In vitro antibacterial activities of hexane, chloroform and methanolic crude extracts of Abrus precatorius seeds were tested against ten clinical isolates using the agar well diffusion technique. Hexane, chloroform and methanolic extracts were obtained using the soxhlet extractor on A. precatorius seeds. To measure the MIC values, various concentrations of the stock, 500, 250, 100, 75, 50, 35, ...

The toxic effects of an aqueous extract of Abrus precatorius were studied in 20 male white rats over a period of 18 days. The rats were divided into four groups of five rats per group. Those in Group A served as controls while the rats in Groups B, C and D were dosed per os with 400 mg/kg, 800 mg/kg and 1 600 mg/kg of the extract, respectively. Blood samples were collected for haematological an...

The pollination and breeding strategies of two Abrus species (A. precatorius L. and A. pulchellus Wall. ex Thw.) were comparatively investigated in Nigeria, West Africa. Observations were made on the phenology, floral morphology and architecture, breeding and pollination system, as well as flower-insect interactions. During 1999–2000, Abrus precatorius was observed to flower twice a year (April...

The toxic principle contained in the seeds of Abrus precatorius has been the subject of elaborate investigations by many workers, including Klein, De Wecker, Sattler, Warden, Waddell etc. But it appears that none has thought it worth his while to investigate the chemical nature or the properties of the colouring matters contained in the coatings of the seeds of Abrus precatorius. Dr D. D. Cunni...

Gunja (Abrus precatorius Linn.), also known as Indian liquorice, is regarded one of the most toxic but visually stunning seeds in world. It classified an Upavisha (semipoisonous medication) and utilised widely several Ayurvedic formulations with significant medicinal value. According to Ayurveda, should only be administered after appropriate Shodhana (purification techniques) using various medi...

A new crystalline form of abrin has been obtained from the most toxic constituent of the seed extract of Abrus precatorius. An x-ray diffraction study shows that the toxin crystallizes in a monoclinic unit cell of probable symmetry P21 and parameters (I = 113 A, b = 72 A, c = 71 A, and /3 = 103”. The asymmetric unit contains 2 protein molecules of molecular weight 63,800 and has a solvent conte...

Seeds of Gunja (Abrus precatorius Linn) are reported to be poisonous due to the presence of a toxic protein 'abrin and an alkaloid hypaphorine. Te seeds after subjecting to the process of shodhana, find use in a number of Ayurvedic preparations. HPLC studies revealed that the process of shodhana resulted in depletion of more toxic alkaloid hypaphorine and protein abrin.

Human African trypanosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease in sub Saharan Africa that is fatal if left untreated. In a search for new natural products with antitrypanosomal activity, we recently identified abruquinones B and I from Abrus precatorius as potent in vitro trypanocidal compounds with high selectivity indices. To obtain sufficient compound for in vivo efficacy tests in mice, a sec...

Abrus precatorius L. is a medicinal plant. The medicinal properties of the plants are determined by the presence of secondary metabolites (phytochemical constituents) in it. In the present study the phytochemical analysis and antibacterial activity in the methanol extract of five parts (leaves, stem, flowers, seed coat and seeds) of A. precatorius was carried out to analyses the presence of phy...