Wastes after distillation of Helichrysum italicum - biological active compounds and free radical scavenging activity

Distillation wastewater, by-products from steam and water distillation as well as raw material used as control of fl ower heads of Helichrysum italicum were comparative analyzed for content of the biologically active compounds by GC/MS. Acetone exudates, methanol extracts and ethyl acetate fractions obtained after alkaline hydrolyze of the studied materials were received. The three types of extraction products as well as the distillation wastewater were examined for free radical scavenging activity by DPPH assay. Phenol, fatty- and organic acids, sterols, triterpenes, sugars and sugar alcohols were identifi ed. Succinic acid and myo-inositol were identifi ed as main components of distillation wastewater. Hydroxycinnamic acid, caff eic acid and 4(p)-hydroxybenzoic acid were dominant compounds of the ethyl acetate fractions. Triterpenes and fatty acids, sterols and fl avonoids are among the main biologically active substances in the methanolic extracts and acetone exudates. The ethyl acetate fractions were found to possess the highest free radical scavenging activity (IC50 < 50 µg/mL). Signifi cant diff erences in the activity between wastes and raw materials were not found. The results showed that the waste products after distillation of H. italicum contain important biologically active substances and the extracts with high antioxidant activity can be obtained from them

GC-MS metabolic profiling and free radical scavenging activity of Micromeria dalmatica

Metabolite profile of acetone exudate and methanolic extract from aerial parts of Micromeria dalmatica Benth were analyzed by GC/MS. Palmitic and linolenic acids, hentriacontane, amyrin, quercetagetin 3,6,7-trimethyl ether, sucrose were identified among the main components in the acetone exudate. In the methanolic extract more than 100 chromatographic peaks were detected including alkanes, fatty alcohols, fatty acids, organic acids, phenolic acids, saccharides, polyoles, phytosterols and other. Most of the compounds were reported for the first time for the species. Hydromethanolic extract of M. dalmatica was studied for in vitro antioxidant 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical-scavenging activity. The inhibitory concentration (IC50) of extract was calculated to be 21.36 μg/mL. The received result shows high antioxidant potential of Micromeria dalmatica extract which provide scientific support for the use of the plant as herbs and spices

The Genus Galanthus: A Source of Bioactive Compounds

The Amaryllidaceae family is one of the 20 most important alkaloid-containing plant families (Zhong, 2005). It comprises about 1100 perennial bulbous species classified in 85 genera, distributed throughout the tropics and warm temperate regions of the world (Willis, 1988). The specific alkaloids produced by the amaryllidaceous plants have attracted considerable attention due to their interesting pharmacological activities. One of them, galanthamine, is a long acting, selective, reversible and competitive inhibitor of the acetylcholinesterase enzyme (Thomsen et al., 1998), which is marketed as a hydrobromide salt under the name of Razadyne® (formerly Reminyl®) and Nivalin® for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, poliomyelitis and other neurological diseases (Heinrich and Teoh, 2004). After its discovery in Galanthus woronowii by Proskurina and co-authors in 1955 (Proskurina et al., 1955), the pharmacological properties of galanthamine soon attracted the attention of the pharmaceutical industry. It was first produced by Sopharma (Bulgaria) under the name of Nivalin® from G. nivalis in the early 1960s, but due to the small plant size and variability of galanthamine content, this species was soon replaced by other plant sources (Berkov et al., 2009b). The genus Galanthus (Snowdrop; Greek gála "milk", ánthos "flower") comprises about 19 species (World Checklist of Selected Plant Families), and to our knowledge 11 have been investigated for their alkaloid content. Although the genus has only been partially studied, phytochemical work has revealed an exceptional diversity of alkaloid structures, many of them reported for the first time and with still unknown bioactivity. The present article provides a brief overview of the phytochemical studies within the genus Galanthus

GC/MS Based Metabolite Profiling and Antioxidant Activity of Balkan and Bulgarian Endemic Plants

Balkan and Bulgarian endemic plants Viola rhodopaea Becker (Violaceae), Veronica rhodopaea (Velen.) Degen ex Stoj. & Stefanov (Plantaginaceae), Silene roemeri Friv. (Caryophyllaceae), Jasione bulgarica Stoj. & Stef and Campanula lanata Friv. (Campanulaceae) were examined. Metabolite profiles of methanolic extracts of studied species were analyzed by GC/MS and HPTLC. Total flavonoid and phenol contents were determined by aluminum chloride (AlCl3) and Folin-Ciocalteu’s reagent, respectively. Antioxidant potential of the extracts was assayed by DPPH test. Fatty acids and alcohols, phenolic and organic acids, flavonoid aglycones and glycosides, sterols and carbohydrates were identified. Jasione bulgarica and Viola rhodopaea extracts were determined to have the highest flavonoid and phenol content. Significant radical scavenging activity was estimated for the extracts of J. bulgarica, Veronica rhodopaea and Viola rhodopaea. The present information of chemical composition and antiradical potential of studied species are reported for the first  time

QToF exact mass and ESI fragmentation of bioactive Amaryllidaceae alkaloids

Amaryllidaceae alkaloids are a particular group of alkaloids exclusive to the Amarylloideae subfamily. Important from a biological and pharmacological point of view, they have antiparasitic, antiviral and antitumoral activities. Notably, galanthamine has been approved by the FDA as an acetylcholinesterase inhibitory drug for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Overall, Amaryllidaceae alkaloids are easy to analyse by GC–MS, but some are difficult to differentiate or detect. In the current study, some of these problems were resolved by applying an alternative analytical technique, high resolution ESI-MS/MS, a soft ionisation method producing different fragmentation patterns. Amongst the Amaryllidaceae alkaloids, only galanthamine has been previously analysed by high resolution ESI-MS/MS. In this work, a large number of Amaryllidaceae alkaloids were studied by high resolution ESI-MS/MS, providing important new structural information

Growth and Essential Oils of Salvia officinalis Plants Derived from Conventional or Aeroponic Produced Seedlings

Salvia officinalis L. (Lamiaceae) is cultivated in many countries as a valuable medicinal and aromatic plant with antiseptic and spasmolytic effects due to its essential oils, used as ingredient in many phytopreparations. The present study aimed to enhance the growth of S. officinalis plants and to improve the essential oil quality, applying hydroponic technology. Seeds of cultivated S. officinalis were used as initial material: experimental seeds were germinated on aeroponic vertical system into peat cubes in pots with keramzite and control ones in terrines with ordinary soil. All seedlings were transferred to the greenhouse in pots with sterilized compost and universal soil mixture. The morphometric parameters of both groups, 80 seedlings each, were compared after two months; 36 plants per group were transferred to the field plot, and herbage of 10 randomly chosen plants per group was harvested during the full flowering stage in two consecutive years. Essential oils were extracted on Clevenger apparatus and their composition was analyzed by GC/MS. Conventionally obtained seedlings were significantly higher (P<0.001), while aeroponically derived plants increased their biomass by 18.4%, ramified earlier, and developed much more generative shoots (p<0.05). Plants’ size of the two groups equalized at the second year, essential oils yield being about 1.1% w/v. Some fluctuations in essential oils composition was noticed in the two groups and the two years. To summarize, application of aeroponic system shortened the period from germination to harvest, enhanced plants flowering and reflected on the composition of the essential oils

Antifungal activity of plant extracts against phytopathogenic fungi

Aqueous-methanolic extracts and acetone exudates of 24 plant species were screened for their antifungal activity against four largely spread plant pathogens possessing a broad spectrum of plant hosts - Alternaria alternata, Botrytis cinerea, Phytophthora cambivora and Fusarium oxysporum. Examination of the effect of plant extracts on mycelium growth and development of plant pathogens was done by diffusion method in vitro on PDA medium. The highest antifungal activity with an impact on the most studied pathogens was found for the acetone exudates. Among the tested exudates that of Salvia officinalis showed the highest activity against three plant pathogens tested. The exudates of Artemisia campestris, Artemisa absinthium and Clinopodium vulgare displayed activity against Fusarium oxysporum and Phytophthora cambivora. Chemical profiles of the most active exudates were determined by HPTLC and GC/MS. Non-polar substances composed mainly of flavonoid aglycones, terpenes, sterols and fatty acids were identified

Revised NMR data for Incartine: an alkaloid from Galanthus elwesii

Phytochemical studies on Galanthus elwesii resulted in the isolation of five alkaloids: incartine, hordenine, hippeastrine, 8-O-demethylhomolycorine and lycorine. The NMR data given previously for incartine were revised and completed by two-dimensional 1H-1H and 1H-13C chemical shift correlation experiments. In vitro studies on the bioactivity of incartine were carried out

Plant sources of galanthamine: phytochemical and biotechnological aspects.

Galanthamine, an Amaryllidaceae type alkaloid, is an AChE inhibitor marketed as a hydrobromide salt for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, poliomyelitis and other neurological diseases. Although the chemical synthesis of galanthamine has been successfully performed, plants are the main source of its production. The phytochemical and biotechnological aspects of plants currently used for galanthamine production, namely Leucojum aestivum, Narcissus ssp. Ungernia victoris and Lycoris radiata, are summarized in the present paper

Phenolic acid profiles of endemic species Verbascum anisophyllum and Verbascum davidoffii

The profiles of methanol extractable and methanol insoluble bound phenolic acids of two species: Verbascum anisophyllum Murb (Balkan endemic) and Verbascum davidoffii Murb. (Bulgarian endemic) were determined. Free radical scavenging activity and total phenolic content of studied extracts and fractions were evaluated by DPPH antioxidant method and Folin–Ciocalteu reagent, respectively. Phenolic acid profiles were analyzed by GC/MS. Sixteen phenolic acids and their derivatives were detected. Ferulic acid was the major individual phenolic acid presented in all extracts and fractions. Hydroxycinnamic, vanillic and p-hydroxybenzoic acids were also abundant in the studied phenolic acid profiles. The presence of gentisic, syringic, isoferulic, dihydroferulic, eudesmic, 3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxybenzoic acids were reported for the first time to Verbascum species. The greatest variety of phenolic acids was found in the fractions containing methanol insoluble bound hydrolysable phenolic acids. The highest free radical scavenging activity and total phenolic content were established for methanol extractable alkaline hydrolysable fractions. Phenolic acid profiles and free radical scavenging activity of both species were similar although V. davidoffii contained few more components. The present study is the first report on the phenolic acid profiles and free radical scavenging activity of V. anisophyllum and V. davidoffii as well as the first detailed study of the phenolic acid profiles of the Verbacum species