@article {230, title = {GC-MS headspace analysis of Terminalia ferdinandiana fruit and leaf extracts which inhibit Bacillus anthracis growth}, journal = {Pharmacognosy Journal}, volume = {9}, year = {2017}, month = {December 2016}, pages = {73-82}, type = {Original Article}, chapter = {73}, abstract = {

Background: Terminalia ferdinandiana (Kakadu plum) is an endemic Australian plant with an extremely high antioxidant capacity. The fruit has long been used by the first Australians as a nutritional food and as a medicine and recent studies have reported its potent growth inhibitory activity against a broad panel of bacteria. Despite this, T. ferdinandiana extracts are yet to be tested for the ability to inhibit the growth of Bacillus anthracis. Materials and Methods: Solvent extracts were prepared using both the fruit and leaf of Kakadu plum. The ability to inhibit the growth of B. anthracis was investigated using a disc diffusion assay. Their MIC values were determined to quantify and compare their efficacies. Toxicity was determined using the Artemia franciscana nauplii bioassay. The most potent extracts were investigated using non-targeted GC-MS head space analysis (with screening against a compound database) for the identification and characterisation of individual components in the crude plant extracts. Results: Solvent extractions of T. ferdinandiana fruit and leaf displayed good growth inhibitory activity in the disc diffusion assay against B. anthracis. Fruit ethyl acetate and methanolic leaf extracts were particularly potent growth inhibitors, with MIC values of 451 and 377\μg/mL respectively. The fruit methanolic and chloroform extracts, as well as the aqueous leaf extracts also were good inhibitors of B. anthracis growth, albeit with lower efficacy (MIC values of 1800 and 1414 \μg/mL respectively).The aqueous fruit extract and leaf chloroform extracts had only low inhibitory activity. All other extracts were completely devoid of growth inhibitory activity. Furthermore, all of the extracts with growth inhibitory activity were nontoxic in the Artemia fransiscana bioassay, with LC50 values \>1000 \μg/mL. Non-biased GC-MS phytochemical analysis of the most active extracts (fruit ethyl acetate and methanolic leaf) putatively identified and highlighted several compounds that may contribute to the ability of these extracts to inhibit the growth of B. anthracis. Conclusions: The low toxicity of the T. ferdinandiana fruit ethyl acetate and methanolic leaf extracts, as well as their potent growth inhibitory bioactivity against B. anthracis, indicates their potential as medicinal agents in the treatment and prevention of anthrax.

}, keywords = {Anthrax, Bacillus anthracis, Combretastatin, Kakadu plum, Metabolomics., stilbene, Tannin, Zoonotic}, doi = {10.5530/pj.2017.1.14}, author = {Mitchell Henry Wright and Joseph Sirdaarta and Alan White and Anthony Carlson Greene and Ian Edwin Cock} } @article {149, title = {Bacillus anthracis growth Inhibitory Properties of Australian Terminalia spp.: Putative Identification of low Polarity Volatile Components by GC-MS Headspace Analysis}, journal = {Pharmacognosy Journal}, volume = {8}, year = {2016}, month = {Jan/2016}, pages = {281-290}, type = {Original Article}, chapter = {281}, abstract = {

Introduction: Anthrax is a severe acute disease caused by Bacillus anthracis infections. If untreated, it often results in mortality. Many Terminalia spp. have documented therapeutic properties as general antiseptics, inhibiting the growth of a wide variety of bacterial species. This study examines the ability of selected Australian Terminalia spp. extracts to inhibit B. anthracis growth. Methods:\ Solvent extracts were prepared from Terminalia carpentariae and Terminalia grandiflora plant material and investigated by disc diffusion assay for the ability to inhibit the growth of an environmental strain of B. anthracis. Their MIC values were determined to quantify and compare their efficacies. Toxicity was determined using the Artemia franciscana nauplii bioassay. The most potent extracts were analysed by GC-MS headspace analysis. Results: T. carpentariae and T. grandiflora leaf, fruit and nut solvent extractions displayed good growth inhibitory activity against B. anthracis. Methanolic T. Carpentariae leaf and T. grandiflora nut extracts were particularly potent growth inhibitors, with MIC values of 74 and 155 \µg/mL respectively. The T. carpentariae leaf ethyl acetate extract was also a good inhibitor of B. anthracis growth (MIC 340 \µg/mL). All other extracts were substantially less potent growth inhibitors. Interestingly, the T. Carpentariae leaf extracts with growth inhibitory activity were nontoxic in the Artemia fransiscana bioassay, with LC50 values \>1000 \µg/mL. In contrast, the LC50 value 740 \µg/mL reported for the methanolic T. grandiflora nut extract indicates low-moderate toxicity. Non-biased GC-MS phytochemical analysis of the most active extracts (methanolic T. carpentariae leaf and T. grandiflora nut) putatively identified and highlighted several compounds that may contribute to the ability of these extracts to inhibit the growth of B. anthracis. Conclusions: The growth inhibitory activity of the methanolic T. Carpentariae leaf and T. grandiflora nutextracts against B. anthracis indicates their potential for the treatment and prevention of anthrax. Furthermore, thelack toxicity of the T. Carpentariae leaf and the low-moderate toxicity of the T. grandiflora nut extract, indicates that their use may extend to all forms of the disease (cutaneous, inhalation or gastrointestinal).

}, keywords = {Anthrax, Combretaceae, Metabolomic profiling., Native almond, Terminalia carpentariae, Terminalia grandiflora, Wild peach}, doi = {10.5530/pj.2016.3.18}, author = {Mitchell Henry Wright and Joseph Sirdaarta and Alan White and Anthony Carlson Greene and Ian Edwin Cock} } @article {88, title = {Inhibition of Bacillus anthracis growth by Australian native plants used traditionally as antibacterial medicines}, journal = {Pharmacognosy Journal}, volume = {7}, year = {2015}, month = {01/2015}, pages = {389-396}, type = {Original Article}, chapter = {389}, abstract = {

Introduction: Anthrax is a zoonotic disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. It is often fatal if left untreated. Many Australian plants have documented therapeutic properties as general antiseptics, inhibiting the growth of a wide variety of bacterial species. This study examines the ability of selected Australian plant extracts to inhibit B. anthracis growth. Methods: Solvent extracts were prepared using plants with documented ethnobotanical usage to treat bacterial infections, or published antibacterial activity. The extracts were investigated by disc diffusion assay for the ability to inhibit the growth of an environmental strain of B. anthracis. Their MIC values were determined to quantify and compare their efficacies. Toxicity was determined using the Artemia franciscana nauplii bioassay. Results: Methanolic and aqueous extracts of Eucalyptus baileyana and Eucalyptus major displayed potent antibacterial activity in the disc diffusion assay against B. anthracis. The methanolic extracts were particularly potent with MIC values as low as 290 \μg/mL (E. major methanolic extract). Tasmannia insipidia and Tasmannia stipitata extracts also inhibited B. anthracis growth, albeit with low efficacy. The E. baileyana and E. major methanolic leaf extracts as well as the E. baileyana aqueous leaf extract induced significant mortality in the Artemia fransiscana bioassay, with LC50 values substantially \<1000 \μg/mL, indicating the toxicity of these extracts. Conclusion: The potent inhibitory bioactivity of the E. baileyana and E. major extracts against B. anthracis demonstrate their potential as medicinal agents in the treatment and prevention of anthrax. However, their toxicity indicates that their use may be limited to the treatment of the cutaneous form of the disease, or for sterilisation of infected sites.

}, keywords = {Anthrax, Antibacterial activity, Bacillus anthracis, Eucalyptus, Scaevola spinescens, Tasmannia stipitata, Traditional medicine., Zoonotic}, doi = {10.5530/pj.2015.6.13}, author = {Mitchell Henry Wright and Anthony Carlson Greene and Ian Edwin Cock} }