Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. is an allergen species that belongs to the group of invasive weeds, and is very frequent and present in our region. The use of essential oils in the control of weeds attracts great attention of researchers. Many of them have already pointed out the ability of some oils and/or their individual components to delay seed germination of various weeds or completely inhibit it. In this paper, we present results of the efficacy of three essential oils on A. artemisiifolia seeds; the trials were carried out using two different in vitro methods, in which the percentage of seed germination was measured 7th day.  In testings with seeds soaked in essential oil solution, in Petri dishes (500 ml in 100 ml of distilled water), a significant inhibition of germination was observed in the case A. graveolens and S. officinalis oil (100 % and 97 % , respectively), while the oil of S. montana demonstrated slightly weaker inhibitory effect (86 %). When essential oils were applied in form of a vapour (an oil droplet of 25 ml applied on the inner side od Petri dish lids), A. graveolens and S. officinalis oils inhibited the seed germination 100 % and and 95 % , respectively , while the oil of S. montana again demonstrated the weakest inhibitory effect (52 %).

The aim of the presented research was to determine whether the application of the essential oils of A. graveolens, S. officinalis and S. montana in form of a solution or vapor, affects, and to what extent they are important for germination of seeds of the weed species A. artemisiifolia L.

This study evaluated antioxidant activities and haematological effects of methanol extract of Asystasia gangetica leaves (MEAG) on monosodium glutamate (MSG) treated rats. Forty-two male Wistar rats randomly distributed into 7 groups (n=6) were used for the study. Groups 1-3 were the normal control, MSG control, and positive control respectively whereas groups 4-5 were the extract controls, and groups 6-7 were the curative groups. All the treatments were administered orally and standard analytical methods were used for analyses. The results showed that MEAG is a rich antioxidants source and contains phenolics, flavonoids and beta-carotene in high concentrations. The extract showed concentration-dependent increases in ferric reducing antioxidant power, DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and nitric oxide radicals scavenging activities but relatively lower than their respective controls. The MSG administration caused significant (P<0.05) reductions in the glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities but significantly (P<0.05) increased the malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations in the MSG control rats. The MSG administration also caused significant (P<0.05) reductions in the haemoglobin (Hb) concentration, packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cell (RBC) and white blood cell (WBC) counts of the MSG control relative to the normal control. Treatment with MEAG significantly elevated GPx, SOD, and CAT activities; haematological indices and significantly reduced MDA levels in the extract controls, and curative groups treated with a high dose of MSG. These findings show that methanol extract of A. gangetica leaves is rich in antioxidants that could prevent oxidative stress and improves the haematological profile of MSG treated rats.

This study investigated solvent effects on the phytochemical composition of Quassia undulata leaves a medicinal plant used in treating arrays of diseases including fever and cough. The leaves were collected, washed, air-dried, pulverized and evaluated for some inherent phytochemicals using four different solvent systems based on their polarities. The solvents are methanol, acetone, ethyl acetate and chloroform. The methanol extract was found to have the highest number of secondary metabolites (saponins, tannins, flavonoids, steroids, coumarins, anthraquinones, alkaloids and phenols). None of the extracts tested positive for the presence of phlobatannins, terpenoids and emodins. The methanol extract was further analyzed quantitatively for some of the determined phytochemicals. Tannins had a concentration of 3.131 mg of catechin equivalents per 100 mg sample (mg CE/100g), alkaloids - 5.200 %, total phenolics - 11.828 mg of gallic acid equivalents per gram of extract (mg GAE/g), flavonoids - 8.074 mg of quercetin equivalents per gram of extract (mg QE/g) while 0.673 % saponins were detected. The presence of these secondary metabolites might justify the ethnomedicinal uses of Quassia undulata leaves as their bioactivity has been found to be dependent on the solvent used for extraction.