MICROMORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATIONS AND PHYTOCHEMICAL CONTENTS OF SOME PHLOMIS SPECIES FROM IRAN

Objective: Microscopic characterization of a plant is a valuable method for accurate identification of the plant powder. The plants of Phlomis genus (Lamiaceae) are mostly distributed in the north and west of Iran with about 10 endemic species. In the present investigation, microscopic characterization of some Phlomis species including Phlomis bruguieri, Phlomis rigida, Phlomis kurdica, and Phlomis olivieri were assessed along with their phytochemical contents. Methods: The powders of the mentioned plants were analyzed using Zeiss microscope attached to a digital camera. Phytochemical contents of the plants extracts including total phenol, tannin, and polysaccharide were measured as well as a radical scavenging activity using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl method. Results: The results of this study indicated that diacytic stomata, glandular trichome, stellate trichome, and crystals were the characteristic features of the examined species. Total phenol, tannins, and polysaccharides of the plants were assessed ranging 66.0-101.8 µg gallic acid equivalent in mg dry extract (µg GAE/mg EXT), 6.9-9.5 µg tannic acid equivalent in mg dry extract (TAE/mg EXT), and 512-559 µg glucose equivalent in mg dry extract (GE/mg EXT), respectively. Moreover, half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of radical scavenging activity of the extracts were calculated according to the plot of inhibition percentage against different concentrations of each extract as 218.6, 112.0, 113.3, and 58.7 µg/ml, respectively.Conclusion: The observed differences between Phlomis species can be applied in the accurate identification of these medicinal plants particularly in dried powdered materials regarding their microscopic characterizations and phytochemical contents.Â

Bioactive sesquiterpene lactone from Artemisia santolina

Most species of genus Artemisia L. (Compositae) are medicinal herbswith several uses in the folk medicine worldwide. In the present study, methanol extract of Artemisia santolina has been subjected for isolation of its metabolites along with evaluation of cytotoxic activity against Artemia salina larvae. The structures of the compounds determined by 1H-and 13C-NMR, HMQC, HMBC, 1H-1H COSY and Mass spectral analysis. Two sesquiterpenes, 1,5-dihydroxy- 4(15)eudesman-12,6-olid (artemin) (1), 2-hidroxy-2,6,10-trimethyl-7,10- oxide-3,11-dodecadien-5-one (2) and one flavonoid, 5,7,4'-trihydroxy-6,3'-dimethoxyflavone (jaceosidin) (3) have been successfully characterized. Cytotoxicity of the sesquiterpene lactone (1), was assessed on Artemia salina larvae and resulted in IC50 value of 6.44 μg/mL, which was more potent compared to the positive standard berberine hydrochloride (IC50 = 26 μg/mL). In this study, the separation and identification of two sesquiterpenes and one flavone from the aerial parts of A. santolina is described. Among them the compound artemin (1) showed a toxicity effect against A. salina nauplii

Influence of Four Phlomis Species on Melanogenesis in Human Malignant Melanoma (SKMEL-3) Cells

Background and objectives: Phytochemical studies have shown that the Phlomis species are rich in polyphenolics and iridoid glycosides and many of them have shown potential value in different biological and pharmacological activities. In this study, we evaluated the effect of Phlomis persica, P. brugieri, P. olivieri and P. anisodontea extracts on melanin production in human malignant melanoma (SKMEL-3) cells. Methods: The anti-tyrosinase activity of the extracts was investigated using mushroom tyrosinase assay. Cytotoxicity potentials were examined through MTT assay on SKMEL-3 cell line and then the level of melanin formation in SKMEL-3 cells was determined. Results: The anti-tyrosinase activity of the Phlomis extracts was not remarkable (about 0.1 mg/mL). All extracts significantly increased the melanin content in SKMEL-3 cells at 0.25 mg/mL and among them P. anisodontea extract seemed to be more efficient in stimulating melanin production. Conclusion: Based on our results, we suggest these total extracts particularly P. anisodontea extract contain the potent skin browning agents that can be used in pharmaceutical and cosmetic products

Phthalate contamination of some plants and herbal products

Phthalate derivatives cause a number of risks to human health and the environment. Essential oil and volatile fractions of some vegetables and herbal products were extracted by hydrodistillation and percolation methods to analyze using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for evaluation of phthalate contaminations. The results revealed that four vegetables and all aromatic waters were contaminated by phthalate derivatives including di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), diisobutyl phthalate and di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) (0.1-7.95%). Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), a widely used synthetic antioxidant, was also found in the most of the aromatic waters in the range of 3.15-61.3%. In addition, three vegetable samples contained diazinon (0.36-4.61%), an organophosphorus insecticide. Plants and herbal preparations may be contaminated by the absorption of phthalates from contaminated water or soil or by the migration of phthalates from inexpensive recycled plastic. Regarding the widespread use and associated health risks of phthalates, effective quality and safety regulations for herbal products should be implemented with respect to their phthalate content.Keywords: Aromatic water, BHT, DBP, DEHP, diazinone, diisobutyl phthalate

Cinnamoylphenethyl Amides from Polygonum hyrcanicum Possess Anti-Trypanosomal Activity

A methanolic extract from aerial parts of Polygonum hyrcanicum (Polygonaceae) showed high activity against Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense (IC50 = 3.7 microg/mL). Bioassay-guided fractionation of the extract resulted in isolation of cinnamoylphenethyl amides, including N-trans-caffeoyltyramine (1), N-trans-p-coumaroyltyramine (7), and N-trans-feruloyltyramine (8) as the main active constituents (IC50s ranging from 2.2 to 13.3 microM). Some structurally related, but less active compounds, such as cannabisin B (2), tyrosol (3), p-coumaric acid (4), ferulic acid (5), and N-cis-feruloyltyramine (6) were also identified, along with N-trans-3,4-dimethoxycinnamoyldopamine (9). Cytotoxicity of the active compounds in L6 cells was determined, and selectivity indices (SI) of 7.9 to 33.4 were calculate

Scillapersicene: a new homoisoflavonoid with cytotoxic activity from the bulbs of <i>Scilla persica</i> HAUSSKN

<p>The phytochemical investigation of <i>Scilla persica</i> HAUSSKN bulbs led to the isolation of a novel homoisoflavonoid that named Scillapersicene (<b>1</b>) and identified as 3-(3′,4′-dihydroxybenzylidene)-8-hydroxy-5,7-dimethoxychroman-4-one along with five known homoisoflavonoids <b>2</b>–<b>6</b>, whose structures were elucidated using HRFAB-MS, 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data. The known compounds were identified as 3-(3′,4′-dihydroxybenzyl)-5,8-dihydroxy-7-methoxychroman-4-one (<b>2</b>), 3,9-dihydro-autumnalin (<b>3</b>), autumnalin (<b>4</b>), 3-(3′,4′-dihydroxybenzylidene)-5,8-dihydroxy-7-methoxychroman-4-one (<b>5</b>) and scillapersicone (<b>6</b>). All compounds obtained, expect <b>2</b> and <b>4</b>, showed strong cytotoxic activity against AGS cell line. The toxicity on AGS cell line was measured by <b>1</b>, <b>3</b>, <b>5</b> and <b>6</b> with IC₅₀ values of 8.4, 30.5, 10.7 and 24.2 μM, respectively. In addition, the physico-chemical properties of these natural compounds were optimised using density functional method (B3LYP) with standard 6-311+G* basis set. These natural products have low-energy gaps between the first ionisation potentials and highest occupied molecular orbital. In conclusion, the low-energy gap could cause reason for cytotoxic activity of homoisoflavonoids.</p

Evaluation of the Cytotoxicity of Satureja spicigera and Its Main Compounds

Satureja spicigera (Lamiaceae) grows wildly in Northwest of Iran. In this study, bioassay-guided isolation and identification of the main compounds has been reported using various chromatographic methods and comparison of their spectral data with those reported in the literature. Brine shrimp lethality and four cancerous cell lines HT29/219, Caco2, NIH-3T3, and T47D were used for cytotoxicity evaluations. From the aerial parts of S. spicigera, nine known compounds including two flavanones, 5,7,3,5-tetrahydroxy flavanone (8) and 5,4-dihydroxy-3-methoxyflavanone-7-(6-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl)-β-D-glucopyranoside (9), one dihydrochalcone, nubigenol (7), together with thymoquinone (1), thymol (2), carvacrol (3), β-sitosterol (4), ursolic acid (5) and oleanolic acid (6) were identified. Among the isolated chalcone and flavanones, compound 8 was effective against Artemia salina larva (LC50= 2 μg/mL) and only the compound 9 demonstrated IC50 value of 98.7 μg/mL on the T47D (human, breast, ductal carcinoma). Other compounds did not show significant inhibition of the cell growth