South African Journal of Botany最新文献

{"title":"Comparative study of soxhlet and ultrasound-assisted extraction and encapsulation of bioactives from Moringa oleifera flower","authors":"Sathanya P S,&nbsp;Raja Rajeshwari E,&nbsp;Vignesh S,&nbsp;Chidanand DV,&nbsp;Baskaran N","doi":"10.1016/j.sajb.2025.05.035","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.sajb.2025.05.035","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Moringa oleifera</em>, commonly known as the drumstick tree, is valued for its rich nutritional and medicinal properties, with its flowers being a significant source of bioactive compounds. This study compares Soxhlet and ultrasound-assisted extraction methods using ethanol, methanol, and water to extract bioactive compounds from moringa flowers, followed by encapsulation using freeze-drying with different combinations of gum arabic (GA) and maltodextrin (MD) as wall materials. The extracts were analysed for total phenol and flavonoid content, antioxidant activity, and bioactive compounds via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS), revealing that ultrasound-assisted extraction with methanol was the most efficient and was further used for encapsulation. Encapsulated powders were evaluated for yield, encapsulation efficiency, powder flow properties, water activity, moisture content, color, solubility, absorption capacities, antioxidant activity, particle morphology, functional group analysis, X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), and antimicrobial activity. The highest yield (98.08 %) was achieved with a combination of GA and MD, and sample T6 exhibited the lowest water activity (0.26) and moisture content (5 %), indicating better shelf life and higher antimicrobial activity. The extract encapsulated with GA and MD showed the highest antioxidant activity, Total phenolic content (TPC), and Total flavonoid content (TFC). The GC–MS study confirmed bioactive retention, and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) highlighted freeze-dried powders' sharp, glass-like structure. Therefore, this study highlights the critical role of selecting the appropriate extraction technique and solvent for optimizing the yield of targeted bioactive compounds. It also provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of various wall materials in enhancing the efficiency of the encapsulation process.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21919,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Botany","volume":"184 ","pages":"Pages 4-17"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144168860","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Elicitation increased chromones accumulation and anti-inflammatory activity in Harrisonia perforata (Blanco) Merr. cell cultures","authors":"Panitch Boonsnongcheep ,&nbsp;Wasunan Petchprowsang ,&nbsp;Wassaya Akkakraisee ,&nbsp;Piriyakorn Pichetpongtorn ,&nbsp;Apichart Suksamrarn ,&nbsp;Suphakit Chantorn ,&nbsp;Somnuk Bunsupa ,&nbsp;Tharita Kitisripanya","doi":"10.1016/j.sajb.2025.05.031","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.sajb.2025.05.031","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Harrisonia perforata</em> is an essential ingredient in Thai traditional medicine’s Ha-Rak herbal preparation, traditionally requiring equal proportions of roots from five plants, raising sustainability concerns regarding sourcing from natural habitats. This study aimed to establish an in vitro callus and cell suspension culture system of <em>H. perforata</em> for sustainable production of two bioactive chromones—<em>O</em>-methylalloptaeroxylin and perforamone D—and to evaluate their anti-inflammatory potential. Optimal callus induction and cell suspension growth were achieved using Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 1.0 mg/L TDZ and 0.5 mg/L NAA. Treatment of cell suspension cultures with elicitors significantly enhances chromone accumulation. Maximum <em>O</em>-methylalloptaeroxylin (60.93 ± 0.62 µg/g DW; 19.2-fold increase) was recorded after elicitation with 10 µM salicylic acid (SA) for 3 days, while perforamone D reached its highest level (18.74 ± 1.17 µg/g DW; 1.7-fold increase) following treatment with 100 mg/L yeast extract (YE) for 3 days. Anti-inflammatory activity, assessed by nitric oxide inhibition in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages, correlated significantly with perforamone D concentration (<em>r</em> = 0.387, <em>p</em> &lt; 0.01). The established in vitro culture system demonstrates the potential for sustainable production of these valuable compounds. However, further optimization is required for practical large-scale applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21919,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Botany","volume":"183 ","pages":"Pages 187-192"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144166438","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Harnessing Cuminum cyminum L. (cumin) essential oil as a promising biocontrol agent against Ascochyta rabiei: Insights from screening and in planta evaluation","authors":"Hafiz Muhammad Saqib ,&nbsp;Sobia Chohan ,&nbsp;Muhammad Azeem ,&nbsp;Muhammad Farhan Ul Haque ,&nbsp;Muhammad Abid","doi":"10.1016/j.sajb.2025.05.034","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.sajb.2025.05.034","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Essential oils (EOs) derived from the 38 aromatic plants were screened by the well diffusion method for their antifungal potential against <em>Ascochyta rabiei</em>, causing chickpea blight disease. Fifteen EOs were tested for antifungal activity, with <em>Cuminum cyminum</em> L. EO demonstrating the strongest antifungal effect. Based on these results, it was selected for further investigation of its <em>in planta</em> antifungal activity against the disease. The 0.5 mL/L dose of <em>C. cyminum</em> L. EO was identified as the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), while the 1 mL/L dose was the minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC), where it completely inhibited spore germination. At these concentrations, <em>C. cyminum</em> EO induced significant morphological changes in the fungal hyphae, including degeneration, reduced branching, loss of septations, vesicle formation, shriveling, and lysis. Additionally, it increased cell membrane permeability and glycerol content. It exhibits complete fungistatic activity as a volatile at a concentration of 10 µL when applied to a 90 mm Petri plates. GC-MS analysis revealed that the main components of <em>C. cyminum</em> EO were cuminaldehyde (37.7%), α-terpinene-7-al (28.4%), p-cymene (12.2%), and γ-terpinene-7-al (7.9%). <em>C. cyminum</em> EO showed good antioxidant activity by exhibiting 86 % hydrogen peroxide radical scavenging activity (HPRSA) at MIC, 85.3 % at MFC. In a greenhouse <em>in planta</em> experiments, <em>C. cyminum</em> EO significantly reduced the disease incidence and severity by 79.12 % and 88.17 %, respectively. These findings suggest that <em>C. cyminum</em> EO could serve as a potential biocontrol against <em>Ascochyta rabiei</em>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21919,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Botany","volume":"183 ","pages":"Pages 147-157"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144154367","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Distribution of nutritional components in grains, shoot and flowers of common and tartary buckwheat landrace variety collected from Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh","authors":"Kirti Raina,&nbsp;Ashun Chaudhary","doi":"10.1016/j.sajb.2025.05.017","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.sajb.2025.05.017","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study mainly focuses on the proportion and distribution of various nutrient components in shoots, grains, and flowers of the landrace variety of common and tartary buckwheat grown by local farmers in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh. Among all the samples analyzed, tartary buckwheat grains and common buckwheat grains showed the highest carbohydrate content i.e., 50.81 % and 44.66 %, respectively. In both species lowest carbohydrate content was observed in the flower portion (16–21 %). The highest crude fiber percentage was detected in common buckwheat shoot (41.2 %). The highest protein content was reported in tartary buckwheat shoot (37.99 %), while the lowest protein content was observed in grains of common buckwheat (20.99 %). Common buckwheat showed a slightly higher fat percentage than tartary buckwheat. Oleic acid (OA), linoleic acid (LA), and palmitic acid (PA) are the dominant fatty acids reported from both species. OA (C18:1) and LA (C18:2) are found in the highest amount in grain oil of both tartary and common buckwheat. While in case of shoot oil, PA is the main constituent followed by gondoic acid and LA in common and tartary buckwheat, respectively. Flower oil showed lower content of LA (24.31 %) in case of common buckwheat than tartary buckwheat flower oil (38.65 %). All the studied elements showed variable distribution in different parts of the plant samples. P, S, Na, Fe, and Cu are reported in the highest amount in tartary buckwheat shoots and K is found in maximum concentration (40.40 g/Kg) in common buckwheat grains. The highest level of Ca and Mn was detected in common buckwheat shoot, while that of Zn in tartary buckwheat flowers (90.15 mg/Kg). This study revealed the distribution of various nutrient components in different parts of the landrace variety of buckwheat. This can be implicated in crop breeding programs for the selection of elite landraces and functional food development</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21919,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Botany","volume":"183 ","pages":"Pages 158-166"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144154368","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pectin and starch- based composite coating functionalized with snake plant (Dracaena trifasciata) extract: Shelf-life extension and suppression of anthracnose in banana","authors":"Misha Poddar ,&nbsp;Aundy Kumar ,&nbsp;Aditi Kundu ,&nbsp;Bindvi Arora ,&nbsp;Alexander Balamurugan ,&nbsp;Eldho Varghese ,&nbsp;Dinesh Kumar ,&nbsp;Charanjit Kaur","doi":"10.1016/j.sajb.2025.05.030","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.sajb.2025.05.030","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The study examined the antifungal effects of a phenolic-rich extract (SE) from the Snake plant (<em>Dracaena trifasciata</em>) when added to a pectin-starch composite coating (PS) to prolong the shelf life of bananas. The antifungal properties of SE in the composite coating were tested against anthracnose (<em>Colletotrichum musae</em>) through both <em>in-vitro</em> and <em>in-vivo</em> experiments. Over 12 days under ambient conditions, the impact of PS, PS-P (10 % SE), and PS-PP (20 % SE) on the physicochemical quality (weight loss, soluble solid content, acidity, colour), physiological attributes (ethylene production, respiration rate, texture), and functional quality (total phenolic content and antioxidant activity) of bananas was monitored. The results showed that bananas coated with PS-PP exhibited significantly lower decay incidence (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05) and maintained superior quality attributes, such as higher firmness, yellow peel colour, and reduced respiration and ethylene production rates. The respiratory climacteric peak in coated fruits was delayed by four days compared to the control, which peaked on the fourth day. On the eighth day, PS-PP-coated bananas retained higher levels of total phenolics (93.57 %) and antioxidant activity (71.21 %) compared to the control fruits, which showed 49.23 % TPC and 27.96 % AOX. Overall, the PS-PP coating extended bananas’ shelf life and marketability by four days. The study suggests that SE can be effectively used as a natural agent for controlling postharvest diseases.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21919,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Botany","volume":"183 ","pages":"Pages 167-178"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144166439","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Colored cultivation benches increase the production and bioactive compounds in arugula","authors":"Tamiris Dias Santana ,&nbsp;Thaise Dantas ,&nbsp;Maria Ingrid de Souza ,&nbsp;Edilson Costa ,&nbsp;Flávio Ferreira da Silva Binotti ,&nbsp;Eduardo Pradi Vendruscolo ,&nbsp;Gustavo Haralampidou da Costa Vieira ,&nbsp;Giovana Pinheiro Viana da Silva ,&nbsp;Paulo Henrique Rosa Melo ,&nbsp;Silvana de Paula Quintão Scalon","doi":"10.1016/j.sajb.2025.05.036","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.sajb.2025.05.036","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Eruca sativa</em> makes a significant contribution to human nutrition, as it contains various bioactive components that can help prevent heart disease. The use of colored laminates can interfere with the production of bioactive compounds. This study aimed to evaluate the growth and production of bioactive compounds in arugulas on colored reflective cultivation benches. The experiment was conducted in two protected environments: a greenhouse (covered with low-density polyethylene film and Aluminet®) and a screenhouse (covered and closed at 45 degrees with black monofilament screen). The experiment was conducted with five treatments: T1: control; T2: bench covered with bright white laminate; T3: bench with bright red laminate; T4: bench with bright blue laminate, and T5: bench with bright yellow laminate. Reflective bright Formica® promoted the colors of the benches. The cultivation bench covered with bright white reflective material had the highest reflectance. The cultivation benches covered with white, red, yellow, and blue laminates increased the number of leaves, leaf area, fresh and dry matter of the plant. The benches, covered with blue laminate, increased the production of bioactive compounds, including chlorophylls and carotenoids. Considering the results observed in this study, it can be affirmed that the use of colored cultivation benches yields promising results, as evidenced by the fact that the laminates have a positive influence on the growth and production of bioactive compounds in arugula in both cycles. Regarding the growing environment, although the greenhouse produced better plants, the difference was not significantly different from that of the screenhouse.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21919,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Botany","volume":"183 ","pages":"Pages 136-146"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144154355","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Physio-biochemical assessment during seed development, maturation, and load management for targeting seed yield and quality in leafy chenopod (Chenopodium album L.)","authors":"M. Linga Swami Sai Reddy ,&nbsp;Prashant Kumar Rai ,&nbsp;Shivam Kumar Rai ,&nbsp;Binod Kumar Singh ,&nbsp;Rajeev Kumar ,&nbsp;Vidya Sagar ,&nbsp;Vikas Singh ,&nbsp;Rajesh Kumar ,&nbsp;Nakul Gupta","doi":"10.1016/j.sajb.2025.05.009","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.sajb.2025.05.009","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Seed production of nutritionally and pharmaceutically rich leafy chenopod suffers from the presence of chaffy and inviable seeds. This study addresses the issue of a higher proportion of under-developed and low seed germination in leafy chenopod by identifying morpho-, physio- and biochemical markers for optimal seed harvesting stage and seed load management through branch restriction (i.e. 5, 10, 15, all branches). In first experiment, the panicles of ten plants in three replications were tagged, and seed growth was monitored from 20 days after anthesis (DAA) to 60 DAA at 10-day interval. The panicle contains a large number of flowers or glomeruli arranged in a very compact manner, sometimes overlapping the stigmas of adjacent ovaries, which hinders the pollen availability and resulted in significant development of under-developed seed. The seed moisture content decreased, whereas dry and fresh seed weight increased from 20 to 60 DAA. Total soluble sugar (TSS) and total soluble protein (TSP) levels decreased by 1.25-fold and 1.90-fold, respectively, whereas starch increased by 1.74-fold during this period. Seed germination potential was attained at 40 DAA, however maximum germination was observed at 60 DAA when seed turns dark green to golden-yellow, hence considered optimal for seed harvesting. In second experiment, restricting branches to 5 or 10 significantly improved seed quality and dry weight due to significant increase in assimilates. This indicated a targeted food supply to a limited number of seeds. The positive effects of seed load management were more pronounced in the main panicle compared to side panicles. The higher activity of scavenging enzymes reduced the Malondialdehyde (MDA) and H₂O₂ content and improved seed quality. The findings address the problem of underdeveloped seed with low germination and provide valuable insight for breeding programme aimed at improving seed yield and quality, ultimately promote commercial cultivation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21919,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Botany","volume":"183 ","pages":"Pages 126-135"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144154354","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Resurrection of Talbotia as a monotypic genus in Velloziaceae","authors":"K. Balkwill ,&nbsp;D. McMurtry ,&nbsp;S. Burns","doi":"10.1016/j.sajb.2025.05.027","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.sajb.2025.05.027","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The recognition of <em>Talbotia</em> as a separate genus has been controversial for over 150 years. We have consolidated information available in the literature and added much information that we have gained in the field and from examination of many cultivated specimens. We have compiled a list of 32 characters from the literature and our observations that clearly differentiate <em>Talbotia</em> from <em>Xerophyta</em> and another six characters where there is a small amount of overlap between <em>Talbotia</em> and a minority of species of <em>Xerophyta.</em> Although there are molecular-based phylogenies available for African Velloziaceae, they either include few species or are based on only a single gene region. In the first case, <em>Talbotia</em> is sister to all five included taxa of <em>Xerophyta</em> and in the second case, <em>Talbotia</em> appears to be related to the shrubby species of <em>Xerophyta</em> rather than the herbaceous ones. This may indicate that further investigation based on more species and more gene regions may reveal that additional genera should be recognised to appropriately reflect the relationships between Old World Velloziaceae. In the meanwhile, we are resurrecting <em>Talbotia</em> as this would not render <em>Xerophyta</em> poly- or paraphyletic and so that the large number of differences between <em>Talbotia</em> and <em>Xerophyta</em> are not obscured by its combination with <em>Xerophyta</em>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21919,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Botany","volume":"183 ","pages":"Pages 113-125"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144154445","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles from Dimorphocalyx glabellus and in-silico assessment of leaf extract for its anti-rheumatic capability via binding of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α)","authors":"Elumalai Pandian ,&nbsp;Sorimuthu Revathi ,&nbsp;Moogambigai Sugumar","doi":"10.1016/j.sajb.2025.05.022","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.sajb.2025.05.022","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Nanotechnology is widely recognised as one of the most important advances in science from the last decades. Its numerous applications and rapidly expanding demand have led the way for innovative approaches to the synthesis of nanomaterials of higher quality. Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using the <em>Dimorphocalyx glabellus</em> (Sny. <em>Tritaxis glabella</em> Thwaites R.Y.Yu &amp; Welzen var. <em>glabella</em>) which has many medicinal properties including treatment of psoriasis and it also has anti-diabetic, anti-diuretic and anti-rheumatic property. The present study assessed with methanolic extract leaves of <em>D. glabellus</em> and its characterization through GC–MS analysis to identify the phyto-constituents. Moreover, AgNPs were synthesized using the leaf extract of <em>D. glabellus</em> and subsequently characterized using UV–Vis Spectrophotometer, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) techniques to verify the formation of AgNPs within the plant extract. The analysis of FTIR spectra revealed the presence of various functional groups such as carboxyl, amine, and phenolic compounds which play a vital role in the reduction of silver ions in the leaf extract of <em>D. glabellus</em>. Furthermore, the phyto-constituents compounds in the plant extract were studied in-silico for possible interaction with TNF-alpha, vital for rheumatoid arthritis and other diseases. This suggests the potential use of these phyto-constituents of <em>D. glabellus</em> as a natural remedy for the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis, offering a promising alternative to traditional medications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21919,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Botany","volume":"183 ","pages":"Pages 103-112"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144137677","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"HPTLC and LCMS based investigation of ethanolic leaf extracts of Nerium oleander and identification of quercetin as potent compound targeting plasmodium proteases: An analytical and in silico approach","authors":"Rajesh Tiwari ,&nbsp;Mohammad Khalid Parvez ,&nbsp;M.Arockia Babu ,&nbsp;Mohammed S. Al-Dosari ,&nbsp;Thakur Gurjeet Singh ,&nbsp;Kapil Kumar Goel ,&nbsp;Nemat Ali ,&nbsp;Yogita Tyagi ,&nbsp;Umesh Yadav ,&nbsp;Bhupinder Kumar ,&nbsp;Nisha Bansal","doi":"10.1016/j.sajb.2025.05.024","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.sajb.2025.05.024","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Malaria, a vector-borne disease, is an infectious human illness majorly affecting tropical and subtropical countries. The development of resistant malarial parasites, mainly “<em>Plasmodium falciparum</em>,” has urged the exploration of natural bioactive compounds to combat these resistant malarial <em>Plasmodium</em> strains. Among numerous druggable antimalarial targets, malarial proteases, particularly the threonine proteases, have been explored less. In the present work, we explored the reported phytoconstituents from the leaf extracts of Nerium oleander using <em>in-silico</em> studies. The reported phytoconstituents derived from the ethanolic fractions were screened through high-throughput virtual screening, followed by molecular docking and dynamics. The work identified quercetin as a plausible molecule that plausibly inhibits the threonine proteases in plasmodium. Additionally, the analytical analysis of the most potent ethanolic fraction via HPTLC and LCMS revealed the prominent presence of quercetin. The work also corroborates our previous findings whereby bioassay-guided fractionation of ethanolic fraction portrayed the maximal anti-plasmodial inhibitory activity. The present research plausibly validates that quercetin may interact with the threonine proteases as an additional target to elicit its antimalarial attribute. Thus, quercetin allows for selective development as a putative lead with antimalarial potential by targeting the plasmodium proteases.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21919,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Botany","volume":"183 ","pages":"Pages 42-50"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144116584","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}