Echinophorin D a new polyacetylene from an edible plant, Echinophora platyloba aerial parts

Background and objectives: The aerial parts of Echinophora platyloba are added to cheese and yoghurt for flavoring. Besides, it is used for the treatment of flatulence and as air freshener. Despite several pharmacological studies on the plant, no attempt has been made to isolate non-volatile secondary metabolites from this plant. So, phytochemical investigation seems to be useful for better use of this plant in and to discover new compounds. Methods: Powdered aerial parts of the plant were extracted by Soxhlet apparatus with hexane, dichloromethane (DCM) and acetone. The concentrated acetone extract was fractionated using silica open column and mixture of heptane and ethyl acetate while DCM extract was fractionated by reverse phase column chromatography on RP-18 sorbent using mixture of methanol and water as solvent system with decreasing polarity. All subfractions were analysed by 1H- NMR, COSY, HSQC, HMBC and 13C-NMR. Results: After column chromatography and HPLC purification of DCM extract one new polyacetylene compound called echinophorin D was obtained and one fatty acid (coriolic acid) and one esteric polyacetylene (echinophorin B) were isolated and identified from the acetone extract. Conclusion: Due to the isolation of coriolic acid for the first time from this genus and the role of this fatty acid in inflammatory processes and anticancer activity as well as isolating polyacetylene compounds which have antioxidant and anti-tomur activity, this plant can be used as a source for compounds with antioxidant and anticancer effects

Sesquiterpenoids from hexane extract of Echinophora platyloba aerial parts

Background and objectives: Echinophora platyloba is used for flavoring foods, cheese and yoghurt. Despite several pharmacological studies on the plant, no attempt has been made to isolate the non-volatile secondary metabolites and assess the antimicrobial effects. So, phytochemical investigation seems to be useful for better use of this plant. Methods: E. platyloba aerial parts were extracted with hexane by Soxhlet apparatus and fractionated. The subfractions were purified using HPLC and analyzed by 1HNMR, 13CNMR, COSY and Mass spectroscopy. Different extracts with hexane, dichloromethane and acetone solvents through were prepared Soxhlet method. The extracts were individually tested against three gram-Negative (E. coli, S. flexneri, A. baumannii) and two Gram-positive bacteria (S. aureus, E. fecalis) by microdilution methods. The susceptibility of E. coli, S. flexneri, A. baumannii, E. fecalis isolates to gentamycin and S. aureus to oxacillin was assessed. Results: A branch of fatty acids and triglycerides were obtained along with polyoxygenated sesquiterpenoid, vaginatin. MIC of the hexane extract against bacterium 1 was 512 µg/mL. MIC of ethanol extract against bacterial 1 to 4, were 2048, 512, 2048 and 2048 µg/mL, respectively. MIC of other extract were equal higher than 4096 µg/mL. Conclusion: Vaginatin was reported for the first time as a sesquiterpenoid from Echinophora genus. The ethanol extract was the most and dichlormethane extract the least effective extract. A. baummannii was the most susceptible organism to the hexan extract compared to other extracts