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Limbarda crithmoides (L.) Dumort (Asteraceae) n -hexane extract displayed high cell proliferation inhibitory activity against acute myeloid leukaemia cells (OCI-AML3) and was therefore subjected to a bioassay-guided multistep separation procedure. Two thymol derivatives, namely 10-acetoxy-8,9-epoxythymol tiglate ( 1 ) and 10-acetoxy-9-chloro-8,9-dehydrothymol ( 2 ), were isolated and identified by means of NMR spectroscopy. Both of them exhibited a significant dose-dependent inhibition of cell proliferation.

The impact of different extraction methods, namely maceration, homogenizer-assisted extraction, rapid solid-liquid dynamic extraction, microwave-assisted extraction and ultrasound-assisted extraction, on polyphenols of Moringa oleifera leaves was studied. The phenolic composition of alcoholic (methanol 100%) and hydroalcoholic (methanol/water 50:50, v/v) extracts was compared by using an untargeted metabolomics-based profiling approach followed by multivariate statistics. With this aim, ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography coupled to a quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry was used to profile phenolic compounds under the different extraction conditions. Besides, the in vitro antioxidant activities of Moringa leaves were also investigated as ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC). The metabolomic approach allowed to putatively annotate 262 phenolic compounds. In particular, glycosidic forms of quercetin (i.e., quercetin 3-O-galactoside, quercetin 3-O-glucoside, and quercetin 4'-O-glucoside) were the most represented compounds among flavonoids. Furthermore, protocatechuic acid was found to be the most abundant hydroxybenzaldheyde derivative, while the isomeric forms of hydroxybenzoic acid characterized the phenolic acids class. Overall, the extractions in methanol 100% were found to be the most effective for phenolic compounds recovering, when compared with those in methanol/water (50:50, v/v). Homogenizer-assisted extraction of M. oleifera leaves using 100% methanol allowed extracting the highest amounts of polyphenols (35.19 mg/g) and produced the highest oxygen radical absorbance capacity (536.27 μmol Trolox Equivalents/g). The supervised orthogonal projection to latent structures discriminant analysis identified phenolic acids as the phenolic class mostly affected by the different extraction technologies. These findings demonstrate that each extraction method promoted the recovery of specific phenolic subclasses with different efficiencies., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Bursera microphylla (BM), one of the common elephant trees, is widely distributed in the Sonoran Desert in Mexico. The Seri ethnic group in the Sonoran Desert uses BM as an anti-inflammatory and painkiller drug for the treatment of sore throat, herpes labialis, abscessed tooth, and wound healing. Dried stems and leaves of BM are used in a tea to relieve painful urination and to stimulate bronchial secretion. Furthermore, BM is used for fighting venereal diseases. To investigate the effects of the hexane fraction of resin methanol extract (BM-H) on cell growth, the acute myeloid cell line (OCI-AML3) was treated with 250, 25, or 2.5 µg/mL of BM-H. The first 2 concentrations were able to significantly decrease OCI-AML3 cell number. This reduced cell number was associated with decreased S-phase, blockade of the G 2 /M phase of the cell cycle, and increased cell death. Similar results were obtained on all tested tumor cell lines of different origins. We found that blockade of the cell cycle was due to upregulation of p21 protein in a p53-independent way. Increase of p21 was possibly due to upstream upregulation of p-ERK (which stabilizes p21 protein) and downregulation of p-38 (which promotes its degradation). Regarding cell death, activation of caspase-3, but not of caspase-8 or -9, was detectable after BM-H treatment. In conclusion, these data suggest that the BM's hexane fraction inhibited proliferation of cell lines mainly by a p21-dependent, p53-independent mechanism and promoted apoptosis through activation of caspase-3, but not caspase-8 or -9.

Bursera microphylla (BM), one of the common elephant trees, is widely distributed in the Sonoran desert in Mexico. The Seri ethnic group in the Sonoran desert uses BM as an anti-inflammatory and painkiller drug for the treatment of sore throat, herpes labialis, abscessed tooth, and wound healing. Dried stems and leaves of BM are used in a tea to relieve painful urination and to stimulate bronchial secretion. Furthermore, BM is used for fighting venereal diseases. To investigate the effects of the hexane fraction of resin methanol extract (BM-H) on cell growth, the acute myeloid cell line (OCI-AML3) was treated with 250, 25, or 2.5 µg/mL of BM-H. The first 2 concentrations were able to significantly decrease OCI-AML3 cell number. This reduced cell number was associated with decreased S-phase, blockade of G 2 /M phase of the cell cycle, and increased cell death. Similar results were obtained on all tested tumor cell lines of different origins. We found that blockade of the cell cycle was a result of upregulation of p21 protein in a p53-independent way. Increase of p21 was possibly a result of upstream upregulation of p-ERK (which stabilizes p21 protein) and downregulation of p-38 (which promotes its degradation). Regarding cell death, activation of caspase-3, but not of caspase-8 or -9, was detectable after BM-H treatment. In conclusion, these data suggest that BM-H inhibited proliferation of cell lines mainly by a p21-dependent, p53-independent mechanism and promoted apoptosis through activation of caspase-3 but not caspase-8 or -9.

Ethnopharmacology Relevance: The evaluation of the antimycobacterial activity of extracts of medicinal plants used by Mayos against tuberculosis and respiratory problems, allowed the identification of Rhynchosia precatoria (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) DC (Fabaceae) as the best candidate to find new antimycobacterial compounds., Aim of the Study: To isolate and characterize the compounds of R. precatoria responsible for the inhibitory and bactericidal activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv and Mycobacterium smegmatis ATCC 700084. To determine antimycobacterial synergistic effect of pure compounds and their selectivity index towards Vero cells., Materials and Methods: A total of six flavonoids were purified by silica gel column chromatography. Structural elucidation of the isolated compounds was achieved by using 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy techniques. The configuration at the C-3 chiral center was established by quantum mechanical calculation of the electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectrum. In vitro inhibitory and bactericidal activity against M. tuberculosis and M. smegmatis were determined with the redox indicator Alamar Blue (resazurin). Synergy was determined by X/Y quotient. Cytotoxicity was measured by MTT assay., Results: The isolated compounds were identified as precatorin A (1), precatorin B (2), precatorin C (3), lupinifolin (4), cajanone (5) and lupinifolinol (6). Compounds 1-3 are new. Compounds 1 to 5 inhibited the growth of M. tuberculosis (MIC ≥31.25µg/mL); compounds 1, 2, 4 and 5 killed the bacteria (MBC ≥31.25µg/mL) and also inhibited M. smegmatis (MIC ≥125µg/mL), while 1 and 4 also resulted bactericidal (MBC ≥125µg/mL). Compounds 4 and 5 presented synergistic effect (X/Y quotient value <0.5) at a concentration of 1/2 MIC of each compound in the combination. Cytotoxicity in murine macrophages (RAW 264.7 cells) gave IC 50 values of 13.3-46.98µM, for compounds 1-5., Conclusions: In this work we isolated two new isoflavanones (1 and 2), and one new isoflavone (3) with a weak antimycobacterial activity. The (3R) absolute configuration was assigned to 1 by computational analysis of its ECD spectrum and to 2 and 5 by similarity of their ECD spectra with that of 1. We are also reporting by first time, activity against virulent strain of M. tuberculosis for compounds 4 and 5 and their antimycobacterial synergistic effect., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The total phenolic content, antioxidant and antifungal activities of three Inula crithmoides extracts (n-hexane, methylene chloride and MeOH) were investigated. The methanolic extract showed the highest total phenolic content. In the DPPH assay, the methanolic and hexane extracts exhibited the highest DPPH-radical scavenging activity; in the 5-lipoxygenase assay, the hexane extract showed greater inhibitory effect with an IC50 similar to that of Trolox and ascorbic acid. The antifungal activity of the methanolic extract revealed a higher activity against Phytophtora cryptogea and Alternaria solani.

The chemical composition, the antiradical properties of Dendrobium speciosum (Orchidaceae) leaves and stem extracts have been studied. Furthermore, in view of the use of this orchid as "bush foods", the genotoxic/antigenotoxic effects of the extracts have been evaluated., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Collinin is a geranyloxycoumarins isolated in small amounts from plants of the Rutaceae family. Synthetic schemes were recently developed allowing to handle collinin in sufficient quantities to put in evidence valuable biological effects. The aim of this review is to examine the phytochemical and pharmacological properties of this compound.

Glaucopine A (1) and B (2), two new cyathane diterpenes, have been isolated from the mushroom Sarcodon glaucopus: their structures have been determined on the basis of spectral data. Their topical anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated using the Croton oil ear test in mice: compounds 1 and 2 (1 micromol/cm2) provoked edema reduction (62 % and 55 %, respectively) similar to that induced by the reference non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, indomethacin (0.3 micromol/cm2, 61 % edema reduction).

Diterpenes are characteristic compounds from the genus Sideritis L., possessing an array of biological activities. Siderol is the main constituent of the ent-kaurene diterpenes in Sideritis species. In order to isolate the specific compound and evaluate for the first time its cytotoxic activity, we explored the dichloromethane extract of cultivated Sideritis euboea Heldr. To track the specific natural bioactive agent, we applied NMR spectroscopy to the crude plant extract, since NMR can serve as a powerful and rapid tool both to navigate the targeted isolation process of bioactive constituents, and to also reveal the identity of bioactive components. Along these lines, from the rapid 1D 1H NMR spectrum of the total crude plant extract, we were able to determine the characteristic proton NMR signals of siderol. Furthermore, with the same NMR spectrum, we were able to categorize several secondary metabolites into chemical groups as a control of the isolation process. Therefore, this non-polar extract was explored, for the first time, revealing eleven compounds—one fatty acid ester; 2-(p-hydroxyphenyl)ethylstearate (1), three phytosterols; β-sitosterol (2), stigmasterol (3), and campesterol (4); one triterpenoid; ursolic acid (5), four diterpenoids; siderol (6), eubol (7), eubotriol (8), 7-epicandicandiol (9) and two flavonoids; xanthomicrol (10) and penduletin (11). The main isolated constituent was siderol. The antiproliferative potential of siderol was evaluated, using the MTT (3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide) assay, on three human cancer cell lines DLD1, HeLa, and A549, where the IC50 values were estimated at 26.4 ± 3.7, 44.7 ± 7.2, and 46.0 ± 4.9 μΜ, respectively. The most potent activity was recorded in the human colon cancer cell line DLD1, where siderol exhibited the lowest IC50. Our study unveiled the beneficial potential of siderol as a remarkable cytotoxic agent and the significant contribution of NMR spectroscopy towards the isolation and identification of this potent anticancer agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We investigated the in vitro anti-inflammatory activity of 1(10),4-furanodien-6-one, one the most active compounds of the hexane extract of Commiphora erythraea (Ehrenb.) Engl., by exposing microglial BV-2 cells to lipopolysaccharide. We showed that furanodien-6-one pre-treatment restored cell viability and ROS to control levels while halving NO generation. Production of pro-inflammatory IL-6, IL-23, IL-17, TGF-β, and INF-γ, significantly induced by LPS, was also markedly reduced by furanodien-6-one treatment. We further showed that furanodien-6-one protects primary neuronal cultures against the inflammatory/toxic insults of LPS-treated BV-2 conditioned media, indicating that furanodien-6-one exerts anti-inflammatory/cytoprotective effects in neuronal cells. We then investigated whether furanodien-6-one exerts anti-inflammatory properties in an in vivo model of microglial activation. In adult mice ip-injected with LPS we found that furanodien-6-one had strong cerebral anti-inflammatory properties by inhibiting liver and brain TNFα as well as IL-1β expression. Results were not unexpected since FTIR-metabolomic analyses showed that furanodien-6-one-treated mice had a reduced dissimilarity to control animals and that the response to LPS treatment was markedly modified by furanodien-6-one. In conclusion our data provide strong evidence of the anti-inflammatory properties of furanodien-6-one that could be exploited to counteract degenerative pathologies based on neuroinflammation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The topical anti-inflammatory, free radical scavenging and antifungal activities of essential oils and extracts of Commiphora erythraea (Ehrenb.) Engl. resin were investigated. The hexane extract significantly inhibited oedema when applied topically in Croton oil-induced ear oedema assay in mice. The same extract showed antioxidant activity in DPPH radical scavenging assay. A bioguided separation of the hexane extract led to the isolation of furanosesquiterpenoids 1 and 2 that showed a weak antifungal activity, while compounds 3–5 resulted to be antioxidant (EC50 4.28, 2.56 and 1.08mg/mL, respectively) and anti-inflammatory (30, 26 and 32% oedema reduction, respectively). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]