A pharmacognostical study of hydrocotyle umbellata L. (Fam. Araliaceae) , grown in Egypt / Sherif Ahmed Muhammed Ahmed Hamdy ; Supervsied Elsayed A. Aboutabl , Shadia M. Azzam , Hala M. Elhefnawy

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Pharmacy - Department of Pharmacognosy

Genetic fingerprinting and botanical profiling including macro-and micro-morphological studies of the different organs of hydrocotyle umbellata L. were done for identification and authentication of the plant. The biological study included anti-oxidant, anticholinestrase, anti-inflammatory and antihyperglycemic activities. The N-hexane and defatted ethanolic extract (DEE) of the aerial parts were found to be safe and non-toxic up to 2g/Kg of body weight. The anti-oxidant and anticholinestrase activities were examined by in-vitro assays (DPPH scavenging and acetyl cholinesterase inhibition models, respectively). The N-hexane extract showed significant anti-acetylcholinestrase activity, while the DEE exhibited both DPPH scavenging and cholinesterase inhibition activities with its ethyl acetate fraction being the most active one. The anti-inflammatory and antihyperglycemic activities were examined by in-vivo assays (STZ-induced diabetic rats model and carrageenan induced paw odema model, respectively). The DEE exhibited both antihyperglycemic and anti-inflammatory activities, while n-hexane extract only showed anti-inflammatory activity. Preliminary phytochemical screening, proximate analysis, investigation of the lipoidal content of the aerial parts in addition to investigation of the volatile oil of the leaves and flowers, qualitative determination of the secondary metabolite composition of both leaves and flowers using UPLC-MS with major detected peaks corresponding to the isolated compounds, and phytochemical investigation of the biologically active fractions (n-hexane and ethyl acetate fractions) using different chromatographic techniques were done

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