Background. Cassia spectabilis is a flowering plant containing various metabolites that provide potential for pharmacological activities. The current study aimed to investigate the ethanolic and water extracts of C. spectabilis as cholinesterase inhibitor as one of the target treatments for Alzheimers disease. The chemical composition of the extracts was also studied to determine which components are responsible for the bioactivity. Methods. The cholinesterase inhibitory activity assay was carried out by the modified Ellmans method against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE). LC-MS/MS analysis was carried out to investigate the chemical profiles of the extracts, followed by a molecular networking study by GNPS. Results. Both extracts showed inhibition against AChE and BChE in a dose-dependent manner, with the higher potency exhibited by the ethanolic extract with IC50 values of 7.88 and 3.78μg/mL. The chemical analysis and molecular networking study of the flower extracts revealed similarity between the ethanolic and water extracts. Piperidine alkaloids were identified in both extracts, while the sphingolipid compounds were found in the ethanolic extract. Conclusion. The water and ethanolic extracts of C. spectabilis flowers displayed potency for Alzheimers disease treatment. The presence of piperidine alkaloids in the extract may be responsible for the cholinesterase inhibitory activity. The higher potency of the ethanolic extract compared to the water extract is possibly due to the higher amount of piperidine alkaloids in the ethanolic extract. Further study is needed to quantify the concentration of alkaloids in the extracts.

In this study, we investigated the phenolic and antioxidant content, cytotoxic, and anticholinesterase activities of flower extracts of Senna spectabilis var. excelsa and Senna macranthera. The antioxidant activities performed by the DPPH and ABTS methods showed that the extracts possess good antioxidant activity, with emphasis on the S. macranthera extract, which obtained results very similar to the rutin pattern. In the evaluation of the cytotoxic activity, the species S. spectabilis var. excelsa presented expressive cytotoxicity against the cellular lines PC3 and HL60 with IC₅₀ values 21.08 and 31.37 μg mL⁻¹, respectively. The results of anticholinesterase activity showed that both the plants induced enzyme inhibition, reaching 14 mm of inhibition in the case of S. spectabilis var. excelsa. The good results obtained in this work may be related to the presence of compounds such as apigenin-7-apioglucoside, quercetin 3,4'-diglucoside, cassine and spectaline identified in the extracts in our previous work. Graphical Abstract

Background The present investigation was aimed at establishing the pharmacognostical parameters and preliminary phytochemical screening of Annona reticulata Linn. (Annonaceae) root. Pharmacognostical studies and phytochemical evaluation of A. reticulata root were carried out by following standard procedures to provide information that help to identify the species. The species of Annonaceae family are documented to possess anticonvulsant property, while A. reticulata and its root are reported to be used as a folklore medicine to treat epilepsy. In this study, anti-convulsant activity of the root extract was further investigated in mouse model with seizures induced by pentylenetetrazole (PTZ; 60 mg/kg, i.p.). Diazepam (5 mg/kg) was used as a standard anti-convulsant drug. Prior to induction of seizures, ethanol extract (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg, p.o.,) and 0.1% sodium CMC were administered. Later, the onset, duration of convulsions along with recovery was recorded. Results A. reticulata can be recognized by its crown shape, leaves with lengthy petioles, fleshy petals and heart-shaped fruits. Roots are cylindrical with rootlets and have aromatic odour. Presence of oil globules and rhomboidal calcium oxalate crystals in cortex, sclerenchyma cells in cortex and secondary phloem, starch grains in cortex, secondary phloem and secondary xylem, and uni- to tri-seriate medullary rays are the key diagnostic characters of root. Preliminary phytochemical screening of extracts revealed the presence of phenolic compounds, tannins, alkaloids, carbohydrates, flavonoids, glycosides, saponins, proteins, fixed oil and fats. The total alkaloid content in the root was 0.524% w/w, while total flavonoid and total phenolic content in ethanol extract were 16.65 mg QE/g and 59.54 mg GAE/g, respectively. Based on the values obtained from anti-convulsant activity, it is evident that the ethanol extract offered significant protection against PTZ-induced convulsion in mice. Conclusion The current pharmacognostical study aids not only in identification of crude drug material but also in establishing the standardization parameters. Further, the findings of this study indicated that the ethanolic extract of Annona reticulata Linn root displayed significant anti-convulsant property and this property could be attributed to imperative bioactives like flavonoids, phenolic compounds, alkaloids, in addition to other secondary metabolites.

Senna spectabilis (DC.) H.S. Irwin & Barneby is a popular ornamental tree as well as a traditional medical plant in Cameroon. In this study, we sequenced and annotated the complete chloroplast genome of S. spectabilis and reconstructed the phylogenetic relationship of the tribe Cassieae. The length of the chloroplast genome was determined to be 162,754 bp, containing a pair of inverted repeats of 25,413 bp which separated by a small single-copy (SSC) region of 20,161 bp and a large single-copy (LSC) region of 91,767 bp. The cp genome encodes 128 genes, including 83 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and eight rRNA genes. The percentage of total GC content of this genome was 35.7%. The phylogenetic analysis indicates that S. spectabilis with the sampled Senna species formed a well-supported monophyletic clade.