Bioactive Phenolics from Carthamus lanatus L.

Two flavonoid aglycons, eight flavonoid glycosides, chlorogenic acid and syringin were isolated from aerial parts of Carthamus lanatus. Isorhamnetin 3-O-β-D-glucoside and chlorogenic acid were found for the first time in the genus Carthamus and respectively, quercimeritrin, astragalin, kaempferol 3-O-β-D-sophoroside and syringin in the species. The ethyl acetate fraction of the methanol extract exhibited a higher antioxidant activity than the butanol fraction measured by the α,α-diphenyl-β -picrazylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay. Cytotoxicity and antioxidant activities of the main constituent, luteolin 7-O-β-D-glucoside, were evaluated

Oxygenated bisabolane fucosides from Carthamus lanatus L.

The aerial parts of Carthamus lanatus (Asteraceae) afforded four new oxygenated bisabolane fucosides, 10-hydroperoxy-bisabola-2,11-diene 7-O-β-D-fucopyranoside, 11-hydroperoxy-bisabola-2,9-diene 7-O-β-D-fucopyranoside, 10-hydroxy-bisabola-2,11-diene 7-O-β-D- fucopyranoside and 11-hydroxy-bisabola-2,9-diene 7-O-β-D-fucopyranoside together with the known compounds α-bisabolol β-D-fucopyranoside, asperuloside, sitosterol 3-O-β-D-glucoside and stigmasterol 3-O-β-D-glucoside. Asperuloside appears to be the second representative of the iridoid monoterpene group found in the plant family Asteraceae, which until recently was considered to lack iridoids. The main constituent α-bisabolol fucoside exhibited noticeable antibacterial and cytotoxic activities

A comparison of cell wall disruption techniques for the isolation of intracellular metabolites from Pleurotus and Lepista sp.

Different techniques were compared for their effectiveness in the disruption of the rigid cell walls of Basidiomycetes, Grinding under liquid nitrogen, stirred glass bead milling and enzymatic cell lysis were applied to the mycelia of Pleurotus sapidus and Lepista irina grown submerged. Each of the disruption procedures was evaluated by testing the quantity and quality of released intracellular metabolites: DNA, RNA, enzymes, and secondary metabolites. The most suitable method for nucleic acid isolation was grinding under liquid nitrogen, while bead mill homogenization was the superior technique for isolation of active enzymes. A new effective method is proposed for isolation of secondary metabolites with the aid of bead milling of fungal mycelia. © 2006 Verlag der Zeitschrift für Naturforschung

Clastogenic Effect of Carthamus lanatus L. (Asteraceae)

The clastogenic effect of total dichloromethane, methanol and water extracts, four bioactive fractions and three individual constituents from Carthamus lanatus aerial parts were evaluated in mice by bone marrow chromosome aberration assay with mitomycin C as positive control. Significant differences in the percentage of aberrant mitosis of the extracts were observed. The dichloromethane extract exhibited a considerable clastogenic effect and the water extract a negligible one. Different types of chromosome aberrations and time-dependant effects for the active fractions and individual compounds were found

GC/MS Analysis of Some Bioactive Constituents from Carthamus lanatus L.

Sterols, triterpenes, volatiles, polar and other constituents in aerial parts of Carthamus lanatus were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Over 90 compounds were identified most of them new for the species. Sitosterol and stigmasterol were the most abundant of 10 sterols identified in the sterol fraction. Taraxasterol, α- and β-amyrine prevailed in the triterpene fraction. Volatiles, sterols and a fraction of the dichloromethane extract showed strong cytotoxicity (Artemia salina assay)

In vitro Anti-inflammatory Effect of Carthamus lanatus L.

The anti-inflammatory activity of four total extracts, their fractions and two main constituents (α-bisabolol β-D-fucopyranoside and luteolin 7-O-glucoside) of Carthamus lanatus L. aerial parts, were assessed in vitro by determining the inhibitory effects on induced human neutrophils. The dichloromethane extract and its water-alcoholic part exhibited the most significant inhibitory effects

Chemical markers in Veronica sect. Hebe. III

In a continued chemosystematic investigation of the water-soluble compounds in Veronica sect. Hebe, we have investigated two more of the species formerly classified as Parahebe. Both species contained mannitol in considerable amounts and in addition some glucosides of iridoid acids. Veronica cheesemanii was characterised by aucubin and its esters: 2′-O-benzoylaucubin and an aucubin diester named cheesemanioside. The main iridoid compounds in Veronica hookeriana were catalpol and its ester verminoside, but this species also contained the sugar ester methyl 1-O-benzoyl-3-α-glucuronosylglycerol and a caffeoyl phenylethanoid glycoside (CPG) named parahebeoside, a 2′-O-β-xylopyranosyl derivative of the known plantamajoside. The results show that the studied species of the former genus Parahebe are very different with regard to their chemical content. This is in agreement with the DNA sequence data and implies the genus was polyphyletic as previously circumscribed. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved