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Climate change and human activities severely impact the viability of plants and ecosystems, threatening the environment, biodiversity, and the sustainable development of plant-based products. Biotic and abiotic (ecosystem) determinants affect species distribution and long-term survival, which in turn influence the quality of plants used as herbal medicines and other high-value products. In recent decades, diverse anthropogenic impacts have significantly affected these quality aspects. Climate change, excessive plant exploitation, habitat loss, species vulnerability, and other factors have adversely affected the growth, reproduction, and adaptation of species populations, as well as the quality and volume of primary plant materials supplied to pharmaceutical markets. Despite these growing challenges, there is limited knowledge of potential strategies to prevent or mitigate these impacts, particularly for vulnerable species collected from the wild or harvested from traditional production systems. Hence, effective strategies for preserving and increasing plant populations are urgently needed. In this study, we propose a new framework including the main sustainability factors to better understand and address the vulnerability of a species, hence mitigate the impact of climate change. We assess the applicability of our proposed framework via seven case studies of vulnerable species (i.e., Aquilaria malaccensis Lam., Boswellia sacra Flück., Crocus sativus L., Panax quinquefolius L., Pilocarpus microphyllus Stapf ex Wardlew., Rhodiola rosea L., and Warburgia salutaris (G.Bertol.) Chiov.) from main biogeographic realms, all widely used as medicinal plants. These species present various challenges related to the sustainability of their use, impacting their current and future status locally and globally. Their economic importance, combined with rising demands and specific risks of overexploitation, are also key factors considered here. The suggested framework for the sustainability of medicinal and other high-value plant-based products in the phytopharmaceutical industry emphasises strategies that promote conservation and sustainable resource use. It can also be adapted for other vulnerable species requiring urgent attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secondary metabolites were isolated using chromatographic techniques after being extracted sequentially from the roots of Artemisia afra using organic solvents such as ethanol, ethyl acetate, dichloromethane, and n-hexane. The isolated compounds were evaluated for anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, and cytotoxicity activities. Spectroscopic techniques, including Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS), were used to elucidate the structures of the isolated compounds. The phytochemical investigation of A. afra led to the isolation of eight (A–H) compounds which were identified as 3β-taraxerol (A), 3β-taraxerol acetate (B), dodecyl-p-coumarate (C), ferulic acid (D), scopoletin (E), sitosterol-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (F), 3,5-di-O-feruloylquinic acid (G) and Isofraxidin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (H) based on spectroscopic data. Compounds A, B, C, F, G, and H are known but were isolated for the first time from the roots of A. afra. The isolated compounds and extracts from A. afra exhibited good anti-fungal and anti-bacterial activity with dichloromethane and ethyl acetate crude extracts (0.078 mg/mL) and compound E (62.5 µg/mL) showed good activities against Escherichia coli. Compounds C and F also showed good activity against Enterococcus faecalis with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 62.5 and 31.25 µg/mL, respectively. Extracts and compounds (A–H) exhibited anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties and showed no toxicity when tested on Vero monkey kidney (Vero) cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.), an invasive tree in Europe, commonly known for its negative impact on biodiversity, is a rich source of phenolic compounds recognized in traditional medicine. Since the metabolite profile depends on the environment and climate, this study aimed to provide the first LC-MS phytochemical screening of the black locust from the Istria region (Croatia). The compounds were extracted from leaves and flowers with 70% ethanol and 80% methanol. Total phenolics (TP) and flavonoids (TF), as well as antioxidant capacity (AC) measured by ABTS (17.49–146.41 mg TE/g DW), DPPH (24.67–118.49 mg TE/g DW), and FRAP (7.38–77.53 mg TE/g DW) assays, were higher in leaf than in flower extracts. Higher TP and total non-flavonoid (TNF) values were displayed in ethanolic than in methanolic extracts. In total, 64 compounds were identified, of which flavonols (20) and hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives (15) were the most represented. Flavanols such as catechin dominated in leaf extracts, followed by flavonols, with kaempferol glucuronyl rhamnosyl hexosides as the main compound, respectively. Flower extracts had the highest share of flavones, followed by ellagitannins, with luteolin dirhamnosyl hexosides and vescalagin, respectively, being predominant. The extracts had good quorum sensing, biofilm formation prevention, and eradicating capacity. The results provided new insights into the phytochemical properties of R. pseudoacacia as the first step toward its potential pharmaceutical use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sarcocephalus pobeguinii (Hua ex Pobég) is used in folk medicine to treat oxidative-stress related diseases, thereby warranting the investigation of its anticancer and anti-inflammatory properties. In our previous study, the leaf extract of S. pobeguinii induced significant cytotoxic effect against several cancerous cells with high selectivity indexes towards non-cancerous cells. Aim: The current study aims to isolate natural compounds from S. pobeguinii, and to evaluate their cytotoxicity, selectivity and anti-inflammatory effects as well as searching for potential target proteins of bioactive compounds. Methods: Natural compounds were isolated from leaf, fruit and bark extracts of S. pobeguinii and their chemical structures were elucidated using appropriate spectroscopic methods. The antiproliferative effect of isolated compounds was determined on four human cancerous cells (MCF-7, HepG2, Caco-2 and A549 cells) and non-cancerous Vero cells. Additionally, the anti-inflammatory activity of these compounds was determined by evaluating the nitric oxide (NO) production inhibitory potential and the 15-lipoxygenase (15-LOX) inhibitory activity. Furthermore, molecular docking studies were carried out on six putative target proteins found in common signaling pathways of inflammation and cancer. Results: Hederagenin (2), quinovic acid 3-O-[α-D-quinovopyranoside] (6) and quinovic acid 3-O-[β-D-quinovopyranoside] (9) exhibited significant cytotoxic effect against all cancerous cells, and they induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells by increasing caspase-3/-7 activity. (6) showed the highest efficacy against all cancerous cells with poor selectivity (except for A549 cells) towards noncancerous Vero cells; while (2) showed the highest selectivity warranting its potential safety as a chemotherapeutic agent. Moreover, (6) and (9) significantly inhibited NO production in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells which could mainly be attributed to their high cytotoxic effect. Besides, the mixture nauclealatifoline G and naucleofficine D (1), hederagenin (2) and chletric acid (3) were active against 15-LOX as compared to quercetin. Docking results showed that JAK2 and COX-2, with the highest binding scores, are the potential molecular targets involved in the antiproliferative and anti-inflammatory effects of bioactive compounds. Conclusion: Overall, hederagenin (2), which selectively killed cancer cells with additional anti-inflammatory effect, is the most prominent lead compound which may be further investigated as a drug candidate to tackle cancer progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: Natural products from plant extracts have demonstrated interesting biological activities. With the rise in antimicrobial resistance, plants may provide complementary or alternative approaches to combating diseases, such as mastitis, assisting in sustainably reducing the burden of microbial infections. Bovine mastitis in dairy livestock production is a serious economic problem causing milk production losses and increased management costs. Staphylococcus aureus and non-aureus staphylococcus (NAS) are important causes of bovine mastitis. Antimicrobial resistance can limit the control of mastitis pathogens. Antibacterial and cytotoxic activities of acetone and ethanol extracts of nine South African plants were determined against reference and drug-resistant staphylococci isolated from clinical cases of bovine mastitis. The nine plants, namely, Antidesma venosum, Elaeodendron croceum, Erythrina caffra, Indigofera frutescens, Pleurostylia capensis, Searsia lancea, Searsia leptodictya, Trichilia emetica, and Ziziphus mucronata, were chosen for research material. The antibacterial activity of extracts was determined using a serial microdilution method, while a tetrazolium-based assay was used to determine their cytotoxicity against Vero cells. The values of antibacterial minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) obtained were promising, with MIC ranging between 0.01 and 1.41 mg/mL. Generally, acetone extracts of most plants had better activity than their ethanol counterparts. The S. aureus strains were more susceptible to all the extracts than the NAS strains. The plant extracts' half-maximal toxicity (LC50) was higher than 0.02 mg/mL, which is the recommended cytotoxic cut-off concentration. The ethanol extract of E. caffra, which showed better MIC values than its acetone extract, had the highest mean selectivity index (SI) of 8.30. Among the plants tested, S. lancea exhibited the most potent antibacterial activity, suggesting its potential usefulness as a broad-spectrum antibacterial agent against staphylococci associated with bovine mastitis, at relatively non-cytotoxic concentrations. Therefore, it is recommended for further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the medicinal uses of Phragmanthera capitata, Globimetula dinklagei and Tapinanthus bangwensis against memory loss, convulsions and pain, their efficacy against brain-dysfunction diseases and inflammation models has not yet been studied. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the anti-inflammatory and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory potentials of their crude extracts and isolated natural compounds by combining in vitro and in silico experiments. Crude extracts and isolated compounds were tested in vitro for their AChE inhibitory activity by using Ellman's method. Additionally, their anti-inflammatory activity was determined by evaluating the nitric oxide (NO) production inhibitory activity in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophage cells and the 15-lipoxygenase (15-LOX) inhibitory activity by using the ferrous oxidation xylenol orange assay. Furthermore, the in silico efficacy of natural compounds was investigated against ten putative target enzymes relevant in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis and inflammation. It was found that the crude extracts had weak to moderate inhibitory potential against AChE, with the extract of T. bangwensis being the most active (50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) = 48.97 µg/mL). Six natural compounds, namely, 3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-28-hydroxy-α-amyrin (2), apigenin- 8-C-β-D-glucopyranoside (3), globimetulin B (5), globimetulin C (6), bangwaursene B (8) and 3β-acetoxy-11,12-epoxytaraxerol (9), were identified for the first time as having anti-AChE potential, among which (9) had the highest efficacy with an IC50 of 13.89 µM. Among the anti-AChE compounds, (5) was also efficient against NO production and 15-LOX, and the data are in agreement with the docking score. In summary, compounds (5) and (9) are the most prominent lead compounds that should be further tested experimentally against molecular targets of AD and inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study determines the phytochemical contents of selected medicinal plant extracts quantitatively using spectrophotometry and to evaluate their safety on mammalian cells in vitro using tetrazolium-based colorimetric cytotoxicity assay. Twenty-two ethanolic plant extracts were assessed, and the result showed that Psidium guajava had the highest concentration of alkaloids (219.06±11.50mg/g dry-weight (dw)). In contrast, Acacia nilotica leaf extract with 191.60±9.07mg/gdw had the highest level of flavonoids. Vernonia amygdalina and Moringa oleifera contained more steroids than the other plant extracts while condensed tannin was highest in Carya illinoinensis (21.72 ± 0.84 mg/g dw). Coffea arabica, Acacia nilotica leaf, Vernonia amygdalina, Carya illinoinensis and Psidium guajava had more saponins than the other plant extracts. Regarding cytotoxicity evaluation, Allium cepa and Tulbaghia violacea with concentration killing 50% of cells (LC50) values of 0.5182±0.40 and 0.4909 ± 0.034 mg/ml, respectively, were the safest of all the plant extracts. Acacia nilotica pod and Camelia japonica leaf extracts were the most cytotoxic with LC50 values of 0.0101 ± 0.016 and 0.0151 ± 0.005 mg/ml, respectively, which are well below the recommended toxic cut-off point (0.03mg/ml). The best selectivity index (SI) value of 1.061 was obtained with Aloe ferox against S. aureus, which is a Gram-positive bacterium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selenium (Se) is an essential trace nutrient for humans and animals owing to its role in redox regulation, thyroid hormone control factors, immunity, inflammatory reactions, brain activities, and carbohydrate regulation. It is also important to support muscle development, as well as for reproductive and cardiovascular well-being. Furthermore, sulfur is known to be a healing element, due to the remarkable function of specialized and secondary S-containing compounds. The scope of the current study was to determine the impact of Se and S enrichment on the secondary metabolite accumulation and antibacterial and NO inhibition activities in green and red leaf lettuce (V1 and V2, respectively). The plants were grown in a hydroponic system supplied with different S concentrations (S0: 0, S1: 1 mM and S2: 1.5 mM K2SO4) via the nutrient solution and foliar-applied varying levels of Se (0, 0.2 and 2.6 µM). Electrospray ionization–quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ESI-QTOF/MS) combined with ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) was used to identify the secondary metabolites in green and red lettuce. The results indicated that extracts of the biofortified lettuce were not cytotoxic to Vero kidney cells at the highest concentration tested of 1 mg/mL. The ESI/MS of the tentatively identified metabolites showed that the response values of 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid, cyanidin 3-O-galactoside, quercetin 3-O-(6′′-acetyl-glucoside) and quercetin 3-O-malonylglucoside were induced synergistically under higher Se and S levels in red lettuce plants. The acetone extract of red lettuce had antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 0.156 and 0.625 μg/mL under S2/Se1 and S2/Se2 treatments, respectively. As with antibacterial activity, the acetone extract of green (V1) lettuce treated with adequate (S1) and higher S (S2) under Se-limiting conditions showed the ability to inhibit nitric oxide (NO) release from macrophages. NO production by macrophages was inhibited by 50% at respective concentrations of 106.1 ± 2.4 and 101.0 ± 0.6 μg/mL with no toxic effect on the cells, in response to S1 and S2, respectively, under Se-deficient conditions (Se0). Furthermore, the red cultivar (V2) exhibited the same effect as the green cultivar (V1) regarding NO inhibition, with IC50 = 113.0 ± 4.2 μg/mL, in response to S1/Se2 treatments. Collectively, the promising NO inhibitory effect and antibacterial activity of red lettuce under the above-mentioned conditions might be attributed to the production of flavonoid glycosides and phenylpropanoic acid esters under the same condition. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to show the novel approach of the NO inhibitory effect of Se and S enrichment in food crops, as an indicator for the potential of Se and S as natural anti-inflammatory agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]