Free fatty acids from the crude hexane extract of the aerial parts of Heliotropium indicum Linn. Growing in Phitsanulok, Thailand

Sixteen free fatty acids from the crude hexane extract of the aerial parts of Heliotropium indicum Linn. growing in Phitsanulok, Thailand, have been identified after conversion to their methyl esters with boron trifluoride-methanol followed by quantification by GC-FID and identification by GC-MS analysis. They accounted for 95% of the chromatographable components, with 9,12-octadecadienoic acid, (39.7%), 9-octadecenoic acid (32.4%), hexadecanoic acid (14.2%) and octadecanoic acid (5.1%), as the major constituents. A small amount of 6,10,14-trimethyl-2-pentadecanone and 3,7,11,15-tetramethyl-2-hexadecen-1-ol as well as a homologous series of n-alkanes present at trace level and ranging from C25 to C31 was also found (see Table 1). The crude hexane extract has been shown to have modest antituberculosis activity (MIC of 100 mg/mL) against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra

Synthesis of (+/-)epipentenomycin I and III

A synthesis of (±) epipentenomycin I and III is reported from a regioselective epoxidation of racemic 3-hydroxy- and 3-acetoxy-2-methylene-4-cyclopentenone, respectively, with dimethyldioxirane followed by hydrolytic ring-opening of the resulting epoxide

Chemical composition and biological activities of the essential oil from leaves of Cleidion javanicum Bl

The essential oil from the leaves of Cleidion javanicum Bl. was isolated by hydrodistillation with the percentage yield of 0.003 % as a pale yellow liquid. The composition of the essential oil was analysed by means of GC-(FID) and GC-MS. Ten constituents accounting for 92.60% total oil were identified. The major components were ethyl linoleolate (32.12 %), hexadecanoic acid (26.77 %), trans-phytol (24.64 %) and iso-phytol (4.80 %). The antimicrobial, anticancer, antioxidant activities and cytotoxicity test of this essential oil were investigated. The oil showed non-cytotoxic effects against Vero cells (African green monky kidney) because it inhibited more than 50 % cell growth. The anticancer activity of the essential oil was performed using the Resazurin Microplate Assay (REMA). The oil showed anticancer activity against three cancerous human cell lines; KB-Oral Cavity Cancer, MCF7-Breast Cancer and NCI-H187-Small Cell Lung Cancer with the IC50 of 47.16 μgmL-1, 40.23 μgmL-1 and 49.95 μgmL-1 respectively. The oil also showed antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa with the Minimum Inhibition Concentration (MIC) values of 25.00 mg/mL and 12.50 mg/mL respectively, using agar diffusion method. In addition, the essential oil also showed significant antioxidant activity with the IC50 of 27.05 mg mL-1 by means of DPPH radical scavenging assay

Chemo-enzymatic synthesis of (-)-epipentenomycin I

A chemo-enzymatic synthesis of (−)-epipentenomycin I is reported using a lipase-catalysed kinetic resolution of the racemic pentacyclic alcohol 8. Flash vacuum pyroloysis of (−)-8 so obtained gave (−)-(4R)-4-hydroxy-5-methylene-2-cyclopentenone. Epoxidation of this compound with dimethyldioxirane followed by hydrolytic ring-opening of the resulting epoxide gave (−)-epipentenomycin I

Antioxidant and anticancer activities from aerial parts of Acalypha indica Linn

Extracts of Acalypha indica Linn. (aerial parts) were investigated for antioxidant activity, anticancer activity, and cytotoxicity. The extracts showed a non-cytotoxic response against Vero cells (African green monkey kidney). The anticancer activity of the extracts was tested using the Resazurin Microplate Assay (REMA). The methanol extract showed anticancer activity against NCIH187-Small Cell Lung Cancer with an IC50 of 25.00 μgmL-1. In addition, the hexane, chloroform, and methanol extracts also showed significant antioxidant activities with an IC50 of 6.19, 5.70, and 7.79 mg/mL, respectively, by means of the DPPH radical scavenging assay. The hexane, chloroform, and methanol extracts also showed significant antioxidant activities with an IC50 of 6.13, 6.31, and 6.37 mg/mL, respectively, by means of the ABTS radical scavenging assay. Isolation and purification of the methanolic extract of the aerial part produced substantial amounts of L-quebrachitol, which was characterized by 1D and 2D NMR experiments and the MS data

Comparison of chemical constituents and antibacterial activities and antioxidant activities of the essential oil from leaves and fruits of Bridelia retusa (L.) A. Juss

The essential oils from the leaves and fruits of Bridelia retusa (L.) A.Juss. were isolated by hydrodistillation. The essential oils were obtained in 0.0013% yield as a pale yellow liquid and 0.0026% yield as a violet-light brown liquid for the leaf oil and fruit oil respectively. The composition of each essential oil was analysed by means of GC-(FID) and GC-MS. Eleven constituents accounting for 48.77% of total leaves oil were identified. The most abundant compound was phytol (33.4%), followed by phthalic acid (5.2%), 6, 13-dimethoxy-2, 3, 9, 10-tetramethylpentacene-1, 4, 8, 11-tetrone (3.4%), heptacosane (2.3%) and nonacosane (1.2%). Sixteen constituents accounting for 51.8% of total fruits oil were identified. The major components were dibutyl sebacate (25.6%), phytol isomer (4.8%), diacetin (4.3%), tricosane (3.9%), isophytol (2.7%), erucylamide (2.5%), phthalic acid (1.9%), hexadecanoic acid (1.5%) and eicosane (1.2%). The essential oils exhibited strong antioxidant activities with the IC50 values of 1.12±0.0010 mg/mL and 1.79±0.0005 mg/mL for the leaf and fruit essential oils respectively, by using the ABTS radical cation scavenging assay. The antibacterial activity of the essential oils was performed by using the standard disc diffusion method. The results revealed that the leaf and fruit essential oils of B. retusa were active against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa with the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) between 20-50 mg/mL