Search

Introduction Cladonia rangiformis, also known as reindeer lichen, has been used for various remedies in folk medicine. The rich nutritional value of this lichen is reflected in the fact that it contains atranorin, which has been proven to have numerous biological activities.Objective The chemical composition, antioxidant, anticholinesterase, and antigenotoxic activities of the C. rangiformisacetone extract were investigated. The novelty of this work is that anticholinesterase activity, protective effect on human lymphocytes, and antioxidant activity by the cupric-reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) method of C. rangiformisextract were determined for the first time, as well as gas chromatography - mass spectrometry (GC-MS) profile.Methods Chemical composition was carried out by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-diode array detector and GC-MS. Antigenotoxic effect was evaluated in human lymphocytes by cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay. Total phenolic content, DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging capacities, CUPRAC, and total reducing power were determined spectrophotometrically. Determination of acetylcholinesterase activity was performed by Ellman's colorimetry assay. The statistical analysis of variance (One-way ANOVA) was performed using Origin software package version 7.0.Results HPLC method was used to identified 3 compounds with atranorin as predominant constituent (97.2%). Fumarprotocetraric and atraric acid were represented in a much smaller mutually approximate amount, 0.3 and 0.5%, respectively. Rangiformic acid was the most abundant volatile compound. Acetone extract of C. rangiformis(2 μg/mL) decreased the frequency of micronuclei by 15.5% while the radioprotectant amifostine reduced the frequency of occurrence of micronuclei by 11.4%. On the contrary, at a concentration of 1.0 mg/mL the extract exhibited an activating effect on cholinesterase (2.0%), while at a concentration of 10.0 mg/mL it showed a weak inhibitory effect (7.3%). The total phenol content was 132.71 μg gallic acid equivalents per mg of dry extract. The IC50value for the DPPH experiment was 16.19 mg/mL and for ABTS was 11.80 mg/mL. Cupric reducing capacity and total reducing power were 17.81 μg Trolox equivalents per mg of dry extract and 0.45 μg ascorbic acid equivalents per mg of dry extract, respectively.Conclusion In addition to previously identified compounds in the acetone extract, atraric acid was identified for the first time by using HPLC method, and orcinol, β-orcinol, lauric alcohol, atranol, and rangiformic acid by using GC-MS method. The results of biological activity proved that acetone extract had antioxidant capacity and weak anticholinesterase activity. Reduction of the number of micronuclei in human lymphocytes, classified C. rangiformisas promising substances source with beneficial effects on DNA damage.

The essential oil isolated from stem, fresh and mature fruits of Xanthium italicumMoretti by hydrodistillation was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In the oil of stem, fresh and mature fruits, 121 components were identified, representing 94.6%, 92.1%, and 91.3% of the total oil, respectively. The most abundant compounds in stem oil were limonene (23.0%), methyl eugenol (5.4%), β-cubebene (5.0%),and δ-cadinene (3.3%). The oil of fresh fruits contained germacrene B (28.7%), shyobunol (16.7%), and α-humulene (8.4%) as major components. There were 4 major constituents in X. italicumoil from mature fruits: germacrene B (31.3%),α-humulene (11.8%), δ-cadinene (3.2%),and γ-muurolene (2.9%). Percentages of sesquiterpenes in oils from fresh and mature fruits were very high, 85.8% and 73.8 %.

The essential oil of aerial parts of Laserpitium latifoliumL. from Serbia, obtained by hydro distillation, was analyzed by GC-MS and GC-FID applying liquid injection mode; thirty-four compounds were registered (99.9% of the total oil). The essential oil clearly belongs to the monoterpenoid chemotype, with monoterpenoids constituting 99.8% of the total oil. Sabinene (47.8%), α-pinene (25.0%) and β-pinene (7.1%) were the major constituents.

The essential oil of the Balkan endemic species, Angelica pancicii, obtained by hydrodistillation, was analyzed by GC and GC-MS, applying the liquid injection mode. These results were compared with the chemical composition of volatiles achieved by the “headspace” injection mode, followed by GC and GC-MS (HS-GC-MS). A total of 40 compounds were identified in the essential oil (98.8% of the total oil) and 44 by HS-GC-MS (99.8% of the total oil). The most abundant class of compounds in both cases was monoterpenoids, which formed 92.7% of the essential oil (97.7% by HS-GC-MS) of total identified compounds. The major components in both cases were β-phellandrene (54.9% and 60.1%, respectively), α-pinene (14.5% and 20.1%, respectively) and α-phellandrene (4.5% and 4.3%, respectively).

The chemical composition of the essential oil of the aerial parts of Teucrium poliumssp. capitatumcollected during the flowering period from rocky places and dry pastures, (Serbia, Niŝ, Kamenica), and dunes along the sea-side, (Bulgaria, Burgas, Primorsko) has been studied by GC and GC/MS. The identified compounds, 45 for the oil from Serbia and 44 for that from Bulgaria, amounted to 97.3% and 96.4% of the oils, respectively. The dominant constituents of the Serbian oil were sesquiterpenes {59.6%, the most abundant components being germacrene D (31.8%), trans-caryophyllene (8.8%) and bicyclogermacrene (6.2%)}, while monoterpenes accounted for 37.5% {the most abundant components being linalool (14.0%) and β-pinene (10.7%)}. The essential oil from Bulgaria was characterized by a high percentage of monoterpenes, amounting to 62.9% {the most abundant components being β-pinene (26.8%), α-pinene (9.3%) and limonene (6.4%)}, while sesquiterpenes accounted for 33.5% (the most abundant component was germacrene D 17.7%)}.