Phytochemical and pharmacological appraisal of the aerial parts ofLotus corniculatusL. growing in Egypt

Lotus corniculatusL. (Fabaceae) is widely grown in Egypt. It has a great history of folkloric medicinal uses. All fractions of aerial parts ofL. corniculatusL. showed significant antioxidant and immunostimulant activities and could strongly induce lymphoproliferation. However, the light petrol fraction had antifungal activity againstC. neoformanswith IC(50)value (<8 mu g/mL) and exhibited strongest in-vitro antiprotozoal activity against protozoan parasites belonging to the generaTrypanosomawith IC(50)value (0.98 mu g/mL) andPlasmodium(with 100% inhibition using a sample concentration of 15866.7 ng/mL). This is the first study of the immunostimulant and antiprotozoal activities of genusLotus. By this approach, it was possible to isolate eight compounds (-)-7,2'-dihydroxy-4'-methoxyisoflavan (vestitol) (1), kaempferol (2), kaempferol 3-O-alpha-L-rhamnoside (afzelin) (3), kaempferol 3, 7-O-alpha-L-dirhamnoside (kaempferitin) (4), kaempferol-3-O-[beta-D-xylopyranosyl (1 '''-> 2 '')-beta-D-galactopyranoside] (5), 3-O-[beta-D-glucuronopyranosyl] soyasapogenol B (6), kaempferol-3-O-[beta-D-xylopyranosyl (1 '''-> 2 '')-beta-D-galactopyranoside]-7-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside (7) and 3-O-[alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl (1 '''-> 2 '')-beta-D-galactopyranosyl-(1 ''-> 2 ')-beta-D-glucuronopyranosyl] soyasapogenol B (soyasaponin CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER BYELORUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN I) (8).

Automated summary

Lotus corniculatus L., widely grown in Egypt, has a rich history of folkloric medicinal uses. Extracts from its aerial parts showed significant antioxidant and immunostimulant activities, as well as antifungal and antiprotozoal activities against various pathogens. Multiple compounds were isolated from the plant through this study.