Cytotoxic Activity and Composition of Petroleum Ether Extract from Magydaris tomentosa (Desf.) W. D. J. Koch (Apiaceae).

The petroleum ether extract of Magydaris tomentosa flowers (Desf.) W. D. J. Koch has been analyzed by GC-MS. It is mainly constituted by furanocoumarins such as xanthotoxin, xanthotoxol, isopimpinellin, and bergaptene. Other coumarins such as 7-methoxy-8-(2-formyl-2-methylpropyl) coumarin and osthole also occurred. The antiproliferative activity of Magydaris tomentosa flower extract has been evaluated in vitro on murine monocyte/macrophages (J774A.1), human melanoma (A375) and human breast cancer (MCF-7) tumor cell lines, showing a major activity against the latter

Balkans' Asteraceae Species as a Source of Biologically Active Compounds for the Pharmaceutical and Food Industry

Herbal drugs are a useful source of different bioactive compounds. Asteraceae species, as the most widespread vascular plants, can be used both as food and as medicine due to the great diversity of recorded chemical components - different phenolic compounds, terpenes, carotenoids, vitamins, alkaloids, etc. The Balkan Peninsula is characterized by great diversity of plants from Asteraceae family, including presence of rare and endemic species. In this review, results of the survey of chemical composition and biological activity, mainly focusing on antioxidant, antimicrobial and anticancer effects of selected Balkans' Asteraceae species were provided. In addition, information on edible plants from Asteraceae family is presented, due to growing interest for the so-called 'healthy diet' and possible application of Balkans' Asteraceae species as food of high nutritional value or as a source of functional food ingredients.This is peer-reviewed version of the following article: Kostić, A.; Janacković, P.; Kolasinac, S. M.; Dajić-Stevanović, Z. Balkans’ Asteraceae Species as a Source of Biologically Active Compounds for the Pharmaceutical and Food Industry. Chemistry & Biodiversity 2020, 17 (6). [https://doi.org/10.1002/cbdv.202000097

Chemical composition and biological activity of the essential oil of Ballota hispanica (L.) Benth. growing wild in Sicily

Ballota L. comprises several relevant species largely used for their excellent therapeutic properties. Ballota hispanica (L.) Benth. is widely used in herbal medicine, and it is sold in herbalist shops for its sedative and antispasmodic properties. Considering its traditional medicinal use and the lack of scientific studies on the volatile components of this species as well as on its biological activities, in this study the chemical composition of the essential oil from aerial parts of B. hispanica, collected in Sicily, was evaluated by gas chromatography and gas chromatography\ue2\u80\u93mass spectrometry. \uce\ub1-Elemol was the most abundant component of the oil (10.9%), followed by \uce\ub1-ylangene (8.5%), \uce\ub3-dodecalactone (5.1%), and manoyl oxide (4.8%). A comparison was made of the composition of the different Ballota taxa studied so far showing a peculiar profile of B. hispanica. Futhermore, the antimicrobial and the free radical scavenging activities of the oil were determined

Chemical composition of the essential oils of Centaurea formanekii Halacsy and Centaurea orphanidea Heldr. & Sart. ex Boiss. ssp. thessala (Hausskn.) Dostál, two Centaurea species growing wild in Greece.

The volatile constituents of the aerial parts of Centaureaformanekii Halacsy and the aerial parts, capitula and roots of C. orphanidea Heldr. & Sart. ex Boiss. ssp. thessala (Hausskn.) Dostal from Greece were extracted by hydrodistillation and analyzed. The main components in C. formanekii were hexadecanoic acid (13.6%), delta-elemene (9.1%), and spathulenol (6.9%). The main components in C. orphanidea ssp. thessala were gamma-elemene (26.1%) and caryophyllene oxide (13.2%) in the aerial parts, hexadecanoic acid (33.5%) and heptacosane (6.3%) in the capitula, and hexadecanoic acid methyl ester (22.0%) and a-chamigrene (14.0%) in the roots. The chemotaxonomic significance with respect to other previously studied species of the same sections (Phalolepis and Achrolopus, respectively) is discussed