The Chemical Constituents, Anti-Inflammatory, Anti-Oxidant, and Ethnomedicinal Properties of Aloe barbadensis

Aloe vera is a perennial, drought-resisting, succulent plant belonging to the Asphodelaceae family that has a long history of having many tremendous medicinal and anti-inflammatory as well as anti-bacterial properties. This chapter highlights the great potentials of the aloe vera species. Desk study and document analysis guided the systematic and extensive review of both published and unpublished resources on the Aloe vera Species. The chapter contends that horticulturists and plant scientists in the field of agriculture and medicine must pay attention to the Aloe vera as a medicinal plant that possesses the most powerful antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, which protects the body against constipation through enhancing the body metabolism, skin, and worm infestations.

ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTIES OF METHANOLIC EXTRACT OF BRYPHYLLUM PINNATUM ON ALBINO WISTAR RATS

Bryophyllumpinnatum, which belong to the family Crassulceae, is a succulent plant native to Madagascar, which is a popular houseplant and has become naturalized in tropical and subtropical areas. It has been in traditional medicine for the treatment of hypertension and kidney stones. Despite these acclaimed efficacies of its use in trado-medical practices, the effects on body organs are not well understood. The aim of this study was to evaluate antioxidant properties of Bryophyllumpinnatum. Fifteen adult Sprague dowley rats were use in this study split into three groups (group 1, 2 and 3). Group 1 animals served as the control, while group 2 and 3 served as the experimental groups. Acute toxicity, and antioxidants. The result of this study found LD50 to be above 5000mg/kg. In vitro antioxidant test found the presence of alkaloids, saponins, thiamin, riboflavin etc. Antioxidant activity test result found an increase in GSH, GPx, a decrease in MDA and a stable CAT. In conclusion, we recommend its uses in human, but at a regulated doses because of its efficacy as stated in this study.

Influence of the Foraging Activity of the Anthophilous Insects on Talinum triangulare (Waterleaf) fructification in Bafut (North West - Cameroon)

Talinum triangulare is an herbaceous succulent plant eaten as a vegetable throughout the tropics including many countries in West and Central Africa and are an essential ingredient in traditional dishes. Experiments were made on the plant to examine the influence of foraging behavior of flowering insect on pollination and yields of this plant species in 2018 and 2019 at Bafut. Observations were made on 1615 to 4055 flowers per treatment. The treatments included unlimited floral access by visitors and bagged flowers to deny all visits. The study focused on the foraging behavior of flowering insects and their pollination activity (fruiting rate). The results show that 14 insect species visited waterleaf flowers and Camponotus flavomarginatus was the most frequent (33.20%). Insects foraged throughout the day light period. Their activity was highest between 10 am and 12 pm. Insect species foraged the flowers for pollen and nectar. The fructification rate of unrestricted floral access was significantly high than that of protected flowers to deny all visits. The maintenance of insect nest close to T. triangulare field is recommended to improve it fruits production.

A Review on Sarcocornia Species: Ethnopharmacology, Nutritional Properties, Phytochemistry, Biological Activities and Propagation

Sarcocornia A. J. Scott is a halophytic edible succulent plant belonging to the Amaranthaceae family. To date, the genus includes 28 species distributed worldwide in saline environments, usually salt marshes. Sarcocornia (Scott) is similar to Salicornia (L.), which has a recognized commercial value in morphological and taxonomical traits. Species of both genera are commonly named samphire or glassworts in Europe, and their fleshy shoots are commercialized under their traditional names. Due to their nutritional, organoleptic and medicinal properties, Sarcocornia species have a high economic potential in various biotechnology sectors. Being highly tolerant to salt, they can be cultivated in saline conditions, and dissimilar to Salicornia, they are perennial, i.e., they can be harvested year-round. Therefore, Sarcocornia species are considered promising gourmet vegetables to be explored in the context of climate change, soil and water salinization and eco-sustainability. We hereby put together and reviewed the most relevant information on Sarcocornia taxonomy, morphology, nutritional and pharmacological properties, uses in ethnomedicine, potential applications in biotechnology, and propagation strategies.

Pharmacognostical and Phytochemical Studies of Notonia grandiflora Wall

Pharmacognostic evaluation is the first and foremost step to determine the identity and to assess the quality and purity of the crude drug. Notonia grandiflora is a perennial succulent plant, widely used in traditional medicinal system without standardisation. Notonia grandiflora has reported to possess various pharmacological activities such as analgesic and antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antibacterial, antifungal, and antipyretic. In the present study, pharmacognostic studies of root, stem, and leaf of Notonia grandiflora is carried out in order to standardize the plant. For standardization of plant material morphological and anatomical characterization was carried out. Physico-chemical parameters viz. ash content, extractive values, heavy metal content was carried out. Transverse section of Notonia grandiflora root shows periderm, cortex xylem parenchyma showing tracheids and phloem. Stem shows epidermis covered externally by cuticle, cortex, vascular bundles and pith. Calcium oxalate crystals, leaf and branch traces were also present in the cortical region of the stem. Leaf lamina showed palisade cells and spongy parenchyma in mesophyll region and anisocytic type of stomata. Powder characters and physico-chemical parameters such as moisture content, extractive values, ash content and heavy metal analysis were performed. The results of current study could be served as a diagnostic tool for the standardization of this medicinal plant and will be helpful in characterization of the crude drug.

Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose nanocomposites containing nano fibrillated cellulose (NFC) from Agave americana L. for food packaging applications

Hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) is popularly known as a hydrocolloid for potential use as a biopolymer film. The films of HPMC exhibit brittleness, lacking flexibility, but they can provide a gas barrier. With the aim of improving the HPMC film properties, nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) from the succulent plant Agave americana L was incorporated as reinforcement material using the solution casting method. The films were prepared with three different amounts of NFC with glycerol as a plasticizer. The incorporation of the NFC into the nanocomposite films showed a 1,000-fold reduction in the gas permeability. However, significant improvements in the tensile strength (TS), the elongation at break (EAB), and Young’s modulus (YM) were only observed with 1% NFC. A higher moisture content (24.5%) and a higher solubility (59.5%) were observed in the HPMC/NFC-1 film, which also exhibited the best biodegradability loss of the films that were observed with a 92.8% degradation rate in 15 d of soil burial studies. Therefore, the results evidence that the HPMC/NFC films might be potentially suitable as food wrap packaging on perishable produce of fruits and vegetables to maintain their quality attributes and prolong the storage life.

The Importance of Sceletium tortuosum (L.) N.E. Brown and Its Viability as a Traditional African Medicinal Plant

Sceletium tortuosum is a succulent plant that belongs to the family Mesembryanthemaceae (Aizoaceae). It is indigenous to South Africa, where it is well known by the indigenous people, especially in Namaqualand where the plant is utilized regularly for its medicinal and psycho-active properties. The main alkaloids responsible for these properties are mesembrine, mesembrenine (mesembrenone), and mesembrenol. The potential of the plant to be an alternative supplement in the promotion of health and treating a variety of psychological and psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety has stimulated interest in its pharmacological property and possibility of its commercialization. The economic value of indigenous medicinal plants in South Africa is approximately US$60 000 000 or R4 000 000 000 annually. Thus, interest in the knowledge and use of Traditional African Medicinal Plants (TAMP) as well as meeting pharmacological and economic needs of ever-increasing human population has led to the commercialization of traditional African medicines at a fast rate. It was found that S. tortuosum has clear pharmaceutical and economical importance and is one of the only known plants to contain the alkaloids mesembrenone and mesembrine which can be utilized for the promotion of health and/or treating a variety of psychological disorders such as anxiety and depression.

Mode of Action of 1-Naphthylphthalamic Acid in Conspicuous Local Stem Swelling of Succulent Plant, Bryophyllum calycinum: Relevance to the Aspects of Its Histological Observation and Comprehensive Analyses of Plant Hormones

The mode of action of 1-naphthylphthalamic acid (NPA) to induce conspicuous local stem swelling in the area of its application to the growing internode in intact Bryophyllum calycinum was studied based on the aspects of histological observation and comprehensive analyses of plant hormones. Histological analyses revealed that NPA induced an increase in cell size and numerous cell divisions in the cortex and pith, respectively, compared to untreated stem. In the area of NPA application, vascular tissues had significantly wider cambial zones consisting of 5–6 cell layers, whereas phloem and xylem seemed not to be affected. This indicates that stem swelling in the area of NPA application is caused by stimulation of cell division and cell enlargement mainly in the cambial zone, cortex, and pith. Comprehensive analyses of plant hormones revealed that NPA substantially increased endogenous levels of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) in the swelling area. NPA also increased endogenous levels of cytokinins, jasmonic acid, and its precursor, 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid, but did not increase abscisic acid and gibberellin levels. It was shown, using radiolabeled 14C-IAA, that NPA applied to the middle of internode segments had little effect on polar auxin transport, while 2,3,5-triiodobenzoic acid substantially inhibited it. These results strongly suggest that NPA induces changes in endogenous levels of plant hormones, such as IAA, cytokinins, and jasmonic acid, and their hormonal crosstalk results in a conspicuous local stem swelling. The possible different mode of action of NPA from other polar auxin transport inhibitors in succulent plants is extensively discussed.

Antibiofilm Properties Exhibited by the Prickly Pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) Seed Oil

Prickly pear [Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill.] is a succulent plant that is globally diffused. The oil obtained from its seeds has antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. We evaluated the antibiofilm of the oil and its capacity to block the metabolic changes taking place in the microbial cells included in the biofilm. The oil was capable to inhibit at 38.75% the biofilm of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Pectobacterium carotovorum (38.75%, 71.84%, and 63.06% inhibition, respectively). The metabolic activity of the microbial cells within the biofilm was also strongly inhibited. The action of the prickly pear seeds oil was effective also in blocking at 64.97% the metabolism of Listeria monocytogenes cells.