Biotechnology

Anthocyanins, a large group of red-blue plant pigments, occur in flowers and fruits of higher plants. The fruits of Cocculus hirsutus (L.) Diels was extracted with acidified methanol and used for phytochemicals and antioxidant activity analysis. The total flavonoid, anthocyanin and phenol content were found to be 260±20 mg/g, 0.788±0.236 mg/g and 326.66±3.05 mg/g respectively. DPPH, ABTS and Nitric oxidescavenging activity exhibited an IC50 value of111.35±1.12, 80.90±0.39 and 79.84±1.48 respectively. The IC50 value of reducing power assay, inhibition of lipid peroxidase in egg yolk and Metal chelating and was identified to be 97.03 ±0.88, 107.6±0.48 and 200.27±1.85µg/ml respectively. The positive control showed an IC50 value of 39.78 ±0.07, 23.68±0.06, 63.62±1.22, 53.74±1.34, and 70.59±2.8 and 51.26±0.39 µg/ml respectively. The total antioxidant activity of the fruit anthocyanin exhibited highest absorbance of 0.382±0.005 for 100µg/ml concentration.

Momordica charantia L. is an essential oil-bearing plant of the family Cucurbitaceae. Not much has been described about the plant on literature survey. Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/ MS) analysis of the essential oil reported the presence of major volatile components, such as 5-(Hydroxymethyl)-2-(1-methyl-2-imidazolyl)-1H-benzimidazole (79.18 %) and as 2-Cyclohexen-1-one, 2-methyl-5-(1-methylethenyl), (R)-(13.90 %). The essential oil mainly consists of Benzimidazoles (79.18 %) and oxygen derivative monoterpenoids (13.09 %) in the total oil. The essential oil exhibited strong activity against all the tested bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus, and antifungal activity against Candida tropicalis. The highest percentage of inhibition by the essential oil was found against the bacteria, K. pneumoniae followed by E. coli, S. aureus and P. aeruginosa respectively, and the fungi C. tropicalis. The present result revealed that essential oil of M. charantia seed possesses potent antimicrobial properties and could be taken as a source for the production of future antimicrobial drugs. This is the first report where the major compound 5-(Hydroxymethyl)-2-(1-methyl-2-imidazolyl)-1H-benzimidazole (79.18 %) was isolated from M. charantia seed oil from the Western Ghats of South India.

Abstract Momordica charantia L. is an essential oil-bearing plant of the family Cucurbitaceae. Not much has been described about the plant on literature survey. Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/ MS) analysis of the essential oil reported the presence of major volatile components, such as 5-(Hydroxymethyl) -2-(1-methyl-2-imidazolyl)-1H-benzimidazole (79.18 %) and as 2-Cyclohexen-1-one, 2-methyl-5-(1-methylethenyl), (R)- (13.90 %). The essential oil mainly consists of Benzimidazoles (79.18 %) and oxygen derivative monoterpenoids (13.09 %) in the total oil. The essential oil exhibited strong activity against all the tested bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus, and antifungal activity against Candida tropicalis. The highest percentage of inhibition by the essential oil was found against the bacteria, K. pneumoniae followed by E. coli, S. aureus and P. aeruginosa respectively, and the fungi C. tropicalis. The present result revealed that essential oil of M. charantia seed possesses potent antimicrobial properties and could be taken as a source for the production of future antimicrobial drugs. This is the first report where the major compound 5-(Hydroxymethyl)-2-(1-methyl-2-imidazolyl)-1H-benzimidazole (79.18 %) was isolated from M. charantia seed oil from the Western Ghats of South India. Key word: Momordica charantia, essential oil, GC/MS, inhibition, antimicrobial properties.