Antibacterial and antibiotic-potentiation activity of the constituents from aerial part of Donella welwitshii (Sapotaceae) against multidrug resistant phenotypes.

Background: The rise of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria is a real public health problem worldwide and is responsible for the increase in hospital infections. Donella welwitschii is a liana or shrub belonging to the family Sapotaceae and traditionally used to cure coughs.

Objective: This study was conducted with the objective to validate the medicinal properties of this plant, the aerial part was studied for its phytochemical composition using column and PTLC chromatography and exploring its antibacterial and antibiotic-modifying activity as well as those of its phytochemicals.

Botanicals from the leaves of had better cytotoxic effects than isolated phytochemicals towards MDR cancer cells lines.

The efficiency of cancer chemotherapy is seriously hampered by the development of resistance of neoplastic cells to cytotoxic agents. In the present investigation, the cytotoxicity of the dichloromethane-methanol (1:1) extract of (ASL), fractions (ASLa-c) from the leaves and isolated compounds: chrysoeriol-7--rutinoside (), luteolin-7--rutinoside (), chrysoeriol-7---glucopyranoside (), Apigenin-7---glucopyranoside (), luteolin-3',4'-dimethoxylether-7---glucoside () and luteolin () was investigated. The study was extended to the assessment of the mode of induction of apoptosis by ASL.