Green synthesis of ZnO and Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles from leaf extracts of Abutilon indicum, Clerodendrum infortunatum, Clerodendrum inerme and investigation of their biological and photocatalytic activities.[Pubmed: 29025674]

In the present study, green synthesis and determination of the antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer and photocatalytic properties of the resultant Cu-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles (NAPs) were carried out. A superficial method (solution combustion method) was employed for the synthesis of un-doped ZnO NAPs from aqueous extract of Abutilon indicum, and synthesis of Cu-doped ZnO NAPs from aqueous extracts of Clerodendrum infortunatum (M1 NAPs) and Clerodendrum inerme (M2 NAPs). The synthesized un-doped ZnO, M1 and M2 NAPs were characterized by different spectroscopic techniques like Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis), Fourier Transform-Infrared (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The antibacterial and antifungal activities of M1 and M2 NAPs were determined by agar diffusion method, while their antioxidant properties were assessed through DPPH radical scavenging and ferric thiocyanate (FTC) and assays. Under sunlight irradiation, photocatalytic disintegration potential of M1 and M2 NAPs were determined by the degradation of Acid Black 234 dye. Results from FT-IR, XRD, EDX and SEM confirmed successful synthesis, crystalline nature, and spheroid-to-rod-like shapes of un-doped ZnO, M1 and M2 NAPs, with grain sizes of 16.72nm, 17.49nm and 20.73nm; and band gap energies of 3.37eV, 3.36eV and 3.31eV, respectively. The NAPs were good catalysts for effective degradation of Acid Black 234. They also exhibited remarkable antioxidant and anticancer activities. Significant antibacterial activity was shown by M2 NAPs against E. coli, S. aureus, Klebsiella and B. subtilis, with zones of inhibition (ZOIs) of 13±0.09, 14±0.01, 18±0.07 and 20±0.10, respectively. Significant antifungal potential was also produced by M2 NAPs at 5mg with ZOIs of 17±0.07 and 24±0.08 against A. niger and T. harzianum, respectively. These results indicate that aqueous extracts of A. indicum, C. infortunatum and C. inerme are effective reducing agents for green synthesis of un-doped ZnO, and Cu-doped ZnO NAPs with significant antimicrobial, antioxidant, and antifungal potential. Thus they are good candidates for future therapeutic applications.

A new rearranged abietane diterpene from Clerodendrum inerme with antioxidant and cytotoxic activities.[Pubmed: 28793804]

None

Hispidulin alleviated methamphetamine-induced hyperlocomotion by acting at α6 subunit-containing GABAA receptors in the cerebellum.[Pubmed: 27385415]

Hispidulin is a flavonoid we isolated from Clerodendrum inerme, an herb that effectively remitted a case of intractable motor tic disorders. Hispidulin was shown to be a positive allosteric modulator (PAM) of GABAA receptors, including the α6 subunit-containing subtype (α6GABAAR) that is predominantly expressed in cerebellar granule cells and insensitive to diazepam.

A cultured endophyte community is associated with the plant Clerodendrum inerme and antifungal activity.[Pubmed: 26125809]

Fungal endophytes live in the inner tissues of Clerodendrum inerme and may be significant resources for new chemicals in drug discovery. A total of 242 endophytic fungi were recovered from 602 sample segments of C. inerme; 66 were purified. The 66 fungi belonging to 16 taxa and 11 genera (Alternaria, Nigrospora, Bartalinia, Pestalotiopsis, Fusarium, Mycoleptodiscus, Trichoderma, Phomopsis, Diaporthe, Lasiodiplodia, and Curvularia) were identified by morphological characteristics and fungal internal transcribed spacer sequences. The most abundant genera were Alternaria and Lasiodiplodia. Some of the endophytes exhibited tissue specificity. The colonization frequencies of endophytes in the stems were evidently higher than those in the roots and leaves. The crude ethyl acetate extracts were tested against 6 endophytes isolated from C. inerme. Three of 10 (33.3%) endophytes, which were identified as Phomopsis sp, Curvularia sp, and Mycoleptodiscus sp, displayed distinct antifungal activity against ≥3 tested fungi. To our knowledge, this is the first report of an endophytic community associated with C. inerme in China and its antifungal activity in vitro.

Hispidulin, a constituent of Clerodendrum inerme that remitted motor tics, alleviated methamphetamine-induced hyperlocomotion without motor impairment in mice.[Pubmed: 25764963]

Previously, we found a patient with an intractable motor tic disorder that could be ameliorated by the ground leaf juice of Clerodendrum inerme (CI). Furthermore, the ethanol extract of CI leaves effectively ameliorated methamphetamine-induced hyperlocomotion (MIH) in mice, an animal model mimicking the hyper-dopaminergic status of tic disorders/Tourette syndrome, schizophrenia, or obsessive-compulsive disorder. Here, we for the first time identified a constituent able to reduce MIH from the CI ethanol extract that might represent a novel lead for the treatment of such disorders.

Bioassay-guided isolation and mechanistic action of anti-inflammatory agents from Clerodendrum inerme leaves.[Pubmed: 25725433]

The leaves of Clerodendrum inerme (L.) Gaertn. have commonly been used in Thai traditional medicine for treatment of inflammatory diseases. However, the bioactive compounds responsible for the anti-inflammatory effect of leaves have not been yet determined. The objective of the present study was to isolate these bioactive compounds by bioassay-guided isolation technique and to determine the mode of action of isolated compounds in LPS-induced macrophages.

A virus inhibitory protein isolated from Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taub. upon induction of systemic antiviral resistance shares partial amino acid sequence homology with a lectin.[Pubmed: 24828329]

Two virus inhibitory proteins were purified from Cyamopsis tetragonoloba , induced to resist virus infections by CIP-29, a systemic resistance inducing protein from Clerodendrum inerme, and characterized. One of them shared homology with a lectin. CIP-29, a known 29 kDa systemic antiviral resistance inducing protein isolated from Clerodendrum inerme, has been used to induce systemic resistance in Cyamopsis tetragonoloba against Sunn-hemp rosette virus (SRV). Paper reports the detection of virus inhibitory activity in induced-resistant leaf sap of C. tetragonoloba, and the purification of two virus inhibitory agents (VIAs) thereof. VIA activity was recorded as a reduction in lesion number of SRV, Tobacco mosaic virus, and Papaya ringspot virus, when they were incubated separately with resistant sap and inoculated onto susceptible C. tetragonoloba, Nicotiana tabacum cv. Xanthi-nc, and Chenopodium quinoa, respectively. The two VIAs were isolated from resistant C. tetragonoloba plant leaves using combinations of column chromatography. Both were basic proteins, and since their M r was 32 and 62 kDa, these VIAs were called CT-VIA-32 and CT-VIA-62, respectively, on the basis of their molecular mass and the host. CT-VIA-62 displayed better activity, and was thus studied further. It tested positive for a glycoprotein, and was serologically detected only in leaf tissue post-induction. Tryptic peptides generated in-gel, post SDS-PAGE of CT-VIA-62, were sequenced through LC/MS/MS. All CT-VIA-62 peptides were found to share homologies with proteins from Medicago truncatula that possess a mannose-binding lectin domain.

Acacetin inhibits glutamate release and prevents kainic acid-induced neurotoxicity in rats.[Pubmed: 24520409]

An excessive release of glutamate is considered to be a molecular mechanism associated with several neurological diseases that causes neuronal damage. Therefore, searching for compounds that reduce glutamate neurotoxicity is necessary. In this study, the possibility that the natural flavone acacetin derived from the traditional Chinese medicine Clerodendrum inerme (L.) Gaertn is a neuroprotective agent was investigated. The effect of acacetin on endogenous glutamate release in rat hippocampal nerve terminals (synaptosomes) was also investigated. The results indicated that acacetin inhibited depolarization-evoked glutamate release and cytosolic free Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)]C) in the hippocampal nerve terminals. However, acacetin did not alter synaptosomal membrane potential. Furthermore, the inhibitory effect of acacetin on evoked glutamate release was prevented by the Cav2.2 (N-type) and Cav2.1 (P/Q-type) channel blocker known as ω-conotoxin MVIIC. In a kainic acid (KA) rat model, an animal model used for excitotoxic neurodegeneration experiments, acacetin (10 or 50 mg/kg) was administrated intraperitoneally to the rats 30 min before the KA (15 mg/kg) intraperitoneal injection, and subsequently induced the attenuation of KA-induced neuronal cell death and microglia activation in the CA3 region of the hippocampus. The present study demonstrates that the natural compound, acacetin, inhibits glutamate release from hippocampal synaptosomes by attenuating voltage-dependent Ca(2+) entry and effectively prevents KA-induced in vivo excitotoxicity. Collectively, these data suggest that acacetin has the therapeutic potential for treating neurological diseases associated with excitotoxicity.

Two new chalcones from the flowers of Clerodendrum inerme.[Pubmed: 23738452]

Two new chalcones, 3-hydroxy-3',4'-dimethoxychalcone (1) and 3,2'-dihydroxy-3',4'-dimethoxychalcone (2), were isolated from the flowers of Clerodendrum inerme (L.) Gaertn together with two known flavones, 7-O-methylwogonin (3) and eucalyptin (4). The structures of the new compounds 1 and 2 have been established by extensive 2D-NMR and ESI-TOFMS studies.

Clerodendrum inerme Leaf Extract Alleviates Animal Behaviors, Hyperlocomotion, and Prepulse Inhibition Disruptions, Mimicking Tourette Syndrome and Schizophrenia.[Pubmed: 22844330]

Previously, we found a patient with intractable motor tic disorder, a spectrum of Tourette syndrome (TS), responsive to the ground leaf juice of Clerodendrum inerme (CI). Here, we examined the effect of the ethanol extract of CI leaves (CI extract) on animal behaviors mimicking TS, hyperlocomotion, and sensorimotor gating deficit. The latter is also observed in schizophrenic patients and can be reflected by a disruption of prepulse inhibition of acoustic startle response (PPI) in animal models induced by methamphetamine and NMDA channel blockers (ketamine or MK-801), based on hyperdopaminergic and hypoglutamatergic hypotheses, respectively. CI extract (10-300 mg/kg, i.p.) dose-dependently inhibited hyperlocomotion induced by methamphetamine (2 mg/kg, i.p.) and PPI disruptions induced by methamphetamine, ketamine (30 mg/kg, i.p.), and MK-801 (0.3 mg/kg, i.p.) but did not affect spontaneous locomotor activity, rotarod performance, and grip force. These results suggest that CI extract can relieve hyperlocomotion and improve sensorimotor gating deficit, supporting the therapeutic potential of CI for TS and schizophrenia.