Inactivation of enveloped viruses by anthraquinones extracted from plants.

To determine the extent of antiviral activity present in a number of plant extracts, hot glycerin extracts were prepared from Rheum officinale, Aloe barbadensis, Rhamnus frangula, Rhamnus purshianus, and Cassia angustifolia and their virucidal effects were tested against herpes simplex virus type 1. All the plant extracts inactivated the virus. The active components in these plants were separated by thin-layer chromatography and identified as anthraquinones.

Radiometric prescreen for antitumor activity with Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutant strain.

After modification, a technique for radiometrically measuring bacterial growth has been applied to a mutant strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The assay is based on inhibition of 14CO2 release from [14C]glucose, which provides an extremely sensitive measure of cellular respiratory activity and growth. The criterion for antitumor activity is the differential inhibition of wild-type and mutant (distorted cell membrane) strains of the yeast.

South American plants II: taspine isolation and anti-inflammatory activity.

Croton lechleri L. (Euphorbiaceae), a plant from the Upper Amazon Valley of Peru, yielded the alkaloid taspine. The anti-inflammatory activity of taspine hydrochloride was studied using the carrageenan-induced pedal edema method, the cotton pellet-induced granuloma method, and the adjuvant polyarthritis model.

South American plants III: Isolation of fulvoplumierin from Himatanthus sucuuba (M. Arg.) Woodson (Apocynaceae).

The bark of Himatanthus sucuuba was screened for pharmacological and anticancer activities. The lactone, fulvoplumierin (C14H12O4), was isolated from the n-hexane fraction. The identity was proven by elemental analysis and IR, mass spectral, and melting-point determinations.