Tamarindus indica L., the sole species in the genus Tamarind, which is a member of the subfamily Caesalpiniaceae in the family Leguminosae (Fabaceae), is extensively dispersed in many tropical and subtropical regions. This plant\'s Arabic name, Tamr Al-Hindi, is the basis for its English name, Tamarind. In traditional medicine, this genus has played a major role since the time of the ancient Egyptians. Folkloric medicine has traditionally used Tamarind to treat a variety of conditions, including diabetes mellitus, fever, malaria, ulcers, diarrhoea, dysentery and wounds. The primary bioactive components of this species, which have a variety of biological functions, have been identified as flavonoids, phenolic contents, sterols, triterpenes, fatty acids, sugars and other substances. Genus Tamarind has been shown to have anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-pyretic, antibacterial, hypolipidemic, anti-diabetic, hepatoprotective, anti-ulcerogenic and antioxidant properties. This article provides an overview of the identified chemicals from T. indica together with their stated biological activities.

Phytochemical investigation of the methanol extracts from the leaves and bark of Senna siamea resulted in the isolation of one new flavone C-glycoside: apigenin-8-C-[6\'\'-(E)-feruloyl]-β-D-glucopyranoside] (1), together with sixteen known compounds including quercetin-3-O-α-L-rhamnoside (2), vitexin (3), isovitexin (4), quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (5), quercetin-3-O-β-D-arabinopyranoside (6), quercetin (7), kaempferol (8), methyl inositol (9), sucrose (10), betulinic acid (11), vanillic acid (12), stigmastane-3β,6α-diol (13), aurantiamide acetate (14), robinetinidol (15), catechin (16) and epicatechin (17). The structures of these compounds were established on the basis of their spectroscopic (1 D and 2 D NMR) and mass spectrometric (ESI-TOF-MS) data. The methanol extracts, fractions and some of the isolated compounds were screened for their antimicrobial properties against five microbial strains. The methanol extract and the ethyl acetate fraction from the bark showed very weak antifungal activity against C. glabrata with the same MIC value of 128 μg/mL. Compound 7 was weakly active against C. albicans with MIC of 32 μg/mL.

In the strongly seasonal, but annually very wet, parts of the tropics, low-water availability in the short dry season leads to a semi-deciduous forest, one which is also highly susceptible to nutrient loss from leaching in the long wet season. Patterns in litterfall were compared between forest with low (LEM) and high (HEM) abundances of ectomycorrhizal trees in Korup National Park, Cameroon, over 26 months in 1990-92. Leaf litter was sorted into 26 abundant species which included six ectomycorrhizal species, and of these three were the large grove-forming trees Microberlinia bisulcata, Tetraberlinia bifoliolata and Tetraberlinia moreliana. Larger-tree species shed their leaves with pronounced peaks in the dry season, whereas other species had either weaker dependence, showed several peaks per year, or were wet-season shedders. Although total annual litterfall differed little between forest types, in the HEM forest (dominated by M. bisulcata) the dry-season peak was more pronounced and earlier than that in the LEMforest. Species differed greatly in their mean leaf litterfall nutrient concentrations, with an approx. twofold range for nitrogen and phosphorus, and 2.5-3.5-fold for potassium, magnesium and calcium. In the dry season, LEM and HEM litter showed similar declines in P and N concentration, and increases in K and Mg; some species, especially M. bisculcata, showed strong dry-wet season differences. The concentration of P (but not N) was higher in the leaf litter of ectomycorrhizal than nonectomycorrhizal species. Retranslocation of N and P was lower among the ectomycorrhizal than nonectomycorrhizal species by approx. twofold. It is suggested that, within ectomycorrhizal groves on this soil low in P, a fast decomposition rate with minimal loss of mineralized P is possible due to the relatively high litter P not limiting the cycle at this stage, combined with an efficient recapture of released P by the surface organic layer of ectomycorrhizas and fine roots. This points to a feedback between two essential controlling steps (retranslocation and mineralization) in a tropical rain forest ecosystem dominated by ectomycorrhizal trees.

Sopherone A (1) and B (2), two new biologically relevant dibenzo-α-pyrones, were isolated from the stems of Cassia sophera Linn. (Caesalpiniaceae). Their structures were elucidated by detailed analysis of their spectroscopic data, including 1D and 2D NMR.

Seed micromorphological and macromorphological characteristics of 12 taxa of Caesalpiniaceae from Pakistan have been studied, using light and scanning electron microscopy, to investigate the importance of seed coat features as a taxonomic tool. Great variations have been observed in color, shape, dimension, and seed surface pattern among the different genera of the family. A taxonomic key was prepared for the studied taxa. Six types of seed shapes were observed; circular, elliptical, irregular, oblong, oval, and ovoid. All examined seeds were hard except fragile seeds of Haematoxylom campechianum. Eight types of surface ornamentation have been noticed that include levigate, lugose, papillate, reticulate, reticulate irregular, reticulate regular, rhombus, and rogues. Majority of the taxa has been observed with thick ornamentation wall but thin ornamentation wall has also been recorded in few species. Fracture line of the various patterns was present in all taxa except genus Bauhinia. Three types of texture crudeness; coarse, medium, and fine have been recorded. Both micromorphological and macromorphological characters of seed are very fruitful in identification and classification of Caesalpiniaceae.

BACKGROUND: Griffonia simplicifolia Baill. (Caesalpiniaceae) is a medicinal plant whose seeds are widely used in traditional medicine for their high content of 5-hydroxy-l-tryptophan (5-HTP), a direct precursor and enhancer of the activity of the brain hormone serotonin (5-HT). The plant extracts are used in dietary supplements aimed to alleviate serotonin-related disorders.
METHODS: In order to characterize the chemical components of G. simplicifolia seeds and their identity, we used a combined methodology by using HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS/MS for the qualitative and quantitative determination of the N-containing compounds, GC-FID and GC-MS for the characterization of the major fatty acids, and DNA fingerprinting based on PCR⁻RFLP for the unequivocal identification of the plant.
RESULTS: 5-HTP was the most representative compound, followed by lower percentages of the β-carboline alkaloid derivative griffonine and other alkaloids. Fatty acids were dominated by the unsaturated fatty acids linoleic acid and oleic acid, followed by the saturated fatty acids stearic and palmitic acids. PCR analysis of the internal transcribed spacer amplified sequence showed a major band at about 758 bp, whereas the PCR⁻RFLP analysis of this sequence using three different restriction enzymes (MspI, HhaI, and HaeIII) generated a specific fingerprinting useful for the plant identification.
CONCLUSIONS: The combined chemical and molecular analysis of G. simplicifolia provided an interesting integrated approach for the unequivocal identification of commercial G. simplicifolia seeds.

UNASSIGNED: Cassiamimosoides L. is one of the nonclassical folklore plants of Gujarat, known as Aval ni jaat. Root and leaves of this plant are used in diarrhea, wound healing and mouth ulcers by tribal people.
UNASSIGNED: Review revealed that the leaf part of this plant are unexplored from the pharmacognostical aspects. Hence, the present study focuses on the pharmacognostical study of leaf along with its powder.
UNASSIGNED: Collection, macroscopy and microscopy have been carried out as per standard protocol.
UNASSIGNED: The leaves are alternate, compound with opposite glabrous leaflets. T. S. of rachis consists of epidermis, pericycle and vascular bundle. T. S. of dorsiventral leaflet shows epidermis and vascular region with 1/5 palisade ratio. Leaf powder is dark green in color. Palisade parenchyma cells, rhomboidal crystals and unicellular warty trichomes are present in the powder of leaf.
UNASSIGNED: Yellow pentamerous flowers and paracytic stomata are key characteristics of genus Cassia. The value of stomatal index always remains constant even in different environmental conditions which play a very significant role in the identification of plant.
UNASSIGNED: Microscopy of leaf and its powder of Cassia mimosoides can be helpful in identifying the plant in powder form and the values can be helpful in further standardization.

Saraca asoca (Roxb.) De Wilde (Caesalpiniaceae) is a highly traded IUCN red listed tree species used in Ayurvedic medicines for the treatment of various disorders, especially gynaecological problems. However, information about the genetic variations between populations and corresponding variation in specialized metabolites of S. asoca remains unclear. To address this issue, we analysed 11 populations of S. asoca with 106 accessions collected from Western Ghats of India using ISSR markers along with selected phytocompounds using RP-HPLC. Twenty primers were screened, out of which seven were selected for further analysis based on generation of clear polymorphic banding patterns. These seven ISSR primers produced 74 polymorphic loci. AMOVA showed 43% genetic variation within populations and 57% among the populations of S. asoca. To estimate the genetic relationships among S. asoca populations, UPGMA and Bayesian Models were constructed, which revealed two clusters of similar grouping patterns. However, excluding minor deviations, UPGMA and dissimilarity analysis showed close association of genotypes according to their geographical locations. Catechin (CAT), epicatechin (EPI) and gallic acid (GA) were quantified from bark and leaf samples of corresponding genotypes collected from 106 accessions. ROC plots depicted the sensitivity and specificity of the concentrations of tested phytocompounds at various cut-off points. Although, multiple logistic regression analysis predicted some association between few loci with GA, EPI and CAT, but PCA for phytochemical data failed to distinguish the populations. Overall, there were no significant trends observed to distinguish the populations based on these phytocompounds. Furthermore, the study advocates the delineate provenance regions of S. asoca genotypes/chemotype snapshots for in-situ conservation and ex-situ cultivation.

BACKGROUND: In Togo, malaria constitutes a major public health problem but, until now, the population still mostly relies on herbal medicine for healing. This study aimed to document medicinal plants used for malaria therapy in the Plateau region of the country.
METHODS: Semi-structured questionnaire interviews were used to gather ethnobotanical and sociodemographic data from traditional healers of the study area.
RESULTS: A total of 61 plants species belonging to 33 families were found to be in use for malaria therapy in the Plateau region. Caesalpiniaceae were the most represented family with 7 species, followed by Euphorbiaceae and Poaceae with 4 species each. According to the relative frequency of citation (RFC), Newbouldia laevis Seem. (RFC =0.52), Sarcocephalus latifolius (Sm.) E.A. Bruce (RFC =0.48), Acanthospermum hispidum DC. (RFC =0.43), and Senna siamea (Lam.) H.S. Irwin and Barneby (RFC =0.40) were the most cited in the treatment of malaria in the traditional medicine in the Plateau region. The parts of plants used could either be the barks, roots, leaves, or whole plants. The recipes also could be a combination of various species of plants or plant parts.
CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the potential sources for the development of new antimalarial drugs from indigenous medicinal plants found in the Plateau region of Togo. Such results could be a starting point for in vitro antimalarial screenings.
CONCLUSIONS: 61 plants species from 33 families are use for malaria therapy in the Plateau region of TogoThe main families are Caesalpiniaceae Euphorbiaceae and PoaceaeThe most used species are Newbouldia laevis Seem. (RFC = 0.52), Sarcocephalus latifolius (Sm.) E.A. Bruce (RFC = 0.48), Acanthospermum hispidum DC. (RFC = 0.43), and Senna siamea (Lam.) H.S. Irwin and Barneby (RFC = 0.40) Abbreviations Used: RFC: Relative frequency of citation, FC: Frequency of citation, Dec: Decoction, Orl: Oral route, Mac: Maceration, Jui: Juice, Inf: Infusion, Sau: Sauce, Kne: Kneading, Le: Leaves, Rt: Roots, Wp: Whole plant, St: Stem, Stb: Stem bark, Rh: Rhizome, Fr: Fruits, Pf: Plasmodium falciparum, IC50: Concentration of extract killing 50% parasites.

Eight structurally diverse cassane diterpenes named tomocins A-H were isolated from the seed kernels of Vietnamese Caesalpinia sappan Linn. Their structures were determined by extensive NMR and CD spectroscopic analysis. Among the isolated compounds, tomocin A, phanginin A, F, and H exhibited mild preferential cytotoxicity against PANC-1 human pancreatic cancer cells under nutrition-deprived condition without causing toxicity in normal nutrient-rich conditions.