Contaminations of herbal products determined by NMR fingerprint

The utilisation of NMR fingerprinting is proposed as a rapid, available and reliable method to determine the contamination of herbal products. The presence of nimesulide has been reported recently as the contaminant of P.C. 28 Plus, a product based on herbal drugs marketed by the Italian company Cosval. The presence of the substance, as well as its relevant concentration (5%), was first reported by HPLC/MS analysis by other authors. The use of an NMR fingerprint confirmed the previous contamination with nimesulide in P.C. 28 Plus. The same contaminant was also found in P.C. 28 Pink. Furthermore, an analysis of Alergix Plus, another product of the same factory, evidenced the presence of bromhexin. © 2010 Taylor & Francis

Chemotaxonomy of Linaria genus by nor-iridoids distribution

Recent phytochemical study of several Italian species of Linaria, including rare endemic species, allowed a chemotaxomic approach to the genus based on phylogenetic trends in Lamiiflorae

Alkaloids from Glaucium flavum from Sardinia

Glaucium flavum collected in Sardinia was studied using a phytochemical approach in order to evaluate its alkaloid composition and obtain a comparison with the alkaloid contents of the same species in populations of other geographic proveniences. In fact, different chemoecotypes of G. flavum have been identified, on the basis of their particular content and composition in alkaloids, in accordance with the different distribution areas. The analysis showed that Sardinian G. flavum contains a homogeneous alkaloid pattern of aporphyne type, significantly different from those reported for populations from other parts of Europe. © 2010 Taylor & Francis

Endemic plants of Italy and their peculiar molecular pattern

The plants, which have always been present in almost all regions of the Earth, have aroused the curiosity and attention of man since ancient times. Populations of Babylon, Egypt, and Greece were those in which the first scientists of plants were found; Aristotle, Theophrastus, and Dioscorides were known for highly valuable contributions in this field. Even in the great ancient populations of the Asian regions, such as China and India, and the American continent, such as the Aztec and Incas, there is evidence of their knowledge of plants and their therapeutic value

Natural daucane sesquiterpenes with antiproliferative and proapoptoticactivity against human tumor cells

Plants of the genera Ferula and Ferulago are known for their complex content in bioactive secondary metabolites such as coumarins, phenylpropanoids, and sesquiterpenes. We used the ground parts of Ferula communis subsp. communis, Ferula glauca subsp. glauca and Ferulago campestris as natural sources for the isolation of four coumarins (CU-1 to CU-4), two phenylpropanoids (PE-1 and PE-2), one polyacet- ylene (PA-1) and 16 daucane esters (DE-1 to DE-16). The cytotoxic activity of the isolated compounds was evaluated against a panel of seven human tumor cell lines. Fourteen of the daucane derivatives showed antiproliferative activity at least against one of the human tumor cell lines tested, four com- pounds (DE-5, DE-8, DE-11, and DE-16) were active against all the tested cell lines. Among them DE- 11 was the most cytotoxic compound against HeLa (4.4 \ub1 0.7 lM), A549 (2.8 \ub1 1.4 lM), HL-60 (2.6 \ub1 0.4 lM), K562 (26.5 \ub1 6.0 lM) RS 4;11 (1.7 \ub1 0.3 lM) and SEM (2.4 \ub1 0.1 lM) cell lines, while DE- 8 was the most active against Jurkat (3.3 \ub1 0.8 lM). Preliminary structure\u2013activity relationship suggests that the most active compounds in the daucane series present the trans fusion of the penta- and hepta- atomic cycles, and lipophylic ester groups linked to position 6. Isomeric derivatives such as DE-8 and DE- 9 or DE-3, DE-4, and DE-5 exhibited significant differences in their IC50 supporting that the b orientation for the ester group in the position 2 enhances the cytotoxic activity. Furthermore, the pro-apoptotic effect of the most active compounds evaluated in Jurkat cell line showed that these compounds are able to induce apoptosis in a time and concentration-dependent manner. Our findings suggest the potential role of daucane derivatives as models for the development of proapoptotic compounds

Chemical fingerprinting of Equisetum arvense L. using HPTLC densitometry and HPLC

Equisetum arvense L. is a herbaceous medicinal plant, commonly known as horsetail, whose extracts have been reported to possess diuretic and haemostatic properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of fingerprint chromatographic methods on commercially available raw materials or preparations of E. arvense L. in order to ascertain their quality and identify possible adulterants using HPLC and HPTLC densitometry. Two chromatographic methods were used to determine the chemical fingerprints of E. arvense and other allied species. The first was based on HPTLC identification followed by densitometric measurement at 350 nm. The second was based on HPLC separation. The ease of sample preparation and the possibility of simultaneous analysis of several samples in a short time make HPTLC a method of choice for the comprehensive quality evaluation of herbal products

Natural daucane sesquiterpenes with antiproliferative and proapoptotic activity against human tumor cells

Plants of the genera Ferula and Ferulago are known for their complex content in bioactive secondary metabolites such as coumarins, phenylpropanoids, and sesquiterpenes. We used the ground parts of Ferula communis subsp. communis, Ferula glauca subsp. glauca and Ferulago campestris as natural sources for the isolation of four coumarins (CU-1 to CU-4), two phenylpropanoids (PE-1 and PE-2), one polyacetylene (PA-1) and 16 daucane esters (DE-1 to DE-16). The cytotoxic activity of the isolated compounds was evaluated against a panel of seven human tumor cell lines. Fourteen of the daucane derivatives showed antiproliferative activity at least against one of the human tumor cell lines tested, four compounds (DE-5, DE-8, DE-11, and DE-16) were active against all the tested cell lines. Among them DE-11 was the most cytotoxic compound against HeLa (4.4 +/- 0.7 mu M), A549 (2.8 +/- 1.4 mu M), HL-60 (2.6 +/- 0.4 mu M), K562 (26.5 +/- 6.0 mu M) RS 4:11(1.7 +/- 0.3 mu M) and SEM (2.4 +/- 0.1 mu M) cell lines, while DE-8 was the most active against Jurkat (3.3 +/- 0.8 mu M). Preliminary structure-activity relationship suggests that the most active compounds in the daucane series present the trans fusion of the penta- and hepta-atomic cycles, and lipophylic ester groups linked to position 6. Isomeric derivatives such as DE-8 and DE-9 or DE-3, DE-4, and DE-5 exhibited significant differences in their IC(50) supporting that the p orientation for the ester group in the position 2 enhances the cytotoxic activity. Furthermore, the pro-apoptotic effect of the most active compounds evaluated in Jurkat cell line showed that these compounds are able to induce apoptosis in a time and concentration-dependent manner. Our findings suggest the potential role of daucane derivatives as models for the development of proapoptotic compounds