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Nowadays, a large number of aromatic and medicinal plants possess highly significant bioproperties, with numerous applications in medicine, pharmacy, cosmetology, and agriculture. This work aimed to conduct a phytochemical screening and assay of phytomarkers with biopharmaceutical potential and to assess the antioxidant and antibacterial activity of Persea americana Mill. kernel extracts in vitro. P. americana plant samples were collected in May 2017 in Kinshasa. Three standard strains were selected namely Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, and Pseudomonas aeroginosa ATCC 9027 for microbiological assays. The phytomarker assay was used to detect total polyphenols, and the antibacterial activity was determined using the solid diffusion method on the Mueller Hinton medium to establish the minimal inhibitory concentration. Antioxidant activity was evaluated by the DPPH, ABTS, and Phosphomolybdate techniques. The findings showed that P. americana kernels contain secondary metabolites such as flavonoids, polyphenols, alkaloids, tannins, and triterpenoids, which may confer interesting biological activities. Quantitative phytomarker analysis of P. americana extracts showed a concentration of 69.70±3.07 mg/QE of total polyphenols and 27.53±1.15 mg/QE of flavonoids. All the extracts tested had low antibacterial activity against the three strains tested. However, the methanolic extract showed better antioxidant activity. In view of the IC50 values of our various fractions, it is clear that P. americana kernels possess interesting antioxidant properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: to provide knowledge on the bioactivity and phytochemistry of Jatropha podagrica Hook. Study Design: Advanced multidisciplinary bibliographical research, use of the ChemBioDraw software package and dissemination of the knowledge obtained. Methodology: A literature review was conducted to obtain information on the pharmacognosy and phytochemistry of Jatropha podagrica Hook. from various scientific databases (SciLEO, PubMed, Google scholar, Science Direct and PubMed Central). The scientific name of this plant species was used as a keyword for the search, as well as the terms pharmacognosy and phytochemistry. ChemBioDraw Ultra 12.0 software was used to draw the structures of chemical compounds of Jatropha podagrica Hook. and other species of the genus Jatropha. Results: The results obtained revealed that this plant is traditionally used as a stimulant or analgesic. This species possesses various biological properties such as anti-tumor, antimicrobial, molluscicidal and anti-insect. These properties are due to the presence of natural chemical compounds such as steroids, flavonoids and diterpenoids. Conclusion: This study can therefore help guide future scientific research towards the development of new antisickling drugs from Jatropha podagrica Hook. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethanol and organic acid extracts from the leaves of Vitex madiensis Oliv. were evaluated for their antihelminthic activity using the animal model of Benhamia rosea and B. itoleisis (Kinshasa/DRC earthworms), antibacterial activity and antioxidant activity. Different concentrations (5 mg/mL, 2.5 mg/mL, 1.25 mg/mL and 0.625 mg/mL) of standard Albendazole (positive control) and sample solutions (organic acid extracts and ethanol extracts) were used for this study which involved the determination of the paralysis time (vermifuge) and mortality time (vermicidal activity) of the worms. The presence of different secondary metabolites was determined by the thin layer chromatography. The results obtained showed that the ethanolic extract and the organic acid extracts showed significant antihelminthic activity. Microscopic examination of the parts used revealed the presence of various histological elements. Its phytochemical profile remains dominated by various secondary metabolites such as coumarins, anthraquinones, flavonoids, phenolic acids and terpenoids. The mineral composition was determined by inductively coupled argon plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-EOS) showed the abundance of various elements, namely calcium, iron, potassium, selenium, sodium, magnesium, manganese, nickel, phosphorus, cobalt, copper, barium and zinc in this plant. The antibacterial activity of the extracts of this plant was weak against the bacterial strains tested. The organic acid and ethanol extracts showed interesting antioxidant activity. The leaves extracts of Vitex madiensis Oliv. showed good antihelminthic, antibacterial and antioxidant activities related to their phytochemical compositions. All these results constitute scientific evidence validating the use of this medicinal plant for the management of parasitic infections of small ruminants in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]