Pyrrolizidine alkaloids from seven wild-growing Senecio species in Serbia and Montenegro

The genus Senecio (family Asteraceae) is one of the largest in the world. It comprises about 1100 species which are the rich source of pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Plants containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids are among the most important sources of human and animal exposure to plant toxins and carcinogens. The pyrrolizidine alkaloids of seven Senecio species (S. erucifolius, S. othonnae, S. wagneri, S. subalpinus, S. carpathicus, S. paludosus and S. rupestris) were studied. Fourteen alkaloids were isolated and their structures determined from spectroscopic data (1H- and 13C-NMR, IR and MS). Five of them were identified in S. erucifolius, four in S. othonnae, two in S. wagneri, four in S. subalpinus, two in S. carpathicus, three in S. paludosus and three in S. rupestris. Seven pyrrolizidine alkaloids were found for the first time in particular species. The results have chemotaxonomic importance. The cytotoxic activity and antimicrobial activity of some alkaloids were also studied

CLIMATE AND HARVEST TIME IMPACT ON AROMATIC COMPOUNDS OF SAUVIGNON BLANC WINE

Research was carried out in vineyard of King Peter I Karadjordjevic-Royal Winery at Oplenac-Topola municipality. Climate parameters included: mean monthly, vegetation and annual temperature and precipitation. Different compounds of aromatic complexes were detected by GC-MS and GC-FID analysis. Wine was made from grapes harvested in full maturity and fifteen days after full maturity. The relationship between measured attributes of aromatic wine complex were visualized using principal component analysis and presented graphically through dispersion diagram. In wine were detected following aromatic compounds: higher alcohols, lactones, organic acids, esters and amides. During  the research it variation of the relative proportion of aromatic compounds was found in Sauvignon blanc wine influenced by different climate conditions, accordingly to temperature and precipitation distribution

Antibacterial and cytotoxic activities of naphthoquinone pigments from Onosma visianii Clem

In this study, the antibacterial and cytotoxic activities of isolated compounds from the roots of Onosma visianii were investigated. By using different chromatographic techniques and appropriate spectroscopic methods, the seven naphthoquinones were described: deoxyshikonin (1), isobutyrylshikonin (2), α-methylbutyrylshikonin (3), acetylshikonin (4), ß-hydroxyisovalerylshikonin (5), 5,8-O-dimethyl isobutyrylshikonin (6) and 5,8-O-dimethyl deoxyshikonin (7). Among the tested compounds, 3 and 4 exhibited the highest antibacterial activities toward all tested bacterial species (MIC50 and MIC90 for gram positive bacteria: 6.40 µg/mL-12.79 µg/mL and 6.82 µg/mL-13.60 µg/mL, respectively; for gram negative bacteria: 4.27 µg/mL-8.53 µg/mL and 4.77 µg/mL-9.54 µg/mL, respectively). Also, naphthoquinones 3 and 4 exhibited strong cytotoxic activity against MDA-MB-231 cells (IC50 values 86.0 µg/mL and 80.2 µg/mL, respectively), while compounds 1, 3, 4 and 5 significantly decreased viability of HCT116 cells (IC50 values of 97.8 µg/mL, 15.2 µg/mL, 24.6 µg/mL and 30.9 µg/mL, respectively). Our results indicated that all tested naphthoquinone pigments are potential candidates for clinical uses as antibacterial and cytotoxic agents

The flavonoid fustin exerts anti-inflammatory effect in a model of carrageenan-induced paw oedema

Carrageenan-induced paw oedema is a widely used model of acute inflammation. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of the flavonoid fustin on carrageenan-induced acute paw inflammation in rats. Thirty male Wistar rats were distributed equally between three groups – control, F10, and F20. In the course of 1 week, animals were treated once daily by intragastric gavage as follows: control group – with distilled water (10 mL kg −1 ) containing 50 μL Tween 80; groups F10 and F20 – with 10 mL kg −1 suspensions containing fustin in two doses (10 mg kg −1 and 20 mg kg −1 , respectively) and 50 μL Tween 80. After the treatment period, carrageenan was injected in the left hind paw and paw oedema was evaluated 0, 30, 60, 120, 180, 240, and 300 min after the injection using a plethysmometer. In the control group, paw oedema increased gradually and peaked at the 180 th minute. Fustin treatment reduced the oedema in all time intervals and the effect was significant on the 30 th and 60 th minute after the injection. The present study indicated that fustin could suppress acute inflammation

Brine shrimp lethality bioassay of selected Centaurea L. species (Asteraceae)

Ether extracts of 15 Centaurea L. species (Asteraceae) methanol extracts of 12 species, and cnicin isolated from C derventana were tested for general bioactivity using the brine shrimp lethality test. Cnicin showed the most potent activity with LC50 0.2. Also, ether extract of C. splendens showed significant activity with LC50 7.3, as did methanol extract of C. arenaria with LC50 12.4.U radu je ispitivana biološka aktivnost metanolnih i etarskih ekstrakata 18 vrsta roda Centaurea pomoću Biotesta Artemiasalina. Vrste ovog roda predstavljaju značajne prirodne izvore biološki aktivnih sekundarnih metabolita. Takođe, određena je i biološka aktivnost (toksičnost) seskviterpenskog laktona knicina, čiste supstance, izdvojene iz C. derventana. Ekstrakti su dobijeni ekstrakcijom 5 g listova u etru i metanolu, knicin je izolovan iz C derventana, prema Tešević et. al. (1998). Uzorci i test su pripremljeni i sprovedeni prema 2Meyeret al. (1982) i McLaughlin (-1991). Kao kontrola korišćen je kalijum dihromat (VI). Utvrđeno je da metanolni i etarski ekstrakti svih ispitivanih vrsta pokazuju značajnu biološku aktivnost. Najveću aktivnost ispitivanih metanolnih ekstrakata pokazao je ekstrakt vrste C. arenaria LC50 12.4 μg/ml, dok je najmanju aktivnost pokazala vrsta C. chrysolepis, čija vrednost LC50 iznosi 277.7 μg/ml. Najveću aktivnost etarskih ekstrakata pokazao je ekstrakt vrste C. splendens, čija vrednost LC50 iznosi 7.3 μg/ml, a najmanju aktivnost pokazala je vrsta C. scabiosa čija vrednost LC50 iznosi 2605.9 μg/ml, tj. - gt 1000. Seskviterpenski lakton knicin je pokazao najveću biološku aktivnost (LC50 0.2μg/ml). Rezultati biotesta soni račić (Artemia salina Leach) pokazuju značajnu aktivnost svih ispitivanih ekstrakata analiziranih vrsta roda Centaurea. Naši rezultati, literaturni podaci, kao i upotreba vrsta roda Centaurea u etnomedicini, navode na zaključak da je istraživanje vrsta ovog roda sa aspekta biološke aktivnosti kako ukupnog ekstrakta, tako i pojedinačnih komponenti, veoma značajno. Pored ostalog, na osnovu rezultata može se zaključiti da biotest soni račić predstavlja jednostavan, statistički prihvatljiv, brz i pouzdan metod za detekciju komponenti viših biljaka koje mogu ispoljavati čitav spektar farmakoloških aktivnosti