Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Apr 14;6(2):183-192.
doi: 10.5455/javar.2019.f330. eCollection 2019 Jun.

Toxicological studies and bioactivity-guided identification of antimicrobially active compounds from crude aqueous stem bark extract of Boswellia dalzielii

Bahauddeen Salisu Dandashire  1 , Abdulkadir Magaji Magashi  2 , Bashir Abdulkadir  1 , Muhammad Adamu Abbas  3 , Mohammed Dauda Goni  4 , Abdulmalik Yakubu  1
Affiliations

Toxicological studies and bioactivity-guided identification of antimicrobially active compounds from crude aqueous stem bark extract of Boswellia dalzielii

Bahauddeen Salisu Dandashire et al. J Adv Vet Anim Res. .

Abstract

Objective: The main objective of this study is to isolate, identify, and quantify the active antimicrobial compounds present in the crude aqueous stem bark extract of B. dalzielii using some common pathogenic microorganisms as well as toxicological profile.

Material and methods: Crude aqueous stem bark extract of Boswellia dalzielii (CASEB) was partitioned by preparative thin layer chromatography (PTLC) using chloroform-methanol-water, 8:2:1 (v/v). The resulting bands were extracted using chloroform-methanol (50:50). The extract of each band was evaluated for antimicrobial activity on Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus mirabilis, Salmonella typhi, and Candida albicans by disc diffusion. Compounds in the most antimicrobially bioactive fraction (MAAF) were identified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry (FT-IR), and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Toxicological profile of the CASEB was evaluated by studying its effect in albino Wister rats.

Results: PTLC produced five bands/fractions of which the MAAF was identified as RF2-fraction being active against all the isolates except E. coli and K. pneumoniae. HPLC of the MAAF revealed seven components; FT-IR revealed 17 functional groups; GC-MS revealed five compounds of which 93.18% are Oleic acid (44.88%), Squalene (34.16%), and n-Hexadecanoic acid (14.14%). The acute toxicity showed LD50 > 3,000 mg/kg. Sub-chronic toxicity showed that higher doses of the CASEB caused significant changes in liver function indices and a fatty change with lymphocytic infiltration (sign of acute hepatitis) in the liver tissues, but none of these changes were observed in the kidneys.

Conclusion: The antimicrobially active compounds in CASEB were Oleic acid, Squalene, and n-Hexadecanoic acid. These can be further purified and used as precursors of new antimicrobial agents for treating infections especially those due to fungi and Pseudomonas spp. that are known to resist wide array of antimicrobial agents. The LD50 of CASEB is >3,000 mg/kg in rats. However, long-term consumption of CASEB is associated with significant liver damage.

Keywords: Antimicrobial; Boswellia dalzielii; GC-MS; HPLC; bioactivity; chromatography; spectrophotometry; subchronic toxicity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. HPLC chromatogram of the blank/distilled water (negative control; 1a) and HPLC chromatogram of the most bioactive TLC fraction (RF 2; 1b) of aqueous extract of stem bark of Boswellia dalzielii, respectively.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. FTIR spectra of most bioactive TLC fraction (RF 2) of aqueous extract of stem bark of Boswellia dalzielii.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.. GC-MS showing TIC of most bioactive TLC fraction (RF 2) of aqueous extract of stem bark of Boswellia dalzielii.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.. (A) Micrograph of liver of the control groups showing normal histology. Mg = ×400; (B) Micrograph of liver of the group treated with 900 mg/kg showing normal histology. Mg = ×400; (C) Micrograph of liver of the group treated with 1,800 mg/kg showing fatty change and dilated central vain indicated with arrow. Mg = ×400; (D) Micrograph of liver of the Group treated with 2,700 mg/kg showing fatty change and lymphocytic infiltration (Sign of acute hepatitis) indicated with arrow. Mg = ×400, (E) Micrograph of Kidney of the control groups showing normal histology. Mg = ×400; and (F) Micrograph of Kidney of the Group treated with the highest concentration of the extract (2,700 mg/kg) showing normal histology. Mg = ×400.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Amudha P, Prabakaran R, Senthil KS, Gopinath LR. Phytochemical analysis of Albizia chinensis (Osbeck) merr medicinal plant. IOSR J Pharm Biol Sci. 2017;12:89–92.
    1. Ekor M. The growing use of herbal medicines: issues relating to adverse reactions and challenges in monitoring safety. Front Pharmacol. 2014;4:177. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2013.00177. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Piao G, Haidan Y, Qianqian M, Li Y. The traditional medicine and modern medicine from natural products. Molecules. 2016;21(559):1–18. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules21050559. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ramesh L, Londonkar UMK, Kirankumar S, Rathee D, Deepti R, Permender R, et al. Phytochemical screening and antimicrobial activity of Picrorrhiza kurroa, an Indian traditional plant used to treat chronic diarrhea. Arab J Chem. 2012;9(Suppl 2):S1307–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arabjc.2012.02.009.
    1. Rathee D, Rathee P, Rathee S, Rathee D. Phytochemical screening and antimicrobial activity of Picrorrhiza kurroa, an Indian traditional plant used to treat chronic diarrhea. Arab J Chem. 2016;9(Suppl 2):S1307–313. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arabjc.2012.02.009.

LinkOut - more resources