Analysis of sennoside in drugs contained senna leaves (Cassia sp.) in Iran

Background and objectives: The importance of Cassia angustifulia is due to its laxative properties. A large number of sennosides have been reported in senna but sennoside A and B have been reported as the main causes of its properties. The present study includes the analysis of the effective ingredients of sennosides containing senna products in Iranian pharmaceutical market using UV-Visible and HPLC methods and comparing the obtained amounts with the reported amount of pharmaceutical companies. Methods: The content of sennosides as sennoside B was calculated in drugs purchased from the Iran pharmaceutical market. They were extracted using BP method and the concentration of sennosides was measured at the 500 nm. For HPLC method, sennosides were extracted by 0.1% sodium hydrogen carbonate solution and separation was done by C18 (4.6×250 mm) column as the stationary phase and methanol: water: acetic acid as the mobile phase. The diode-array detector was used to monitor the sennosides. Results: Maximum and the minimum sennosides for both methods were similar. Maximum of sennosides by UV-visible and HPLC methods were 2.75% and 2.55%, respectively. Minimum of sennosides by UV-visible and HPLC methods were 0.8% and 0.64%, respectively. Conclusion: The developed HPLC method was valid for determination of sennosides in senna-containing formulations. Sennosides content by UV-visible method was higher than the HPLC method, because all anthraquinone were calculated by UV but HPLC method separately determines the amount of Sennosides

Investigation of chemical composition and cytotoxic activity of aerial parts of Ziziphora clinopodioides Lam.

Background and objectives: Ziziphora clinopodioides is a perennial herb and grows widely in west and northwest of Iran. The aerial parts are used as appetizer, carminative and antiseptic as well as for the treatment of medical conditions such as high blood pressure, asthma hyperhidrosis, palpitation and insomnia Methods: The aerial parts of Ziziphora clinopodioides Lam. were extracted by ethanol (70%) and fractionated by n-hexane. The n-hexane fraction was analyzed by GC and GC/MS. This fraction and the total extract were further investigated for in vitro cytotoxic activity against HT-29 (colon carcinoma), K-562 (leukemia), T-47D (breast ductal carcinoma) and NIH-3T3 (Swiss mouse embryo fibroblast) cells using MTT assay. Results:  Nineteen compounds were identified by GC/MS. The main constituents of the n-hexane fraction were pulegone (24.35%), menthol (14%) and menthone (9.61%). The results of cytotoxicity evaluation showed that the n-hexane fraction strongly exhibited cytotoxic activity against T-47D and K-562 cells with IC50 value of 77.41±12.89 and 80±2.56 μg/mL. The total extract did not show considerable activity against any of the cell lines in comparison to the n-hexane fraction. Conclusion: The presence of compounds such as pulegone, menthol and menthone could explain the cytotoxic activity of the n-hexane fraction of Z. clinopodioides Lam on K-562, T-47D and HT-29 cell lines

Antimalarial agents from medicinal plant and fungal sources

Malaria is the fourth major parasitic infectious disease for humans, causing severe symptoms and life-threatening complications, which, if untreated within 24–48 h may evolve in the fatality. In the past five decades, major initiatives in the treatment and prevention of this devastating disease have been implemented in endemic areas, leading to significant progress and declining trends. The majority of the reports presented here are focused on the activity of the extracts and fractions of plant or fungal origin: this approach has its rationale in the observation that crude materials are often more active than isolated compounds, due to the manifestation of beneficial synergistic and additional effects and/or pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic interactions. Consideration has been given to the antiplasmodial activities in relation to the different herbal part and nature of extracting solvents and to safety studies; whenever available, phytochemical fingerprint has been reported, disclosing a variety of unique molecular scaffolds with a potential as new pharmacophores. Despite the general lack of mechanistic information for the curative effects of the reported plants and fungi, these studies may undoubtedly pave the way to a new generation of antimalarial agents