African Journal of
Biotechnology

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Biotechnol.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1684-5315
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJB
  • Start Year: 2002
  • Published Articles: 12502

Full Length Research Paper

Cytotoxicity and antimicrobial studies of 1,6,8-trihydroxy-3-methyl-anthraquinone (emodin) isolated from the leaves of Cassia nigricans Vahl

R. G. Ayo1, J. O. Amupitan2 and Yimin Zhao3
  1Samaru College of Agriculture, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria. 2Department of Chemistry, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria. 3Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Beijing, PR China.
Email: [email protected]

  •  Accepted: 21 May 2007
  •  Published: 04 June 2007

Abstract

 

Emodin was isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of the leaves of Cassia nigricansVahl. The structure of the emodin was established by chemical spectroscopy. The LC50(lower – upper limits) of the emodin was 42.77 (11.80 – 72.94) µg/ml. Emodin was found to be highly cytotoxic. It showed significant antimicrobial activity on some common pathogens. The isolation of this active principle emodin, from the leaves ofCassia nigricans for the first time and the antimicrobial activity of the compound are reported in the present study. The isolation of the active principle justifies the use of the leaves of C. nigricans in herbal medicine for the treatment of skin diseases and gastro-intestinal disorders.

 

Key words: Cassia nigricans, leguminosae, emodin, cytotoxicity, antimicrobial activity.

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This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0

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