Browsing by Author "Chukwujekwu, Jude Chinedu."

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Micropropagation and acclimatization of Aloe polyphylla and Platycerium bifurcatum.
(2001) Chukwujekwu, Jude Chinedu.; Van Staden, Johannes.; Fennell, Catherine W.
Shoot cultures of Aloe polyphylla were initiated from young shoot explants of in vitro grown plants. The basal medium was MS medium (MURASHIGE and SKOOG, 1962), supplemented with 100 mgl ¯¹ myo-inositol, and 30 gl ¯¹ sucrose. Agar (0.8 %) was used as the gelling agent. Different cytokinins, singly or in combination with auxins (IBA and NAA), were tested for shoot proliferation activity. All the cytokinins tested (kinetin, zeatin, iP, and BA) gave a good shoot proliferation response. The optimal concentrations for shoot proliferation of each of the cytokinins tested were: zeatin (0.5 mgl ¯¹), kinetin (1.5 mgl ¯¹), iP (1.0 mg ¯¹) and BA (1.5 mgl ¯¹). In combination with auxins, the optimal combinations were kinetin/NAA (2.0/0.1 mgl ¯¹), kinetin/lBA (1.5/1.0 mgl ¯¹), zeatin/lBA (1.0/0.5 mgl ¯¹), zeatin/NAA (1.0/1.0 mgl ¯¹), BA/IBA (1.0/1.0 mgl ¯¹), BA/NAA (1.5/0.1 mgl ¯¹). Although it gave the highest number of shoots per explant, BA was responsible for hyperhydricity. Temperature and sucrose also influenced shoot proliferation. The optimal temperature was 25°C, while 30 gl ¯¹ was the optimal concentration of sucrose for shoot proliferation. Plants rooted well in plant growth regulator-free MS medium. Amongst the potting mixtures tested, soil: sand: vermiculite (1:1:1 v/v) was the best with 98 % plantlet survival. In the second part of this project, Platycerium bifurcatum cultures were established using leaf explants. The basal medium was MS medium (MURASHIGE and SKOOG, 1962), supplemented with 100 mgl ¯¹ myo-inositol and 30 g l ¯¹ sucrose. For bud initiation, 1.0 mgl ¯¹ BA was used, while 0.8 % agar was used as the gelling agent. Three different strengths of MS medium (full, half, and one-quarter strength) without plant growth regulators were tested for further bud growth and development. Half-strength MS proved to be the best for further bud growth and development. Rooting was best achieved in one-quarter strength MS medium without plant growth regulators. In vitro grown plantlets were successfully acclimatized using peat as the potting medium.
A pharmacological study of some Nigerian medicinal plants.
(2005) Chukwujekwu, Jude Chinedu.; Van Staden, Johannes.
Petroleum ether, dichloromethane, and 80% ethanol extracts of 15 plant species collected in Nigeria were screened for in vitro antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antimalarial activities. Antibacterial activity was tested using the agar diffusion method, while the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of the active extracts were determined using the microtitre serial dilution method. Most antibacterial activity detected was against Gram-positive bacteria with Staphylococcus aureus being the most susceptible. The highest activity was found in petroleum ether and dichloromethane leaf extracts of Mallotus oppositifolius; petroleum ether, dichloromethane and ethanolic root extracts of Newbouldia laevis; and ethanolic root extracts of Morinda lucida and Canthium subcordatum. Against the Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli, the highest activity was found in dichloromethane leaf extracts of Newbouldia laevis, ethanolic root extracts of Phyllanthus amarus, Mallotus oppositifolius, and Canthium subcordatum. A total of 60 plant extracts were screened for antiplasmodial activity. A chloroquine sensitive strain of Plasmodium falciparum (D10) was used. In the assay, the parasite lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH) activity was used to measure parasite viability. About 11 extracts showed promising activity with an IC₅₀ ranging from 2.5 to 13.4 µg/ml. The petroleum ether leaf extract of Hyptis suaveolens had the highest activity (IC₅₀ = 2.5 µg/ml). The cyclooxygenase (COX-1 and COX-2) assays were used to test for anti-inflammatory activity. All the plant species, with the exception of Hedranthera barteri and Picralima nitida showed anti-inflammatory activity. Apart for a few ethanolic extracts, all the activities were recorded with petroleum ether and dichloromethane extracts. Employing bioassay-guided activity fractionation, an antibacterial anthraquinone identified as emodin was isolated from ethanolic root extract of Senna occidentalis. Although this compound had been isolated from other sources, this was the first report of isolation from Senna occidentalis. Using a similar approach a novel antimalarial diterpenoid was isolated from the petroleum ether leaves extract of Hyptis suaveolens. It had IC₅₀ of 0.1 µg/ml. This new compound is worthy of further investigation and may act as an important lead compound for future antimalarial drugs.