Antioxidant, antimicrobial and anticancer activity of the lichens Cladonia furcata, Lecanora atra and Lecanora muralis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of this study is to investigate in vitro antioxidant, antimicrobial and anticancer activity of the acetone extracts of the lichens <it>Cladonia furcata, Lecanora atra </it>and <it>Lecanora muralis</it>.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Antioxidant activity was evaluated by five separate methods: free radical scavenging, superoxide anion radical scavenging, reducing power, determination of total phenolic compounds and determination of total flavonoid content. The antimicrobial activity was estimated by determination of the minimal inhibitory concentration by the broth microdilution method against six species of bacteria and ten species of fungi. Anticancer activity was tested against FemX (human melanoma) and LS174 (human colon carcinoma) cell lines using MTT method.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the lichens tested, <it>Lecanora atra </it>had largest free radical scavenging activity (94.7% inhibition), which was greater than the standard antioxidants. Moreover, the tested extracts had effective reducing power and superoxide anion radical scavenging. The strong relationships between total phenolic and flavonoid contents and the antioxidant effect of tested extracts were observed. Extract of <it>Cladonia furcata </it>was the most active antimicrobial agent with minimum inhibitory concentration values ranging from 0.78 to 25 mg/mL. All extracts were found to be strong anticancer activity toward both cell lines with IC₅₀values ranging from 8.51 to 40.22 μg/mL.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The present study shows that tested lichen extracts demonstrated a strong antioxidant, antimicrobial and anticancer effects. That suggest that lichens may be used as as possible natural antioxidant, antimicrobial and anticancer agents to control various human, animal and plant diseases.</p

Sialic acids in developing testis of galleria mellonella (lepidoptera)

The wide availability of sialic acids (SAs) in many organisms emphasizes their role for biological processes. The detection of SAs in insects is important for reinforcing the universal nature of SAs. In this study, the amounts and the types of SAs in testis of Galleria mellonella were investigated through gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass (GC-MS) spectroscopy. GC analysis showed that the amount of SAs significantly decreased from young pupae to adults. The ratio of the levels of SAs in young pupa:old pupa:adult was found to be 16:5:1. Neu5Ac, Neu5Gc, Neu4,5Ac2, Neu5,9Ac2, and Neu2en5Ac were found in young pupae by GC-MS analysis. Neu5Ac, Neu5Gc Neu9Ac5Gc and Neu5,8,9Ac3 were detected in old pupae. Neu5Ac and Neu5Gc were encountered in adults. In addition to this trend of decreasing SA amounts, the variety of SA types present also decreased from young pupae to adults. © 1999 Taylor &amp; Francis Group, LLC

Chemical constituents of two endemic Cephalaria species

A new triterpene glycoside (1), isacoside, together with seven known glycosides and a common aglycone were isolated from Cephalaria isaurica and Cephalaria stellipilis. Two glycosides of the known compounds (vaniloloside and picein) were detected in this genus for the first time. The structures of all compounds were determined by spectroscopic analysis including 1D and 2D NMR, HRESIMS techniques and chemical evidence. © 2010 Reproduction is free for scientific studies

Spinonin, a novel glycoside from Ononis spinosa subsp. leiosperma

PubMed ID: 9182126The roots of Ononis spinosa subsp. leiosperma (Leguminosae) afforded a new glycoside, spinonin (1), possessing a novel skeleton, in addition to the known isoflavonoid glycoside, ononin [7ß(glucosyloxy)formononetin] (2) and the known pterocarpan, 7-demethoxy-7-D-(glucosyloxy)-homopterocarpin (3). The structure of the new isolate was elucidated by spectral methods including 1H and 13C NMR, COSY, APT, HETCOR, HMBC, NOESY, CD, FABMS, HRMS, EIMS, CIMS, and some chemical reactions. Spinonin was inactive against a number of human cancer cell lines and HIV-1 reverse transcriptase. The compounds 1 and 3 showed weak activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, whereas 2 was active against ß-hemolytic Streptococcus