Phytochemical profiles,antioxidant and anti-acetylcholinesterasic activities of the leaf extracts of Rhamnus lycioides subsp. oleoides (L.) Jahand. & Maire in different solvents

In this work, the extracts obtained with different solvents from the leaves of Rhamnus lycioides subsp. oleoides (L.) Jahand. & Maire were studied for their phytochemical profile and then for their antioxidant and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activities. The phytochemical profiles of the extracts in n-hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, methanol, anthraquinone rich and water, showed the presence of different compounds belonging to several classes of natural products such as flavonoids, anthraquinones, saccharides and fatty acids. For what concerns the biological tests, the ethyl acetate, methanol and anthraquinone rich extracts showed the highest activities in both assays due to the high amount of compounds possessing those properties such as flavonoids and anthraquinones. By consequence, these specific extracts of the species may be considered to be potential sources of natural antioxidant and anti-acetylcholinesterasic compounds.     

Chemical composition and biological activities of the essential oil from Pulicaria undulata (L.) C. A. Mey. growing wild in Egypt

Abstract

Pulicaria undulata is used as a traditional herbal remedy in Egypt. We used gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for analysis of essential oil of this plant growing wild in Egypt and 64 compounds were identified. The oil was rich in oxygenated monoterpenes (64.0%) and aromatic derivatives (18.8%). The major components were carvacrol (46.5%), xanthoxylin (18.1%) and carvotanacetone (8.7%). The oil of the Egyptian plant showed significant differences from the oil results reported on this species derived from different accessions. Antioxidant activity was performed by FRAP, DPPH and ABTS assays, and the oil demonstrated a powerful antioxidant properties. Furthermore, cytotoxicity was assessed using MTT assay against three cell lines (A375, T98G, HCT116) and the oil showed moderate results with IC₅₀ of 18.53, 40.64 and 22.23?μg/ml; respectively. The oil showed a good anti-acetylcholinesterase activity (IC₅₀?=?139.2?μg/ml) using Ellman method. In conclusion, the studied oil exhibited a peculiar fingerprint and promising biological activities.     

Harvesting season dependent variation in chemical composition and biological activities of the essential oil obtained from Inula graveolens (L.) grown in Chebba (Tunisia) salt marsh

The chemical composition and the biological activities of aromatic plants may be influenced by seasonal changes. Therefore, the essential oil of Inula graveolens (IGEO), collected at Chebba salt marsh, was studied in terms of yields, compositions and biological activities, throughout four different seasons, namely spring, summer, autumn and winter (April, July, October and January, respectively). GC/MS analysis identified 30 compounds. Mostly quantitative rather than qualitative, variation was observed in the oil composition of each sample. It had been revealed a predominant presence of bornyl acetate and borneol, as well as significant differences of several compound amounts in function of the seasonal change. Biological activities were also related to the harvest season; hence, IGEO from spring gave the best antioxidant activity results and IGEO from autumn seemed to be the most potent against pathogenic microorganisms, while oils from summer and winter were the strongest inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase and tyrosinase.A matrix linking IGEO major compounds to biological was composed to identify relationships between concentrations of the volatile molecules and the biological activities of the samples. Furthermore, the seasonal variation of these main volatile constituents was also investigated through principal compound analysis (PCA). The obtained results revealed that each biological activity depends on the seasonal fluctuation of the amounts of certain chemical compounds.     

The Nephroprotective Effect of Zizyphus lotus L. (Desf.) Fruits in a Gentamicin-Induced Acute Kidney Injury Model in Rats: A Biochemical and Histopathological Investigation

Zizyphus lotus L. (Desf.) (Z. lotus) is a medicinal plant largely distributed all over the Mediterranean basin and is traditionally used by Moroccan people to treat many illnesses, including kidney failure. The nephrotoxicity of gentamicin (GM) has been well documented in humans and animals, although the preventive strategies against it remain to be studied. In this investigation, we explore whether the extract of Zizyphus lotus L. (Desf.) Fruit (ZLF) exhibits a protective effect against renal damage produced by GM. Indeed, twenty-four Wistar rats were separated into four equal groups of six each (♂/♀ = 1). The control group was treated orally with distilled water (10 mL/kg); the GM treated group received distilled water (10 mL/kg) and an intraperitoneal injection of GM (80 mg/kg) 3 h after; and the treated groups received ZLF extract orally at the doses 200 or 400 mg/kg and injected intraperitoneally with the GM. All treatments were given daily for 14 days. At the end of the experiment, the biochemical parameters and the histological observation related the kidney function was explored. ZLF treatment has significantly attenuated the nephrotoxicity induced by the GM. This effect was indicated by its capacity to decrease significantly the serum creatinine, uric acid, urea, alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyl-transpeptidase, albumin, calcium, sodium amounts, water intake, urinary volume, and relative kidney weight. In addition, this effect was also shown by the increase in the creatinine clearance, urinary creatinine, uric acid, and urea levels, weight gain, compared to the rats treated only with the GM. The hemostasis of oxidants/antioxidants has been significantly improved with the treatment of ZLF extract, which was shown by a significant reduction in malondialdehydes levels. Histopathological analysis of renal tissue was correlated with biochemical observation. Chemical analysis by HPLC-DAD showed that the aqueous extract of ZLF is rich in phenolic compounds such as 3-hydroxycinnamic acid, catechin, ferulic acid, gallic acid, hydroxytyrosol, naringenin, p- coumaric Acid, quercetin, rutin, and vanillic acid. In conclusion, ZLF extract improved the nephrotoxicity induced by GM, through the improvement of the biochemical and histological parameters and thus validates its ethnomedicinal use.