Evaluation of Biological Activities of Extracts and Chemical Constituents of Mimusops elengi

Purpose: To isolate some compounds from the leaves and bark of Mimusops elengi, and examine them for their antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Experimental: The compounds were isolated from the leaf and bark chloroform extracts using column chromatography, and characterized using physical and spectroscopic methods. The isolated compounds and their respective extracts were tested for antibacterial activity by micro-dilution antibacterial assay, and for anti-inflammatory activity by cyclooxygenase inhibitory assay. Results: of the compounds isolated include spinasterol (1), ursolic acid (2) and 3 beta, 6 beta, 19 alpha, 23-tetrahydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid (3) from the leaves; and taraxerol (4) and spinasterol beta-D-glucopyranoside (5) from the bark. A majority of the samples showed good activity against Staphylococcus aureus (9.7 - 78.0 mu g/mL), while moderate activity was observed against Gram-negative bacteria (78.0 - 156 mu g/mL). Strong COX inhibition was observed for the leaf extract, and (1); selective COX-2 inhibition for (2) and (3); and selective COX-1 inhibition for bark extract, (4) and (5). Conclusion: This is the first report describing the anti-inflammatory potential of M. elengi on the basis of its isolated constituents. The results of this study support the traditional use of the plant as antibacterial and anti-inflammatory remedy.