• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.21-28
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• 2010

The objective of the present investigation is to evaluate the antimicrobial potency of the terpenoid fractions isolated from Luffa cylindrica seeds against various pathogenic microbes. The seeds were powdered and extracted with methanol in soxhlet appratus based on phytochemical screening. Three terpenoid components were isolated by column chromatography and identified by thin layer chromatography and chemical analysis which were designated as ${LCSF_4}^*$, ${LCSF_6}^*$ & ${LCSF_8}^*$ respectively. Disc diffusion method was employed to determine the antimicrobial effectiveness of test compounds I, II and III $({LCSF_4}^*,\;{LCSF_6}^*\;&\;{LCSF_8}^*)$ against 6 microbial species viz., Staphylococcus (S.) aureus, Bacillus (B.) subtilis, Escherichia (E.) coli, Pseudomonas (P.) aeruginosa, Candida (C.) albicans and Aspergillus niger. The disc was saturated with $100{\mu}l$ of each compound, allowed to dry and introduced on the upper layer of seeded agar plate. The plates were incubated overnight at $37^{\circ}C$. Microbial growth was determined by measuring the zonal inhibition diameters. Compound I showed maximum potency against gram positive S. aureus (21 mm) in comparison with standard ciprofloxacin (38 mm), whereas the same compound was completely devoid of activity against both the fungi tested. Compound II was found to be highly sensitive against both the gram negative E. coli (20 mm) and P. aeruginosa (22 mm). Compound II was found to exhibit maximum potency against the fungi C. albicans (15 mm) and A. niger (20 mm). Compound III was found to be very effective against both the gram positive S. aureus (20 mm) and B. subtilis (15 mm) respectively.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.366-372
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• 1991

The volatile components, normal hydrocarbons, organic acids, and nonvolatile fatty acids in the various parts of Luffa cylindrica(L.) Roemer(sponge-gourd) were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. More than 150 volatile components were separated and thirty seven components were identified and quantified. The contents of essential oil were 0.05%, 0.05%, and 0.08% on a dried weight base in leaves, stem, and seeds respectively. Fruit juice and sap contained 0.06% and 0.03% oil on the fresh weight base. Twenty six components of normal hydrocarbons in leaves, stem, seed, and unripe fruit were separated, identified, and quantified. The total concentrations of the hydrocarbons were $75.5\;{\mu}g/g$ in leaf, $52.0\;{\mu}g/g$ in stem, $46.6\;{\mu}g/g$ in fruit juice, and $32.8\;{\mu}g/g$ in seed fractions. The major hydrocarbons in leaves, stem, and fruit juice were $nC_{25}$, $nC_{27}$, $nC_{29}$, and $nC_{31}$, $nC_{16}$, $nC_{17}$, $nC_{18}$, and $nC_{19}$ were abundant in seeds mainly. The concentration of malonic acid among the five organic acids was highest in leaves, stem, and flowers. Unripe fruit contained 24.5 mg/g of the five organic acids and malic and citric acids were higher. The concentrations of palmitic, linoleic, and linolenic acids were higher concentration in the various parts of sponge-gourd and palmitic acid was distributed in the most parts. The concentrations of organic and fatty acids in the sap were negligible.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.702-709
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• 2014

Luffa cylindrica Roem (sponge gourd) belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family and has been cultivated as an ornamental plant in Korea. Recently, its cultivation area has been increased with an increase in demand for it as an ingredient in cosmetics, herbal medicines, and health supplements. We analyzed inorganic components of sap collected from land race sponge gourds. We also measured antioxidant enzyme activities and antimicrobial activities of the plant, seed, and sap to examine functional properties of sponge gourd. The sap of the sponge gourd contained high levels of K, Ca, P, and Mg, with the most abundant mineral in the sap being K ($470mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$). The amounts of Ca and Mg were 2 and 1.7 times more than those found in cucumber (Cucumis sativus), respectively. Ascorbate peroxidase was more active than catalase and superoxide dismutase in various plant parts of sponge gourd. Antioxidant activities were much lower in stems than in other plant parts such as leaves, roots, flowers, fruits, seeds, and sap. In addition, sap showed a very low level of antimicrobial activity against two food-borne pathogens, Vibrio parahaemdyticus and Propionibacterium acne, and none against the other eight tested food-borne pathogens. Antimicrobial activities against Candida albicans and Malassezia furfur, which causes dermatitis, appeared to be higher in sap than in other parts of sponge gourd plants. Overall, the antimicrobial activity against Malassezia furfur appeared to be higher than against Candida albicans.