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Background and purpose: Recent data show the antihyperlipidemic activities of some plants belonging to the genus Dracocephalum. In this study, the effects of hydroalcoholic extract of D. subcapitatum (O. Kuntze) Lipsky aerial parts were evaluated in a model of hyperlipidemia induced by dexamethasone. Experimental approach: The extract was prepared by maceration method and its total phenolic content was determined. Seven groups of 6 Wistar rats were used as follows: group 1 (normal control) received vehicle; group 2 (extract control) treated only with 200 mg/kg D. subcapitatum; group 3 (hyperlipidemia control) received dexamethasone (10 mg/kg/day, subcutaneously); group 4 (reference) received dexamethasone and atorvastatin (40 mg/kg, orally), and groups 5-7 (test groups) received dexamethasone and simultaneously treated orally with 50, 100, or 200 mg/kg D. subcapitatum. All treatments were done for 1 week. Serum lipid profile, fasting blood glucose, malondialdehyde concentration, and liver histopathology were examined. Findings/Results: Total phenolic content was 77.34 ± 4.9 mg/g as gallic acid equivalent. Treatment with D. subcapitatum (200 mg/kg) meaningfully declined triglycerides, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, very low-density lipoprotein, blood glucose, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and malondialdehyde levels, and alleviated hepatic steatosis in dexamethasone-induced dyslipidemic rats. Conclusion and implications: Findings of the current study suggest that D. subcapitatum may be effective in the management of hyperlipidemia. Further studies are necessary to determine the clinical efficacy of this treatment and to understand the underlying mechanisms responsible for its ability to lower lipid levels.

Background and objectives: The aim of this study was extraction, isolation, and identification of potent metabolites from aerial parts of Artemisia kermanensis Podl.“Dermaneh kermani’, the Iranian endemic species of Asteraceae family, and finally evaluation the anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects against normal and breast cancer cell lines. Methods: Air-dried aerial parts of A. kermanensis Podl. were extracted by maceration method with acetone/dichloromethane and then fractionated with MPLC apparatus using a gradient solvent system. The chemical structures of the isolated compounds were determined based on analysis of mass and nuclear magnetic resonance spectra. Anti-proliferative effects of the three compounds were determined by MTT assay against HUVEC, MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells. The apoptotic effects of compounds 2 and 3 were determined by flow cytometry on MCF-7 cells. Results: Compound 1 (5,7-dihydroxy-3',4',6-trimethoxyflavone, eupatilin), compound 2 (5,7,3'-Trihydroxy-6,4',5'-trimethoxyflavone) and compound 3 (1-acetoxy-3,7-dimethyl-7-hydroxy-octa-2E,5E-dien-4-one) were isolated from the plant extract. Compound 3 was identified for the first time from A. kermanensis. Statistical studies revealed that this compound showed the most anti-proliferative properties on all three cell lines. In MCF-7 cells treated with concentration of 10 µg/mL of compound 3, 36% apoptosis was observed. Furthermore, compound 2 (5,7,3'-Trihydroxy-6,4',5'-trimethoxyflavone) showed 33% apoptosis at 650 µg/mL. Conclusion: In the present study, the cytotoxic and apoptotic effects of 5,7,3'-trihydroxy-6,4',5'-trimethoxyflavone and Compound 3 (1-acetoxy-3,7-dimethyl-7-hydroxy-octa-2E,5E-dien-4-one) were determined for the first time. On the other hand, since Compound 3 showed the most cytotoxic effects on the cancer cell lines, investigation of its biological effects is recommended.

Background: Cyclomyrsinane diterpenes especially those extracted from various Euphorbia species have shown interesting biological properties in recent years. Because of the high prevalence of breast cancer and the challenges ahead in its treatment, the use of these compounds as potential anti cancer agents seem reasonable. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the cytotoxic effects of some myrsinane type diterpenoids extracted from Euphorbia sogdiana Popov and determine their induced cell death mechanism. Methods: MTT assay was used to determine the cytotoxicity of six various myrsinane compounds on MCF 7 and 4T1 breast cancer cell lines. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells were used as the normal cell line too. The apoptotic effects of the structure with the most cytotoxic effects were determined using flow cytometry assay in IC50 concentration for 24 h of incubation. Results: Compound (6) showed the most cytotoxic effects with IC50 of about 8 ± 4 and 24 ± 4 μg/mL for MCF 7 and 4T1 cell lines, respectively. Furthermore, the cells treated with 5 and 10 μg/mL of compound (6) for 24 h, showed 37 and 55% of apoptotic cells. Conclusions: These surveyed compounds have the potential to be considered as useful anti-breast cancer agents due to the great cytotoxicity and apoptotic effects against these cancer cells and the fact that there was no significant cytotoxicity on normal cells.

Isolated diterpenes from various species of Euphorbia are important compounds for drug discovery with a broad spectrum of structures and biological effects. In this study, Euphorbia gedrosiaca, one of the endemic species of Iran, was analyzed in terms of the presence and structural determination of diterpenoid compounds. They were extracted with dichloromethane/acetone (2:1) from aerial parts of this plant and purified by chromatographic methods such as MPLC and HPLC. Four premyrsinane compounds and one myrsinane diterpene were isolated from Euphorbia gedrosiaca. They were characterized by extensive 1D and 2D NMR and HRMS analyses. Additionally, their activities were evaluated against two breast cancer cell lines, MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7, by MTT proliferation assay. They exhibited cytotoxic effects in a dose-dependent manner with promising results, which can help to find possible therapeutic application of diterpenoids in breast cancer treatment.

The attraction to the Euphorbia genus, with its remarkable diversity in species, is due to its variety of chemical compositions. Euphorbia turcomanica is one of the species of the spurge family growing wildly in Iran. This research aims to investigate the presence of secondary metabolites, specially terpenoid compounds, in terms of structural determination. Samples of E. tucomanica were finely powdered and macerated with acetone/dichloromethane 2:1. Repeated column chromatography using silica gel, MPLC, and HPLC methods followed by the analysis of data obtained from spectroscopic means was carried out to purify and identify the terpenoid constituents. The chemical structures of nine known terpenoids were determined for the first time from E. turcomanica during this study. Loliolide (1), a monoterpene, and eight steroids and triterpenes, including simiarenol (2), isomultiflorenol (3), cycloart-25-ene-3β,24-diol (4), β-sitosterol (5), cycloart-23-ene-3β,25-diol (6), 3α, 11α-dihydroxyurs-12-ene (7), 3β, 24β, 25-trihydroxycycloartane (8), and 7α-hydroxystigmasterol (9) were isolated and identified. E. tucomanica, with a rich terpenoid profile, can be one of the valuable and economic sources providing compounds for drug development.