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The analgesic and anthelmintic activities of the common fruits in the Sundarbans forest, Bangladesh were evaluated. Acetic acid-induced writhing test and hot plate test in mice model were demonstrated for examining the analgesic activity whereas an anthelmintic test was performed using a flatworm, Paramphistomum cervi of livestock ruminants. Among the fruits, Ceriops decandra showed the strongest analgesic activity through inhibiting acetic acid-induced writhing (45%) and increasing response time (16.8 sec) on a hot plate in mice at 250 mg extract/kg body weight (b.w.). Diclofenac sodium (25 mg/kg b.w.), a positive control, demonstrated writhing inhibition of 51.3% whereas morphine (10 mg/kg b.w.), a wellknown centrally active analgesic drug, increased response time of 18.2 sec. The fruits showed inhibition of acetic acid-induced writhing in mice with strong correlations to both the total polyphenols (r2 = 0.85) and the total flavonoids (r2 = 0.81) contents. Similar results were also observed for an increase of response time in mice on hot plate test. Therefore, both the peripheral and the central analgesic activities of the fruits were profoundly related to their total contents of polyphenols as well as flavonoids. Extract of Aegiceras corniculatum fruit displayed the strongest anthelmintic activity with the lowest CDT50 (concentration for death time 50) of 0.69 mg extract/ml whereas albendazole, a positive control, had CDT50 of 5.60 mg/ml for the parasite. The anthelmintic activity of the fruits was not dependent on their contents of polyphenols (r2 = 0.30) or flavonoids. The chromatograms of HPLC-DAD analysis detected caffeic acid, (+)-catechin hydrate, p-coumaric acid, (-)-epicatechin, rutin hydrate, and syringic acid in C. decandra fruit extract and quantified as 10.6, 598.4, 1.5, 28.5, 2 and 1.3 mg/100 g extract, respectively. Results revealed that C. decandra and A. corniculatum fruits are the potentials to treat pain and helminthiasis, respectively. Bangladesh J. Bot. 52(1): 79-86, 2023 (March)

A comparison of total polyphenols (TP) and flavonoids (TF) contents, antioxidant activity, and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) biosynthesis potentiality of 35 common edible fruits in Bangladesh were studied. Among the fruits, Emblica officinalis showed the highest content of TP (89 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g powder), reducing power (OD, 1.98 at 1 mg powder/ml), and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)-free radical scavenging activity (95.6% at 0.5 mg powder/ml) whereas the highest content (17.3 mg (+)-catechin equivalent (CE)/g powder) of TF was recorded in Garcinia cowa. The inhibitory concentration 50 (IC50) for DPPH-free radical scavenging of Annona reticulata, E. officinalis, G. cowa, Phoenix sylvestris, Psidium guajava and Syzygium cumini were 180, 21.8, 172, 188.9, 162.4 and 176.2 μg powder/ml, respectively. Litchi chinensis showed the highest total antioxidant capacity (79 mg GAE/g powder) followed by E. officinalis (69 mg GAE/g powder). The fruits showed a very strong correlation (r2 = 0.99) between TP and reducing power. P. guajava showed the highest potentiality (OD, 0.74 at 10 mg powder/ml) in the biosynthesis of AgNPs followed by S. cumini, A. reticulata and P. sylvestris. Therefore, most potential five fruits should be graded as E. officinalis > S. cumini > P. guajava > A. reticulata > P. sylvestris. Bangladesh J. Bot. 50(3): 445-451, 2021 (September)

This study evaluated anti-bacterial, anti-diarrheal, and cytotoxic activities of ten edible fruits (Aegiceras corniculatum, Avicennia officinalis, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, Ceriops decandra, Heritiera fomes, Nypa fruticans, Phoenix paludosa, Sarcolobus globosus, Sonneratia caseolaris, and Xylocarpus mekongensis) in the Sundarbans mangrove forest of Bangladesh. Highest antibacterial activity was shown for ethanol:methanol (1:1) extracts of S. caseolaris (2 mg/disc), which demonstrated inhibition zones of 16.7, 17.0, 14.7, 15.7, and 15.7 mm against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella sp., Shigella boydii, Shigella sonnei, and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. In mice with castor oil-induced diarrhea, S. caseolaris extract (250 mg/kg body weight) showed the highest inhibition (87.7%) and delayed the onset time (273 min) of diarrheal episodes, followed by A. corniculatum extract (inhibition, 83.6%; delayed onset time, 187.4 min). S. caseolaris and A. corniculatum fruit powders were successively fractionated into n-hexane, diethyl ether, chloroform, ethanol, and methanol. Antidiarrheal activity significantly increased with increasing polarity of these fractions. In brine shrimp lethality assay, S. globosus extract demonstrated the highest cytotoxicity (59.2 μg/mL), followed by H. fomes (74.1 μg/mL) and C. decandra (116.7 μg/mL); however, lowest cytotoxicity was shown for A. corniculatum, A. officinalis, and S. caseolaris extracts. Mice treated with A. corniculatum extract did not experience any acute toxicity. These results demonstrate that S. caseolaris and A. corniculatum fruits have potential to treat diarrhea and may act as useful nutraceuticals.

Ten edible fruits of the Sunderbans’ mangrove forest in Bangladesh were analyzed to compare their physicochemical, nutritional and antioxidant properties. Among the fruits, the lowest pH of 4.2 was observed in Sonneratia caseolaris whereas the rest remains within 6.1 to 7.1. The highest electrical conductivity (596.3 μS/cm), total dissolved solid (298.2 ppm) and ash content (0.26%) were recorded in the fruit of Phoenix paludosa. Carbohydrate, protein, lipid and vitamin C contents were the highest in Avicennia officinalis, Ceriops decandra, Heritiera fomes and Bruguiera gymnorrhiza fruits, respectively. In these fruits, the most abundant macro and micro-elements were K and Fe, respectively. C. decandra showed the highest content of polyphenols (58.5 mg GAE, gallic acid equivalent/g powder), flavonoids (86.4 mg CE, (+)-catechin equivalent/g powder) and anthocyanins (0.39 μmol/g powder). C. decandra also showed the strongest DPPH free radicals scavenging, reducing power, and total antioxidant capacity. Noticeably, total polyphenols showed their strong correlation to total flavonoids (r2 = 0.90), anthocyanins (r2 = 0.81), reducing power (r2 = 0.98) and total antioxidant capacity (r2 = 0.88) of the fruits. Fruits of C. decandra, therefore, should be considered as a potential source of antioxidants followed by H. fomes and P. paludosa.