with overall plant diversity of very low to moderate (Shannon–Wiener: 0.8675–2.681). Plant life based on morpho-species was composed of dominant trees (68 species), shrubs (5) and subshrubs (9), bush palm (1) and palm-like tree (1), lianas (7), epiphytic tree (1), semi-woody climbers (3), epiphytic and geophytic orchids (4), epiphytic and terrestrial ferns (5), annuals to erect succulent peren-nial herbs (9), herbaceous climbers and creepers (6), geophytic herbs and climber (1), low and tall grasses, including bamboo (5) and sedges (2). Such structural diversity is comprised of some of the unique botanical ensembles associated with endemic T. philippinensis in the coastal landscape.

Effect of extraction solvents on the phytochemical content and bioactivity of Momordica charantia Linn. fruits

Momordica charantia (M. charantia) is a herbaceous climber commonly found in Southeast Asia with therapeutic importance for various illnesses. This study focused on the effect of extraction solvents on saponins-containing compounds from M. charantia and their bioactivities. Different organic solvents including water, ethanol, ethyl acetate, a mixture of methanol-water and methanol-n-butanol were used in the extraction process. The total saponin content, total flavonoid and phenolic content for each extract were examined. In addition, the antioxidant capacity of these extracts were evaluated using both 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) Free Radical Scavenging Activity and 2,2’-azino-bis-3- ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) assay. Furthermore, a-amylase and lipase inhibition assay were carried out using an in vitro model. The result showed that methanol-n-butanol extracts exhibited the highest total saponin, flavonoid, phenolic content, and ABTS antioxidant activity compared to the other extracts. The a-amylase inhibition assay revealed that water extract and methanol-n-butanol extract from M. charantia contained potent a-amylase inhibitor. On the other hand, the ethyl acetate extract was found to have the most antioxidant capacities based on DPPH radical scavenging assay. The ethyl acetate extract also exhibited the highest inhibition of lipase activities. In conclusion, the methanol-n-butanol solvent was found to be the most effective in extracting saponin from M. charantia. The M. charantia extracts showed inhibition of a-amylase and lipase activities which may suggest the therapeutic potential of M. charantia for obesity and diabetes.