Metabolic profiling of Kaempferia galanga leaf and rhizome extract using GC-MS

Kaempferia galanga Linn. is an endangered rhizomatous medicinal plant belonging to the Zingiberaceae family. It has evolved as an emerging industrial crop and dominates pharma as well as aroma sector. Though the extracts of this species have been extensively used in herbal medicine across the globe for the treatment of numerous diseases, but still the composition of the extract is not characterized properly. Thus, methanol extracts of K. galanga leaves and rhizomes were subjected to phytochemical screening, total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) to analyze the phytoconstituents. Leaf extract contained more TPC and TFC values as compared to rhizome extract. A total of eight and ten compounds were identified in the leaf and rhizome extract accounting for 61.44% and 96.97% of the total peak area respectively. Ethyl p-methoxycinnamate was found as the main constituent in rhizome extract covering 80.39% of the total area. Other important compounds like ethyl cinnamate (9.61±0.45%), pentadecane (3.12±0.2%) were also found in the rhizome extract, whereas leaf extract contained 2-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-7-hydroxy-3-methoxy-4H-chromen-4-one (18.26%), 2-(3-hydroxy-4- methoxyphenyl)-3,7-dimethoxy-4H-chromen-4-one (14.01%), octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (11.79%). The study indicated that K. galanga is a good source of phytoconstituents which can be used at the industrial level to produce pharmaceuticals, perfumes and flavouring agents

Pharmacological activity and biochemical interaction of zingerone: a flavour additive in spice food

Zingerone (4-(4-Hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-2-butanone) is one of the non-volatile and nontoxic compounds of ginger. It is also called vanillylacetone with a crystalline solid form which is sparingly soluble in water and more soluble in ether. The contribution of this compound in ginger is about 9.25%. The chemical structure is made of a phenolic ring with methoxy group attached to benzene ring. Gingerol can be heated to form zingerone by retroaldol reaction. It has been reported that zingerone has multiple pharmacological activities. It is effective against diarrhoea causing enterotoxigenic bacteria that leads to infant death. It is also used against intestinal gastric, oxidative stress, weak immunity, obesity. During its activity against cancer, it governs the expression of different cell cycle protein and TGF-?1 expression. Antioxidant response is controlled by inducing the activity of ROS neutralising enzymes like superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione reductase. It can also reduce various inflammations by restricting the activity of interleukins. This review summarizes the multiple pharmacology activities of zingerone against various important diseases like cancers, tumors, inflammations, oxidative conditions, microbial infections, biofilm formations, thrombosis and other diseases. In addition, the molecular regulation of these pharmacological responses by zingerone is also critically discussed

ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF HALOPHILA OVALIS AND HALOPHILA BECCARII (HYDROCHARITACEAE): TWO IMPORTANT SEAGRASS SPECIES OF CHILIKA LAGOON, INDIA

Objective: The present study was undertaken to evaluate the total phenolic and flavonoid content and the antioxidant property of two important seagrass species namely, Halophila ovalis and Halophila beccarii occurring in Chilika lagoon, Odisha, India. Methods: Total Phenolic Content (TPC) of the extracts of Halophila species was determined by Folin-Ciocalteu method with little modifications and the total flavonoid content (TFC) was measured by aluminum chloride colorimetric assay. The antioxidant activity of different extracts was investigated by DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity. IC50 values were calculated for the DPPH and ABTS methods. Result: The study revealed that the methanol extract of H. ovalis has greater antioxidant activity than H. beccarii. Methanol extract of both the species (H. ovalis and H. beccarii) was found to possess high phenolic content at value of 70.25 mg GAE/g of extract and 48.53 mg GAE/g of extract respectively. Similarly flavonoid contents was found highest in methanol extract for both H. ovalis (76.82 mg quercetin equivalent/ g of extract) and H. beccarii (64.28 mg quercetin equivalent/ g of extract). The antioxidant activity of different extracts of these two species were evaluated using DPPH and ABTS radical assay. The methanol extract of both H. ovalis and H. beccarii showed high radical scavenging activity with IC50 values of 37.77 μg/ml and 52.25 μg/ml for DPPH and 25.62 μg/ml and 45.45 μg/ml for ABTS respectively. Conclusion: The study revealed the potential of the Halophila species as natural sources of antioxidants having considerable commercial importance

In-silico structural modelling of cytochrome complex proteins of white turmeric (Curcuma zedoaria)

Curcuma zedoaria (Christm.) Roscoe (white turmeric) is a perennial herbaceous plant of family Zingiberaceae and mainly found in the wild areas of tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. The cytochrome proteins in plants play important roles in promoting their growth and development, as well as protecting them from stresses and diseases. Cytochrome proteins like psbF, psbE, petB, petD, petN, petG, and ccsA play important roles in degradation of mis-folded proteins, ATP formation, cyclic electron flow and biogenesis of c-type cytochrome of C. zedoaria. However, due to lack of structural availability of these C. zedoaria cytochrome proteins in structural databases, the physiochemical parameters of sequences were estimated using Expasy ProtParam web tool. Self-Optimized Prediction Method with Alignment (SOPMA) server and MODELLER version 9.23 were used for modelling along with Qualitative Model Energy Analysis (QMEAN) and Protein Structure Analysis (ProSA) servers were implemented for validating the secondary and tertiary structures of these proteins. The obtained QMEAN4 values of the modelled cytochrome proteins were -2.04, -1.20, -3.01, -1.57, -2.11, -1.74 and -12.87. The Z-scores obtained from ProSA server were 0.5, -0.83, -1.5, -0.58, -0.02, 0.14 and -3.73. All seven modelled structures have been submitted to protein model database (PMDB). The derived results will be helpful in further investigations towards determining the crystal structure of the hypothetical proteins, structural motifs, physiochemical properties, and also protein-protein interaction studies of various cytochrome proteins

GC-MS ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF BIOACTIVITIES OF KAEMPFERIA PARISHII - A NATURAL SOURCE OF TOTAROL

Objective: The present study was aimed for phytoconstituent analysis, in vitro antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of leaf and rhizome extracts of an unexplored plant, Kaempferia parishii (Zingiberaceae).Methods: The extracts were analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry to determine volatile chemical constituents. Antioxidant activity of extracts was determined using DPPH assay whereas the antimicrobial effects were tested by inhibition zone diameter and minimum inhibitory concentration.Results: GC/MS analysis revealed the presence of 7 and 8 identified components accounting for 92.1% and 82.86% of the leaf and rhizome extract of Kaempferia parishii respectively. In leaf extract phytol (72.55±0.5%), hexadecanoic acid methyl ester (4.94±0.2%), hexahydro farnesyl acetone (3.78±0.2%), dibutyl phthalate (3.31±0.2%) were found to be the major constituents and those of rhizome extract were totarol (74.96±0.86%), cembrene (2.83±0.2%), borneol (1.23±0.15). Both the extracts exhibited low to moderate antioxidant activity. They possess very weak activities against some tested microorganisms while the extracts had no activity against some microorganisms.Conclusion: Totarol, an antimicrobial agent, was found to be the major constituent of Kaempferia parishii rhizome extract. Thus, Kaempferia parishii can be used as a natural source of totarol. This is the first report on the unexplored plant, Kaempferia parishii.Keywords: Kaempferia parishii, GC-MS analysis, Totarol, Phytol, Antioxidant activity, Antimicrobial activit

GC-MS ANALYSIS OF ESSENTIAL OIL OF SOME HIGH DRUG YIELDING GENOTYPES OF TURMERIC (CURCUMA LONGA L.)

Objective: The aim of this investigation was to carry out the qualitative evaluation of selected high drug yielding elite genotypes of turmeric to add to their eliteness.Methods: 131 turmeric genotypes collected from 10 different agroclimatic zones were analysed for curcumin content. Leaves and rhizomes of these plants were collected for extraction of essential oil. Curcumin percentage of the sample was estimated according to the ASTA method. Essential oil was extracted by hydro-distillation of fresh leaves and rhizomes following the method of Guenther (1972). Initial screening of elite genotypes was done on the basis of curcumin content (≥5%), rhizome oil content (≥1.5%) and leaf oil content (≥0.5%). Selected elite genotypes were subjected to qualitative evaluation of essential oil through GC-MS analysis.Results: The five high rhizome oil yielding genotypes, TR1, TR2, TR3 and TR5 containing high rhizome oil yield of 2.1%, 1.7%, 1.6% and 1.5% respectively were considered to be elite clones containing tumerone as the major constituent of rhizome essential oil along with all desirable constituents. On the basis of leaf oil yield, genotypes TL1 and TL2 with 1.9% and 1.1% leaf oil were proved as elite clones with α–phellandrene as the major constituent along with other desirable constituents. GC-MS analysis of 3 selected high curcumin yielding genotypes TC1, TC2 and TC3 with curcumin content 7.3, 7.2 and 7.0% respectively revealed TC1 and TC2 as elite genotypes containing high quality rhizome and leaf oil.Conclusion: The present investigation reveals that eight genotypes of turmeric selected with high drug yield and high quality essential oil would have enough significance for boosting the production and export of value added products in the national and international market.Â