Search

Amaranthus viridis L. is a wild edible plant that occasionally is cultivated as an alternative crop because of its interest as a functional food and its adaptation to high-saline soils. In this work, leaves from A. viridis were compared with their grown in controlled environment (GCE) counterparts in a soilless system at electrical conductivities (EC) and different light exposures for assessing growth parameters, moisture, total phenolic and total flavonoid content, phenolic compound profiles, vitamin C, antioxidant activity, and antiproliferative activity against the HT–29 human colorectal cancer cell line. The highest biomass production was obtained using EC of 2.5 dS m−1 and the AP67 Milk LED lamp. Vitamin C in wild samples ranged from 83.1 to 104.9 mg 100 g−1 fresh weight (fw), and in GCE ones, it ranged from 112.3 to 236.7 mg 100 g−1 fw. Measured by the DPPH and ABTS assays, the antioxidant activity was higher in wild than in GCE plants: the ranges for wild samples were in the 1.8–4.9 and 2.0–3.9 mmol of Trolox Equivalent (TE) 100 g−1 dry weight (dw) ranges, and for GCE ones in the 1.3–1.9 and 1.5–2.2 mmol TE 100 g−1 dw ranges, respectively. As for phenolic compounds, in wild samples, the range was from 14.65 to 22.70 mg 100 g−1 fw, and these amounts were much higher than those found in their GCE counterparts, in which the range was from 2.58 to 5.95 mg 100 g−1 fw. In wild plants three compounds, namely trans-p-coumaric acid, isorhamnetin-3-O-glucoside, and nicotiflorin, accounted for more than half of the total quantified phenolic compounds. The MTT assay revealed concentration- and time-dependent inhibitory effects on HT–29 cells for all checked extracts. Cancer cells were less influenced by extracts from GCE plants, which showed higher GI50 compared to wild plants. This work improves knowledge on the growth parameters, phytochemical profiles, and biological activities of wild and GCE A. viridis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The seeds of Boraginaceae species constitute a source of γ-linolenic acid (GLA, 18:3n-6)-rich oils, mainly those of Borago officinalis. However, there are many wild unexplored Boraginaceae taxa that are potentially GLA producers. This work scrutinizes the seeds of several Greek Boraginaceae species for fatty acids (FAs), phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity, and in vitro antiproliferative activity against HT-29 colorectal cancer cells. The FA profiles were checked by GC-FID, and GLA (FA% of total FA) highlights in Symphytum bulbosum (26.2), S. creticum (23.2), and Lithodora zahnii (17.4). The total FA content ranged from 9.2 in Alkanna methanaea to 27.3 g/100 g of seeds in Alkanna corcyrensis. The antioxidant activity of the water/methanol extracts, evaluated by the ABTS and DPPH methods, was in line with other GLA producer seeds. Phenolic acids were analyzed by HPLC-DAD and LC-MS, and rosmarinic acid ranged from 160.2 in S. bulbosum to 479.7 mg/100 g in L. zahnii. The MTT assay showed dose- and time-dependent inhibitory effects of the water/methanol extracts against HT-29 cancer cells, especially those of C. major and L. zahnii (GI50 of 600 and 375 μg/mL for 72 h-exposed cells). This work constitutes the first approach to evaluate the seeds of Boraginaceae taxa from Greece as functional oil providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shoots of Asparagus L. are consumed worldwide, although most species belonging to this genus have a restricted range, and several taxa remain unstudied. In this work, a total of four taxa from different locations were scrutinized and compared with cultivated A. officinalis. All shoots were screened for saponins via LC-MS, and in vitro antiproliferative activities against the HT-29 colorectal cancer cell line were assessed via the MTT assay. The total saponins (TS) contained in the crude extracts ranged from 710.0 (A. officinalis) to 1258.6 mg/100 g dw (A. acutifolius). The richness of the compounds detected in this work stands out; a total of 47 saponins have been detected and quantified in the edible parts (shoots) of five taxa of Asparagus. The structure of all the saponins found present skeletons of the furostane and spirostane type. In turn, the structures with a furostane skeleton are divided into unsaturated and dioxygenated types, both in the 20–22 position. The sum of dioscin and derivatives varied largely among the studied taxa, reaching the following percentages of TS: 27.11 (A. officinalis), 18.96 (A. aphyllus), 5.37 (A. acutifolius), and 0.59 (A. albus); while in A. horridus, this compound remains undetected. Aspachiosde A, D, and M varied largely among samples, while a total of seven aspaspirostanosides were characterized in the analyzed species. The hierarchical cluster analysis of the saponin profiles clearly separated the various taxa and demonstrated that the taxonomic position is more important than the place from which the samples were acquired. Thus, saponin profiles have chemotaxonomic significance in Asparagus taxa. The MTT assay showed dose- and time-dependent inhibitory effects of all saponins extracts on HT-29 cancer cells, and the strongest cell growth inhibition was exercised by A. albus and A. acutifolius (GI50 of 125 and 175 µg/mL). This work constitutes a whole approach to evaluating the saponins from the shoots of different Asparagus taxa and provides arguments for using them as functional foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]