Antioxidant activity relationship of phenolic compounds in Hypericum perforatum L.

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The St John's Wort (<it>Hypericum perforatum</it>; Clusiaceae) has been used in traditional and modern medicine for a long time due to its high content of biologically active phenolics. The purpose of this work was to develop a method for their fractionation and identification, and to determine the most active antioxidant compounds in plant extract.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>An LC-MS method which enables fast qualitative and semiquantitative analysis was developed. The composition determined is in agreement with the previous results, where 6 flavonoids, 4 naphthodianthrones and 4 phloroglucinols have been identified. Significant antioxidant activity was determined for most of the fractions by DPPH assay (the lowest IC₅₀of 0.52 μg/ml), NO scavenging (6.11 μg/ml), superoxide scavenging (1.86 μg/ml), lipid peroxidation (0.0079 μg/ml) and FRAP (the highest reduction capacity of 104 mg Fe equivalents/g) assays.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>LC-MS technique has been successfully applied for a quick separation and identification of the major components of <it>H. perforatum </it>fractions. Majority of the fractions analyzed have expressed a very high antioxidative activity when compared to synthetic antioxidants. The antioxidant activity could be attributed to flavonoids and phenolic acids, while phloroglucinols and naphthodianthrones showed no significant activity. It is demonstrated that it is possible to obtain, by fractionation, <it>H. perforatum </it>preparations with significantly increased phloroglucinols-to-naphthodianthrones ratio (up to 95:5).</p

Phenolic Compounds in Field Horsetail (Equisetum arvense L.) as Natural Antioxidants

In this paper, the study of antioxidant activity and phenolic composition of three different extracts (EtOAc, n-BuOH and H2O) of field horsetail (Equisetum arvense L.) is presented. The antioxidant activity has been evaluated measuring the total reducing power (expressed by Ascorbate Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity - AEAC), inhibition of lipid peroxidation, and free radical scavenging capacity (RSC) towards 2,2-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH radical) and nitric oxide (NO), respectively. In addition, the total flavonoid content (TFC) and phenolic constituents of each extract have been determined. The results obtained show that the highest RSC regarding both DPPH and NO radicals is expressed by EtOAc extract (EC50=2.37 μg/mL and EC50=90.07 μg/mL, respectively), and the lowest by H2O extract (EC50=37.2 μg/mL and EC50>333.33 μg/mL, respectively). n- BuOH extract showed the highest total reducing power (AEAC=13.40 μg/mL). Differences in the phenolic composition of examined extracts are found comparing the HPLC chemical profiles. Although, isoquercitrin is the main flavonoid in both EtOAc and n-BuOH extracts, a considerable amount of di-E-caffeoyl-meso-tartaric acid was presented in the n-BuOH extract. In H2O extract high content of phenolic acids and low percentage of flavonoids were detected

Variation of essential oil composition of Eucalyptus camaldulensis (myrtaceae) from the Montengero coastline

In the current study the essential oil obtained from the leaves of Eucalyptus camaldulensis plants collected from five localities of the Montenegro coastline was analyzed. The oil yield varied from 0.63 % (Kotor) up to 1.59% (Tivat). The chemical composition of the leaf essential oil was analyzed using GC-MS technique. Monoterpene hydrocarbons were a major class of compounds. Among them, dominant compounds were p-cymene (17.38-28.60%), ß-phellandrene (12.35-14.47%) and ß-pinene (0.94-11.48%). The second largest group was oxygenated monoterpenes with cryptone (4.97-7.25) and terpinene-4-ol (2.75-4.21%) as predominant. Besides high content of sesquiterpene alcohol spathulenol (7.83-14.15%) was found. According to the results obtained E. camaldulensis from Montenegro can be classified in the chemotype with low 1,8-cineole and high p-cymene and cryptone ratio

Essential Oil of Myrtus communis L. as a Potential Antioxidant and Antimutagenic Agents

The present study describes DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging activity and antimutagenic properties of the essential oil of myrtle (Myrtus communis L.). Plant samples were collected from the two distant localities (southernmost and northern point) of the Montenegro coastline. Chemical profiles of the two samples were evaluated by GC-MS. In both of the samples monoterpenes were found to be the predominant compounds. Among them a-pinene, linalool, 1,8-cineole, and myrtenyl acetate were the major compounds. Significant differences between the samples were found in the ranges of a-pinene (14.7%–35.9%) and myrtenyl acetate (5.4%–21.6%). Both oils exhibited moderate DPPH scavenging activity, with IC50 values of 6.24 mg/mL and 5.99 mg/mL. The antimutagenic properties were assayed against spontaneous and t-BOOH-induced mutagenesis in Escherichia coli oxyR mutant IC202, a bacterial strain deficient in removing ROS. Reduction of the spontaneous mutagenesis in presence of myrtle EO was only slight, up to 13% at the highest concentration tested. When the oxidative mutagen was used, EO expressed higher reduction of mutagenesis, in a concentration dependent manner, with statistical significance for effect at the highest concentration tested (28%). Suppression of t-BOOH induced mutagenesis was correlated with the observed scavenging activity

Myrtus comunis and Eucalyptus camaldulensis cytotoxicity on breast cancer cells

In vitro cytotoxicity of methanol, ethyl acetate, n-buthanol, and water extracts of Myrtus communis L. and Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. was examined against two human breast cancer cell lines (MCF 7 and MDA-MB-231) using MTT and SRB assays. The results showed significant cytotoxic potential of examined extracts, with IC50 values ranging from 7 to 138 μg/ml for M. communis and 3-250 μg/ml for E. camaldulensis. The two plants generally expressed similar activity, and no significant difference in cell line’s sensitivity towards extracts was observed. The results indicate to M. communis and E. camaldulensis as candidates for thorough chemical analyses for identification of active compounds, and eventually for attention in the process of discovery of new natural products in the control of cancer. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 173037 i br. 172058