Records of Natural Products Articles

In this review, the existing literature data on the phytochemical and biological studies of the genus Indigofera are outlined with 71 references. Up till now, 65 compounds were secluded from various species of genus Indigofera. The chemical components are mostly terpenoids, flavonoids and nitro group containing compounds, together with steroids and others. The metabolites and crude extracts of the genus indigofera were found to exhibit various bioactivities including, antimicrobial, insecticidal, phytotoxic, antiulcergenic, hepatotoxic, teratogenic and cytotoxicity. Other constituents isolated from the genus Indigofera displayed inhibitory activity against the enzyme lipoxygenase and gastrointestinal activity. This review represents a brief description of the total Phytochemical and Pharmacological activities of genus Indigofera as well as chemotaxonomic classification of chemical constituents

Six different Scaligeria DC. taxa (Apiaceae) essential oils (EOs) obtained by hydrodistillation from herba with the flowers collected from different sites from Turkey. The oils were analyzed and characterized by gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) simultaneously. A total of 133 different compounds were identified and relative qualitative and quantitative differences were observed among the evaluated samples. Analytical profiles of the Scaligeria EOs showed characteristic differences in terms of different main chemical constituents, between the two taxa S. lazica Boiss. and S. tripartita (Kalen.) Tamamsch; and S. napiformis (Sprengel) Grande, S. meifolia (Fenzl) Boiss., S. capillifolia Post, S. hermonis Post, S. glaucescens (DC.) Boiss. taxa, respectively. The main component germacrene D can be utilized as marker for the chemical discrimination of the Scaligeria genus. In addition, Scaligeria EOs were evaluated in vitro for their antimicrobial activity against pathogenic Gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus), Gram negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and yeast (Candida albicans, C. parapsilosis, and C. krusei) standard strains by using a micro-dilution assay. As a general result, the oils showed moderate inhibitory range when compared with standard antimicrobial agents.

The effect of microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) process on the antioxidant capacity/activity of three medicinal herbs from Turkey was investigated by electrochemical differential pulse voltammetric (DPV)- CUPric Reducing Antioxidant Capacity ( CUPRAC) assay. The optimal extraction time, temperature and solvent type were 6 min, 80 °C and 80% (v/v) methanol (MeOH), respectively. Microwave-assisted extracts of herbs (Hypericum scabrum L., Papaver fugax Poiret var. platydiscus Cullen , and Achillea vermicularis Trin.) were screened for total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total phenolic content (TPC) and ROS scavenging activities by employing different in vitro spectrophotometric assays. A positive correlation was observed between TAC-CUPRAC and TPC ( R 2  = 0.972). Similarly, a positive correlation was observed between TAC-CUPRAC and free radical scavenging (FRS) activity ( R 2  = 0.977). The order of FRS activities of tested samples was as follows: Hypericum scabrum L. > Achillea vermicularis Trin. > Papaver fugax Poiret var. platydiscus Cullen . These results suggest that these medicinal herbs provide promising antioxidant potentials as potential natural preservative agents in pharmaceutical industries.

The study is concerned with biological activity of quince (Q) fruit extract (Cydonia oblonga Mill.) towards the phosphatidylcholine liposome and the natural lipid-protein erythrocyte membrane, as well as will explaining the 1 way of interaction of the extract with the membrane. The results showed that Q extract protects lipids against oxidation induced by AAPH compound to a similar extent in two models of membrane. Studies with probes (Laurdan and DPH) located at different depths within the membrane lipid bilayer showed that extract caused an increase of the packing order of the polar heads of lipids and a slight decrease in mobility of the acyl chains. Such results suggest that extract molecules associate with the lipid and lipid-protein membrane and can stop the propagation of free radicals within the bilayer by modifying the membrane fluidity. Furthermore, Q extract resulted in the inhibition of the activity of enzymes (cyclooxygenase-1 and cyclooxygenase-2) probably involved in inflammatory reactions in the body. The experimental results proved that extract components can bind to the main plasma protein – human serum albumin, and the quenching mechanism was suggested as static. The obtained quince–albumin binding constants show that the extract probably can be transported from the circulatory system to reach its target organ.

Gymnema sylvestre has been used in Asian traditional medicine for its anti-microbial, anti-hypercholesterolemic, hepatoprotective and sweet suppressing properties and activities. G. sylvestre has also been used extensively in chewing gum, as a health food for preventing obesity and diabetes, and as a tea. This study has evaluated the total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of the aqueous and organic G. sylvestre extracts and their sub-fractions for the initial characterization of the biological properties of the isolated compounds. An in vivo cell model was used to calculate the concentration inhibiting cell growth by 50% and the ability to exert antioxidant activity. All compounds inhibit cell growth in a dose-dependent manner, with an IC 50 value ranging between 29 and 1462 μM. The effects on intracellular ROS levels are extremely variable, but it is of interest that some of the compounds appear to display an antioxidant effect.

In this study, the polar extract of Arum italicum Miller tubers was fractionated by ‘biological activity guided fractionation’ method. MCF-7 (human breast adenocarcinoma) and A549 (non-small lung cancer) cancer cell lines were used to screen cytotoxic activity. Possible antiproliferative and apoptotic effects of each subfraction were evaluated by in vitro. As a result, E2 were cytotoxic against A549 cell lines while E3 and E6 showed good cytotoxic activities against both cancer cell lines. These three subfractions showed apoptotic and antiproliferative effects comparable with positive control. The chemical composition of each subfraction was determined by LC/MS-MS. Hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives, lignans and glycosides, hydroxycinnamic acid-spermidine conjugates and oxylipins identified in subfractions were major secondary metabolites.

The aerial parts of Alchemilla L. species (Rosaceae) are used internally as diuretic, laxative, tonic and externally for wound healing in Turkish folk medicine. Antioxidant effects of the extracts, fractions and isolated compounds from the aerial parts of A. barbatiflora Juz. were investigated with following methods: 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH), and superoxide radical scavenging (SOD), phosphomolibdenum-reducing antioxidant power (PRAP), ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. In addition, tyrosinase, α-glucosidase and acetylcholinesterase inhibition activities of samples were analyzed. The methanol extract from the aerial parts of plant was consecutively fractionated into four subextracts; n-hexane, chloroform, and remaining water extracts. Further studies were carried out on the most active water subextract and the fractions obtained from water subextract with column chromatography. Phytochemical studies on active fractions of the water subextract led to the isolation of seven metabolites including catechin (1) and a catechin dimer; procyanidin B3 (2), a flavonol glucuronide; quercetin-3-O- β-D-glucuronic acid (miquelianin) (3) with flavonoid glycosides; quercetin-3-O- β-D-galactoside (hyperoside) (4), quercetin-3-O- β-D-arabinoside (guaiaverin) (5), kaempferol-3-O-β-D-xylopyranoside (6) and kaempferol-3-O -(6″-coumaroyl-β-D-glycoside) (tiliroside) (7). Their structures were elucidated by spectral techniques (1D and 2D NMR). The experimental data verified that procyanidin B3 displayed remarkable enzyme inhibitory activity among the whole isolated compounds.

Volatile constituents of the essential oil which was obtained by hydrodistillation (HD) in a Clevenger-type apparatus from the air-dried Salvia staminea Montbret & Aucher ex Bentham (Lamiaceae) collected from Bayburt (North East Part of Black Sea Reagan of Turkey), were analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS. Additionally, volatiles for the whole part of S. staminea were analyzed by two different methods which are headspace (HS)-GC-FID/MS and headspace solid-phase micro extraction (HS-SPME)-GC-FID/MS. As results of this study, thirty compounds from hydrodistillation, fifteen constituents from HS-SPME and two components from headspace ofS. staminea were identified with GC-FID/MS. The major compounds identified in the essential oil, SPME and HS of S. staminea were linalyl acetate (23.30%, 85.07%, and 87.55%) and linalool (22.05%, 9.02%, and 12.44%), respectively. The antimicrobial activities of the essential oil of S. staminea were screened against seven microorganisms (Escherichia coli, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Bacilluscereus, Listeria monocytogenes , and Candida albican ) and showed good antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria which is consistent with the literature with the other types of Salvia species. The essential oil of S. staminea showed good antioxidant activity with IC 50 60.4 µg/mL.

A new cycloartane triterpenoid glycoside, named soulieoside R, was isolated from the rhizomes of Souliea vaginata. Its structure was characterized by comprehensive analyses of 1H, 13C NMR, COSY, HSQC, HMBC, NOESY spectroscopic, and HRESIMS mass spectrometric data, as well as chemical methods. The new compound showed weak inhibitory activity against three human cancer cell lines.

The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant and neuroprotective activities in the aerial parts of seven Eragrostis species (Poaceae) and to find antioxidant or neuroprotective compounds from the most active species. The total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), 1,1-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity (DPPH RSA), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and neuroprotective activity against amyloid beta peptide induced toxicity in PC12 cells were measured in the methanol extracts of the aerial parts of E. ferruginea, E. cilianensis, E. minor, E. multicaulis, E. pilosa, E. japonica, and E. curvula collected from June to August 2013. All species showed antioxidant or neuroprotective activities and, among them, E. japonica was the most active species to isolate antioxidant or neuroprotective compounds, because it was found to show both the highest TPC (10.63 ± 0.31 mg/g) and TFC (2.83 ± 0.06 mg/g) values, as well as TAC (11.34 ± 0.80 mg/g) and DPPH RSA (47.07 ± 2.81 µg/mL), with the second-highest neuroprotective value (23.0 µg/mL). Three known compounds were isolated from E. japonica by the bioassay guided approach and these were identified as isoorientin, isovitexin, and caffeic acid that have antioxidant and neuroprotective activities.