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Atraphaxis pyrifolia, a native medicinal plant of Central Asia, has a long history of traditional medicinal use; however, scientific research on its phytochemical and biological properties remains scarce. This paper aims to elucidate its chemical profile and assess its pharmacological potential through a comprehensive investigation of the phytochemical composition of stems and leaves using Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS), in conjunction with the assessment of its antioxidant (DPPH and ABTS) and cytotoxicity test on Artemia salina. Predominantly, glycosylated flavonoids were detected in stems and leaves extracts, notably including 8-Acetoxy-3′,4′,5,5′-tetrahydroxy-7-methoxy-3-α-L-rhamno-pyranosyloxyflavone, pyrifolin, and dehydroxypyrifolin. While the latter compound is exclusive to A. pyrifolia, the former compounds serve as shared chemical markers with other Atraphaxis species. The methanolic extracts of A. pyrifolia leaves exhibited significant antioxidant capacity without toxicity against Artemia salina. This study contributes to current research through providing valuable insights into the chemical diversity and potential medicinal properties of this plant species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atraphaxis pyrifolia, a native medicinal plant of Central Asia, has a long history of traditional medicinal use; however, scientific research on its phytochemical and biological properties remains scarce. This paper aims to elucidate its chemical profile and assess its pharmacological potential through a comprehensive investigation of the phytochemical composition of stems and leaves using Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS), in conjunction with the assessment of its antioxidant (DPPH and ABTS) and cytotoxicity test on Artemia salina. Predominantly, glycosylated flavonoids were detected in stems and leaves extracts, notably including 8-Acetoxy-3′,4′,5,5′-tetrahydroxy-7-methoxy-3-α-L-rhamno-pyranosyloxyflavone, pyrifolin, and dehydroxypyrifolin. While the latter compound is exclusive to A. pyrifolia, the former compounds serve as shared chemical markers with other Atraphaxis species. The methanolic extracts of A. pyrifolia leaves exhibited significant antioxidant capacity without toxicity against Artemia salina. This study contributes to current research through providing valuable insights into the chemical diversity and potential medicinal properties of this plant species.

Abstract Fungal diseases, especially those that affect the root systems of plants, caused by Rhizoctonia and Macrophomina are limiting factors for achieving high crop yields. Alternatives to controlling fungi with chemical products drive the search for new options for bioactive compounds from plants. Attalea geraensis, a palm tree from the Brazilian Cerrado, is rich in flavonoids with antifungal actions. The objective of this work is to identify the chemical classes present in the ethanolic extract of green leaves of A. geraensis and determine the antifungal potential of the extract against isolates of Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid. and Rhizoctonia solani JG Kühn. Phytochemical prospection, flavonoid dereplication, and antifungal activity were carried out of the ethanolic extract of the green leaves of A. geraensis harvested in the Cerrado area of Brazil. Steroids, triterpenes, saponins, and anthraquinones are described here for the first time for the leaves of A. geraensis. The flavonoids quercetin, isorhamnetin, 3,7-dimethylquercetin, quercetin 3-galactoside, 5,7-dihydroxy-2-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-3-{[3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxan-2-yl]oxy}-4H-chromen-4-one, rhamnazin 3-galactoside, keioside, and rhamnazin 3-rutinoside were identified. Of these, only quercetin and isorhamnetin had already been identified in the leaves of A. geraensis. The results show a fungistatic potential for the species. The diversity of flavonoids present in the leaves of A. geraensis may be the result of a synergistic action between fungus and plant or there could be an antagonistic effect between flavonoids and the other identified chemical classes.

Monteverdia ilicifolia is a Brazilian native plant, traditionally used to treat gastric diseases that are now associated with Helicobacter pylori and are commonly associated with several human diseases. We point out the M. ilicifolia extract as active against H. pylori. The crude extract produced with acetone:water presented the best H. pylori inhibitory activity of all five extracts (MIC 64 µg/mL). The ethyl-acetate fractions from crude extracts produced with ethanol and acetone showed a MIC of 64 µg/mL. Both ethyl-acetate fractions and the crude extract produced with acetone showed an antioxidant capacity of between 14.51 and 19.48 µg/mL in the DPPH assay. In the FRAP assay, two ethyl-acetate fractions (EAF2 and EAF4) presented the antioxidant capacity of 5.40 and 5.15 mM Trolox/g of extract. According to the results obtained from the antioxidant and antibacterial assays, two fractions (EAF2 and nBF5) were analyzed by mass spectrometry and confirmed the presence of monomeric, dimeric, trimeric tannins, and glycosylated flavonoids. Some compounds were tested using bioinformatics to evaluate the best enzyme inhibitors and the molecular interaction between the enzyme and the tested ligands. The presence of these polyphenol compounds could play an important role in antioxidant and inhibitory capacities against H. pylori and can be used to assist in the treatment or prevention of infection by H. pylori. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monteverdia ilicifolia is a Brazilian native plant, traditionally used to treat gastric diseases that are now associated with Helicobacter pylori and are commonly associated with several human diseases. We point out the M. ilicifolia extract as active against H. pylori. The crude extract produced with acetone:water presented the best H. pylori inhibitory activity of all five extracts (MIC 64 µg/mL). The ethyl-acetate fractions from crude extracts produced with ethanol and acetone showed a MIC of 64 µg/mL. Both ethyl-acetate fractions and the crude extract produced with acetone showed an antioxidant capacity of between 14.51 and 19.48 µg/mL in the DPPH assay. In the FRAP assay, two ethyl-acetate fractions (EAF2 and EAF4) presented the antioxidant capacity of 5.40 and 5.15 mM Trolox/g of extract. According to the results obtained from the antioxidant and antibacterial assays, two fractions (EAF2 and nBF5) were analyzed by mass spectrometry and confirmed the presence of monomeric, dimeric, trimeric tannins, and glycosylated flavonoids. Some compounds were tested using bioinformatics to evaluate the best enzyme inhibitors and the molecular interaction between the enzyme and the tested ligands. The presence of these polyphenol compounds could play an important role in antioxidant and inhibitory capacities against H. pylori and can be used to assist in the treatment or prevention of infection by H. pylori.

The specie Ocotea notata (Nees & Mart). Mez is a tree with 5 meters high, that can be found in restinga regions in the Brazilian coast. This study describes a phytochemical investigation, total phenolic content and the antioxidant activity of extracts and fractions by DPPH and ORAC. Phenolic content revealed equivalent concentration between evaluated samples, similar to found in the leave extract (66.4 mEq GA/g). By DPPH, extracts and fractions showed effective concentration (EC50) lower than the standards Ginkgo biloba 761® (23.60 ± 0.64 µg/ml) and quercetin (6.06 ± 0, 92 µg/mL); for the ORAC method, ethyl acetate partition showed a value of 2.06 mmol Trolox equivalent g−1 better than obtained in Ginkgo biloba (1.03 ± 0.25 mmol.Trolox equivalent g−1. The butanol partition (0.52 mmol.Trolox equivalent g−1) and the aqueous residue (0.74 mmol Trolox equivalent g−1) have a lesser ORAC potential than ethyl acetate partition. The butanolic partition, investigated by LC-DAD-MS/MS and QTOF-MS, revealed six major compounds: miquelianin (1), isoquercitrin (2), quercitrin (3), kaempferol-3-O-pentose (4), afzelin (5) and isorhamnetin-glucuronide (6). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a prevalent systemic disease affecting an important proportion of the population worldwide. It has been suggested that excessive reactive oxygen species generation and therefore development of an oxidative stress status is a key factor leading to diabetic complications. Accordingly, it seems that medicinal plants can offer a wide range of new antidiabetic drugs. Diplotaxis simplex (Viv.) Spreng. (Brassicaceae) is an edible plant largely distributed in the Mediterranean region. D. simplex flowers display important in vitro antioxidant potential and inhibitory activity of the α-glucosidase, a key enzyme linked to type 2 diabetes mellitus. In this paper, the antihyperglycemic potential of D. simplex flowers on diabetic rats were investigated. Methods Bioactive substances were determined by liquid chromatography-high resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-HRESIMS) analysis. Animals were divided into four groups of six rats each: a normal control group, a diabetic control group, a diabetic group receiving flowers extract (200 mg/kg body mass) and a diabetic group receiving acarbose (10 mg/kg body mass) as standard drug. Results Many glycosides of rhamnetin, isorhamnetin, quercetin and kaempferol compounds were identified in the ethanolic flowers extract. Alloxan induced hyperglycemia, manifested by a significant (p

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a prevalent systemic disease affecting an important proportion of the population worldwide. It has been suggested that excessive reactive oxygen species generation and therefore development of an oxidative stress status is a key factor leading to diabetic complications. Accordingly, it seems that medicinal plants can offer a wide range of new antidiabetic drugs. Diplotaxis simplex (Viv.) Spreng. (Brassicaceae) is an edible plant largely distributed in the Mediterranean region. D. simplex flowers display important in vitro antioxidant potential and inhibitory activity of the α-glucosidase, a key enzyme linked to type 2 diabetes mellitus. In this paper, the antihyperglycemic potential of D. simplex flowers on diabetic rats were investigated. Methods: Bioactive substances were determined by liquid chromatography-high resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-HRESIMS) analysis. Animals were divided into four groups of six rats each: a normal control group, a diabetic control group, a diabetic group receiving flowers extract (200 mg/kg body mass) and a diabetic group receiving acarbose (10 mg/kg body mass) as standard drug. Results: Many glycosides of rhamnetin, isorhamnetin, quercetin and kaempferol compounds were identified in the ethanolic flowers extract. Alloxan induced hyperglycemia, manifested by a significant (p < 0.05) increase in the blood glucose level as well as in serum α-amylase activity. Furthermore, diabetic rats exhibited oxidative stress, as evidenced by a decrease in antioxidant enzymes activities and an increase in lipid peroxidation level of the pancreas, liver and kidneys. Interestingly, the oral administration of D. simplex flowers extract during 30 days restored the glycemia, α-amylase activity, serum lipid profile and antioxidant enzymes. Moreover, the flowers extract exhibited a renal protective role by decreasing the urea and creatinine levels in diabetic rats serum. Conclusions: D. simplex flowers contained bioactive compounds that possess important antioxidant and hypoglycemic properties and protected pancreas, liver and kidneys against hyperglycemia damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, by-products generated from the agro-industrial practices are considered a key source of bioactive and functional components, that can be used for their nutritional and added value properties. New aspects concerning the use of these wastes as by-products in food production additives or supplements with high nutritional and medicinal value have gained substantial interest, due to their possession of economically high-value products. In this sense, the present study describes a thorough characterization of phytochemical compounds from hydro-methanolic extract of broad beans testa by using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) hyphenated with quadrupole-time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (QTOF-MS). The proposed analytical technique provides tentative characterization of 134 phenolic and other phytochemical compounds in the Vicia faba extract, most of which have not been described so far in broad beans. Thus, > 85 phytochemicals (Amino acids, phenolic acids, flavonoids, lignans, and terpenoids derivatives) are being reported herein in broad beans pods for the first time. The characterization process was carried out using MS and MS 2 data provided by the ESI-qTOF–MS, along with the use of the relevant literature based on the same botanical family. The data obtained demonstrates that the agro-industrial by-product could potentially be utilized as a promising source of bioactive ingredients to design new functional foods and nutraceuticals with a valuable future market. Furthermore, the obtained data may form a basis for future quantitative and bioavailability studies, which will be the next step in this present work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monteverdia ilicifolia is a Brazilian native plant, traditionally used to treat gastric diseases that are now associated with Helicobacter pylori and are commonly associated with several human diseases. We point out the M. ilicifolia extract as active against H. pylori . The crude extract produced with acetone:water presented the best H. pylori inhibitory activity of all five extracts (MIC 64 µg/mL). The ethyl-acetate fractions from crude extracts produced with ethanol and acetone showed a MIC of 64 µg/mL. Both ethyl-acetate fractions and the crude extract produced with acetone showed an antioxidant capacity of between 14.51 and 19.48 µg/mL in the DPPH assay. In the FRAP assay, two ethyl-acetate fractions (EAF2 and EAF4) presented the antioxidant capacity of 5.40 and 5.15 mM Trolox/g of extract. According to the results obtained from the antioxidant and antibacterial assays, two fractions (EAF2 and nBF5) were analyzed by mass spectrometry and confirmed the presence of monomeric, dimeric, trimeric tannins, and glycosylated flavonoids. Some compounds were tested using bioinformatics to evaluate the best enzyme inhibitors and the molecular interaction between the enzyme and the tested ligands. The presence of these polyphenol compounds could play an important role in antioxidant and inhibitory capacities against H. pylori and can be used to assist in the treatment or prevention of infection by H. pylori.

In this study, we reported the phytochemical composition of the aerial parts ofAtriplex halimusL. collected from Sardinia. This species is a halophytic shrub, typical of the Mediterranean Basin. Four new glycosylated flavonoids were isolated and their structures were elucidated on the basis of 1D, 2D NMR and MS spectra as 3′,5′-dimethoxymyricetin-3-O-β-d-xylopyranosyl-7-O-fucopyranosyl-(1 → 3)-β-d-glucopyranoside (1), 3′-methoxyquercetin-7-O-β-d-fucopyranosyl-(1 → 3)-β-d-glucopyranosyl-3-O-β-xylopyranosyl-(1 → 4)-β-xylopyranoside (2), 3′-methoxyquercetin-7-O-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl-3-O-α-arabinofuranosyl-(1 → 6)-β-d-glucopyranoside (3) and 3′,5′-dimethoxymyricetin-7-O-fucopyranosyl-(1 → 3)-β-d-glucopyranoside (4). LC-MSnanalysis on the extract revealed the presence of other myricetin, quercetin, isorhamnetin glycosides, simple phenolic acids and esters. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: The present study sought to evaluate the hypoglycemic activities of free glycosylated flavonoids and flavonoid complexes with vanadium(IV), (VO(IV)), on glycemia in experimental diabetic rats. Besides free kaempferol-3,7-O-(α)-dirhamnoside and kaempferol-3-neohesperidoside, complexes of these flavonoids with VO(IV) were administered by different routes in order to compare the potency of the compounds as well as the efficacy of insulin or VO(IV) in lowering serum glucose. Wistar rats were made diabetic by alloxan. The glycemia was assessed at different times after the administering of compounds. The equilibrium constants were determined by potentiometric study and two species with VO(IV) are proposed at physiological pH, VOH2L2 for kaempferitrin and VOHL for kaempferol-3-neohesperidoside. The latter exhibited hypoglycemic activity at all times examined with 50 and 100mg/kg and the former reduced the glycemia from 0 to 6h by i.p. route. The administering of the complexes or 0.0146mmol/kg VO(IV) resulted in a serum glucose-lowering effect over time in the case of i.p. treatment. A marked hypoglycemic effect was observed for 0.5IU of insulin (67.5%); 0.0146mmol VO(IV) (16.8%); 0.0294mmol kaempferitrin–VO(IV) (17.8%) and 0.0286mmol kaempferol-3-neohesperidoside–VO(IV) (56.0%) at 3h after i.p. treatment when compared with respective zero time in diabetic groups. Kaempferol-3-neohesperidoside–VO(IV) was 2.5 times more effective than VO(IV), twice as effective as the free compound and three times more effective than kaempferitrin–VO(IV). This is of particular interest since kaempferol-3-neohesperidoside appears to represent a suitable ligand for VO(IV) to mimic the efficacy of insulin in lowering serum glucose levels. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The advent and persistence of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus - 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-induced Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic since December 2019 has created the largest public health emergency in over a century. Despite the administration of multiple vaccines across the globe, there continues to be a lack of approved efficacious non-prophylactic interventions for the disease. Flavonoids are a class of phytochemicals with historically established antiviral, anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties that are effective against cancers, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and even other human coronaviruses. To identify the most promising bioactive flavonoids against the SARS-CoV-2, this article screened a virtual library of 46 bioactive flavonoids against three promising targets in the SARS-CoV-2 life cycle: human TMPRSS2 protein, 3CLpro, and PLpro. By examining the effects of glycosylation and other structural-activity relationships, the presence of sugar moiety in flavonoids significantly reduces its binding energy. It increases the solubility of flavonoids leading to reduced toxicity and higher bioavailability. Through protein-ligand contact profiling, it was concluded that naringin formed more hydrogen bonds with TMPRSS2 and 3CLpro. In contrast, hesperidin formed a more significant number of hydrogen bonds with PLpro. These observations were complimented by the 100 ns molecular dynamics simulation and binding free energy analysis, which showed a considerable stability of docked bioflavonoids in the active site of SARS-CoV-2 target proteins. Finally, the binding affinity and stability of the selected docked complexes were compared with the reference ligands (camostat for TMPRSS2, GC376 for 3CLpro, and GRL0617 for PLpro) that strongly inhibit their respective SARS-COV-2 targets. Overall analysis revealed that the selected flavonoids could be potential therapeutic agents against SARS-CoV-2. Naringin showed better affinity and stability for TMPRSS2 and 3CLpro, whereas hesperidin showed a better binding relationship and stability for PLpro., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease affecting 47 million people worldwide. While acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors such as donepezil and galantamine are leading drugs in the symptomatic treatment of AD, new AChE inhibitors continue to be explored for improved potency and selectivity. Herein, a molecular networking approach using high resolution (HR-MS) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS 2 ) has been used for rapid chemical profiling of an extract of the medicinal plant Vincetoxicum funebre Boiss. & Kotschy (Apocynaceae family) that was active against AChE. A total of 44 compounds were identified by combining the MN with traditional natural product methods, including the isolation and identification of five known compounds ( 13, 41-44 ) and a novel C 13 -norisoprenoid ( 40 ). In addition, the potential inhibitory activity of all 44 compounds was evaluated against the AChE enzyme via molecular docking to provide further support to the proposed structures. The glycosylated flavonoid querciturone ( 31 ) exhibited the highest affinity with a docking score value of -13.43 kJ/mol. Another five compounds showed stronger docking scores against AChE than the clinically used donepezil including the most active isolated compound daucosterol ( 44 ), with a binding affinity of -10.11 kJ/mol towards AChE. These findings broaden our understanding of Vincetoxicum metabolites and highlight the potential of glycosylated flavonoids as AChE inhibitors.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Objective: Melilotus officinalis (L.) Pall. is commonly used for treating bronchitis, painful menstruation, hemorrhoids, kidney stones, ulcers of the eyes, earache, and hardening and swelling of uterus. The European Medicines Agency reported the use of M. officinalis orally against stomach ache, gastric ulcer, and disorders of the liver and uterus in folk medicine. The present study aimed to appraise the activity of M. (L.) Pall. aerial parts in endometriosis rat model., Materials and Methods: The endometriosis rat model was used to evaluate the potential activity of M. officinalis aerial parts based on its folkloric usage. The aerial parts of M. officinalis were extracted with n-hexane, ethyl acetate (EtOAc), and methanol (MeOH), respectively. The adhesion scores, endometrial foci areas, and cytokine levels were measured in all treated groups. After the biological activity studies, phytochemical studies were performed on the active extract and the fractions obtained from the active extract., Results: The MeOH extract significantly decreased the endometrial foci areas and cytokine levels in rats with endometriosis. Fractionation was performed on the MeOH extract to achieve bioactive molecules. Following the fractionation, the fractions obtained from the MeOH extract were tested. Fraction C showed the highest activity in the rat endometriosis model. Phytochemical investigation of the active fraction (Fraction C) resulted in isolation and elucidation of some quercetin and kaempferol glucoside derivatives., Conclusion: Fraction C obtained from the MeOH extract of M. officinalis showed the highest activity, yielding four glycosylated flavonoids., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors have no conflicts of interest relevant to this article., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier B.V.)