Simultaneous determination of seven phthalic acid esters in beverages using ultrasound and vortex-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction followed by high-performance liquid chromatography

A sensitive, rapid, and simple high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection method was developed for the simultaneous determination of seven phthalic acid esters (dimethyl phthalate, dipropyl phthalate, di-n-butyl phthalate, benzyl butyl phthalate, dicyclohexyl phthalate, di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, and di-n-octyl phthalate) in several kinds of beverage samples. Ultrasound and vortex-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction method was used. The separation was performed using an Intersil ODS-3 column (C-18, 250 x 4.6 mm, 5.0 mu m) and a gradient elution with a mobile phase consisting of MeOH/ACN (50: 50) and 0.2 M KH2PO4 buffer. Analytes were detected by a UV detector at 230 nm. The developed method was validated in terms of linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, repeatability, accuracy, and recovery. Calibration equations and correlation coefficients (>0.99) were calculated by least squares method with weighting factor. The limit of detection and quantification were in the range of 0.019-0.208 and 0.072-0.483 mu g/L. The repeatability and intermediate precision were determined in terms of relative standard deviation to be within 0.03-3.93 and 0.02-4.74%, respectively. The accuracy was found to be in the range of -14.55 to 15.57% in terms of relative error. Seventeen different beverage samples in plastic bottles were successfully analyzed, and ten of them were found to be contaminated by different phthalic acid esters

A Focused Review on Cognitive Improvement by the Genus Salvia L. (Sage)—From Ethnopharmacology to Clinical Evidence

Ethnopharmacology has been an important starting point in medical and pharmaceutical sciences for discovering drug candidates from natural sources. In this regard, the genus Salvia L., commonly known as sage, is one of the best-known medicinal and aromatic plants of the Lamiaceae family; it has been recorded as being used for memory enhancement in European folk medicine. Despite the various uses of sage in folk medicines, the records that have pointed out sage’s memory-enhancing properties have paved the way for the aforementioned effect to be proven on scientific grounds. There are many preclinical studies and excellent reviews referring to the favorable effect of different species of sage against the cognitive dysfunction that is related to Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Hence, the current review discusses clinical studies that provide evidence for the effect of Salvia species on cognitive dysfunction. Clinical studies have shown that some Salvia species, i.e., hydroalcoholic extracts and essential oils of S. officinalis L. and S. lavandulaefolia leaves in particular, have been the most prominently effective species in patients with mild to moderate AD, and these species have shown positive effects on the memory of young and healthy people. However, the numbers of subjects in the studies were small, and standardized extracts were not used for the most part. Our review points out to the need for longer-term clinical studies with higher numbers of subjects being administered standardized sage preparations

Complete C-13 NMR assignments for ent-kaurane diterpenoids from Sideritis species

In this work, the detailed NMR studies and full C-13 NMR assignments for five diterpenoids isolated from Sideritis caesarea and Sideritis athoa are described. The assignments are based on a combination of 1D and 2D NMR techniques including H-1, C-13, H-1-H-1 COSY, gHSQC [(1)J(C,H)] and gHMBC delta(C) [(n)J(C,H) (n = 2 and 3)] and NOESY experiments. Copyright (C) 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Chemical compositions by LC-MS/MS and GC-MS and biological activities of Chenopodium album subsp. album var. microphyllum

Chenopodium species have been used in folk medicine and as vegetable for years. In the present study, the total phenolic and flavonoid contents, biological activities, phenolic constituents and fatty acid profile of Chenopodium album subsp. album var. microphyllum (Boen.) Aellen were determined for the first time. The antioxidant effects were investigated by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging and cupric ion reducing antioxidant capacity assays (CUPRAC). The Ellman method was applied for the determination of the cholinesterase inhibition activity. The phenolic constituents of the methanol extract and the fatty acid profile of the n-hexane extract were evaluated by LC-MS/MS and GC-MS, respectively. Acetone and methanol extracts showed similar DPPH free radical scavenging activities (0.68 +/- 0.07 and 0.68 +/- 0.05 mmol Trolox/g extract, respectively), whereas the cupric ion reducing capacity of the acetone extract was the highest (0.41 +/- 0.05 mmol Trolox/g extract). Acetone and methanol extracts had moderate butyrylcholinesterase inhibitory activities as 65.29 +/- 1.56% and 52.64 +/- 2.78%, respectively, whereas non of the extracts possessed anti-acetylcholinesterase effect. The methanol extract was found to contain significant amounts of hesperidin (9769.13 +/- 158.26 mu g/g extract) and rutin (2935.19 +/- 39.92 mu g/g extract). The major fatty acid constituents of the n-hexane extract were identified as myristic acid (18.26%) and cis-10-pentadecanoic acid (15.39%)

Antioxidant activity tests on novel triterpenoids from Salvia macrochlamys

The methanol extract of Salvia macrochlamys Boiss. and Kotschy was fractionated on a silica gel column to yield a group of terpenic compounds. After separation and cleaning, seven known and three new terpenoid compounds were isolated, and their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods, including intensive NMR and MS studies. The crude extract was tested in five different systems for antioxidant activity. The extract and monogynol A ( 1) and its three derivatives (2-4) were found to be highly active in a metal chelating test system on ferrous ions

Phytochemical and biological investigations on two Nepeta species: Nepeta heliotropifolia and N. congesta subsp. cryptantha

In the present study, the essential oil and aroma compositions of Nepeta heliotropifolia (NH) and N. congesta subsp. cryptantha (NC) were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC/FID), and their phenolic compounds by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). In addition, antioxidant, cytotoxic, anticholinesterase, urease, and tyrosinase activities of essential oils obtained from NH and NC aerial parts and ethanol extracts prepared from different parts of NH and NC were investigated. The major constituent of water-distilled essential oils was found to be germacrene D (36.7% and 38.5%, respectively), and their main aroma component was eucalyptol (48.0% and 24.7%, respectively). Among the studied parts of NH and NC, their flowers extracts were found to be the richest in phenolic compounds and in which the most abundant compound was rosmarinic acid (8,909.91 and 4,317.20 mu g/g, respectively). NH and NC flower extracts exhibited also strong antioxidant activity in DPPH, ABTS, and CUPRAC assays. Among the tested samples, NH essential oil indicated the best cytotoxic effect against PDF, HT-29, and MCF-7 (IC50 52.34, 25.89, and 44.70 mu g/ml, respectively), and the highest butyrylcholinesterase (77.21 +/- 1.12% inhibition) and moderate acetylcholinesterase (41.36 +/- 0.69% inhibition) inhibitory activities

Chemical profile by LC–MS/MS, GC/MS and antioxidant activities of the essential oils and crude extracts of two <i>Euphorbia</i> species

<div><p>In this study, it was aimed to investigate the chemical composition and antioxidant activities of two <i>Euphorbia</i> species. The major component of the fatty acid compositions obtained from the petroleum ether extracts was identified as palmitic acid for <i>Euphorbia gaillardotii</i> and <i>Euphorbia macroclada</i>. The main constituents of the essential oils were identified as arachidic acid for <i>E. gaillardotii</i> and tetratetracontane for <i>E. macroclada</i>. Among the 27 studied compounds, hesperidin, rutin, hyperoside and quinic, malic, gallic and tannic acids were found to be the most abundant compounds in the two <i>Euphorbia</i> species. The methanol extracts of <i>E. gaillardotii</i> and <i>E. macroclada</i> showed strong antioxidant activity in all tested methods. Particularly, IC₅₀ values of <i>E. macroclada</i> methanol extract that was the richest in terms of total phenolic-flavonoid contents were found to be lower than α-tocopherol and butylated hydroxytoluene in β-carotene bleaching, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free and ABTS cation radical scavenging methods.</p></div

Chemical Composition of The Essential Oils of Three Centaurea Species Growing Wild in Anatolia and Their Anticholinesterase Activities

This report represents the first study on the chemical composition of essential oil of endemic Centaurea lycopifolia. This report also represents the first study on the anticholinesterase activity of essential oils of C. lycopifolia, C. balsamita and C. iberica. Essential oils were obtained using a Clevenger apparatus by hydrodistillation from the whole parts of C. lycopifolia, C. balsamita and C. iberica. The essential oils composition of the plants were determined by GC-FID and GC-MS (gas chromatograph/mass spectrometry) analysis. The major component of the essential oils was identified as caryophyllene oxide (9.7 %) and spathulenol (7.3 %) for C. lycopifolia, alpha-selinene (8.5 %) and hexatriacontane (8.3 %) for C. balsamita and arachidic acid (25.3 %) and hexadecanoic acid (5.9 %) for C. iberica. The essential oils of three Centaurea species indicated moderate inhibitory effect against butyrylcholinesterase and acetylcholinesterase enzyme, at 200 mu g/mL

Essential oil compositions and anticholinesterase activities of two edible plants Tragopogon latifolius var. angustifolius and Lycopsis orientalis

This is the first report in the literature on essential oil compositions of Tragopogon latifolius var. angustifolius and Lycopsis orientalis which were analysed by using GC-FID and GC-MS techniques. The main constituents of T. latifolius var. angustifolius were identified as alpha-selinene (10.5%), 2,5-di-tert octyl-p-benzoquinone (9.5%) and valencene (7.0%); however, the main components of L. orientalis were identified as heptacosane (10.5%), tau-muurolene (9.6%) and tetratetracontane (9.4%). The essential oils of T. latifolius var. angustifolius and L. orientalis species exhibited moderate inhibitory activity against acetyl- and butyryl-cholinesterase enzymes at 200 mu g/mL

7-Acetoxyhorminone from <i>Salvia multicaulis</i> Vahl. as Promising Inhibitor of 3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl Coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) Reductase

3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase is a key enzyme involved in cholesterol biosynthesis and one of the most important targets for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia. A limited number of studies on the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitory potential of natural products are available. Thus, in the current study, we aimed to test the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitory capacity of extracts from the roots and aerial parts of Salvia multicaulis Vahl., through activity-guided isolation. Our findings revealed that the root extract prepared with dichloromethane–acetone (1:1) showed the highest inhibition (71.97 ± 0.37%) at 100 µg/mL. The extract was then initially fractionated by column chromatography and the obtained fractions were monitored by thin layer chromatography. Fractions which were similar to each other were combined and a total of 15 fractions were obtained. Further conventional chromatographic studies were carried out on the active fractions. Based on these fractions, 10 known compounds, comprising 9 terpenes and 1 steroid derivative in total, were isolated and their structures were verified by a combination of IT-TOF-MS, and 1D and 2D NMR techniques. According to the enzyme inhibition data of the identified compounds, 7-acetoxyhorminone exerted the highest inhibition (84.15 ± 0.10%, IC50 = 63.6 ± 1.21 µg/mL). The molecular docking experiments on 7-acetoxyhorminone and horminone indicated that both compounds strongly bind to the active site of the enzyme