Maryville College is the home to 100 acres of suitable habitat for English ivy, Hedera helix, an invasive plant that originated in northern Africa. Because H. helix is tolerant to drought and salinity, it causes difficulties when trying to destroy the plant, but not the indigenous life surrounding it; however, there might be some advantage to this invasive plant: potentially important biological activity such as the ability to inhibit bacterial growth or inhibit enzymes involved in disease pathogenesis. H. helix has often been used for the treatment of respiratory tract infections, but it has also been reported to inhibit bacterial and fungal growth along with possessing antimutagenic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. Three saponin compounds which may be responsible for some of these activities have been identified from H. helix extracts: hederacoside, hederagenin, and alpha-hederin. Sample species were collected from the Maryville College woods and the organic and aqueous phase were extracted from both leaf and stalk material. The various extracts were tested for antibacterial activity against a series of bacterial strains including Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus epidermidis, and they were tested spectrophotometrically for anti-melanogenic properties and inhibition of tyrosinase.

Isolation and evaluation of the medicinal properties of the natural products found in English ivy, <i>?Hedera helix</i>?

248th National Meeting (2014)

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Isolation and evaluation of the medicinal properties of the natural products found in English ivy, ?Hedera helix?