Chemical fingerprinting and the biological properties of extracts from Fomitopsis pinicola

This study investigated the in vitro antioxidant and anticancer properties of the Fomitopsis pinicola extract (EMFP). The antioxidant activity of EFMP was analysed via free radical scavenging (DPPH, ABTS and Hydroxyl radicals) assay and a protein oxidation assay. EFMP effectively scavenged free radicals and exhibited remarkable protection against protein oxidation. The proliferation of EMFP-treated HepG2 cells was remarkably decreased. EMFP effectively increased the reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, depleted the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and promoted the apoptosis of HepG2 cells. In addition, EMFP increased the malondialdehyde (MDA) content and reduced the activities of SOD, CAT and GPx in HepG2 cells. Using UPLC-Triple-TOF-MS, 2 phenolic compounds and 14 triterpenes were identified. These compounds may be the primary contributors to the antioxidant and anticancer capacities of EMFP. Together, these findings highlight the possibility of exploiting EMFP for its desired pharmaceutical ingredients.     

Preparation of miniemulsions of plant extracts

The composition and technology for the preparation of a combined water solution of hydrophobic plant extracts, eucalymine and estifan are developed. The concentration of surfactants (Tween 20 and 80) and soya lecithin that is optimal for obtaining stable miniemulsion systems is determined. The sizes and zeta potential of the obtained dispersed nanoscale particles are established.     

Gradient thin-layer chromatography of plant extracts

Summary A modified Niederwieser chamber for stepwise gradient elution, consisting of a PTFE capillary to store the series of eluents and a horizontal glass sandwich chamber with a glass distributor was used for the chromatographic separation of complex plant extracts (Seboren, Hemorigen and Pectosol) used in therapy. Densitograms demonstrate markedly improved separations of the extracts in comparison to isocratic elution.Produced by Polish Reagents, Melgiewska 18, 20-234 Lublin, Poland     

Thin-layer chromatography of hydroxyanthraquinones in plant extracts

Summary Existing thin-layer chromatographic (TLC) methods for the separation of hydroxyanthraquinones in plant materials were found to have limited applications. This initiated the development of some new TLC systems to separate the five principal hydroxyanthraquinones: chrysophanol, physcion, emodin, rhein and aloe emodin normally present together in plant materials, on a single chromatogram and usually with a single solvent system.     

Neutron activation analysis of medicinal plant extracts

Instrumental neutron activation analysis was applied to the determination of the elements Br, Ca, Cl, Cs, Fe, K, La, Mg, Mn, Na, Rb and Zn in medicinal extracts obtained fromCentella asiatica, Citrus aurantium L., Achyrolcline satureoides DC, Casearia sylvestris, Solano lycocarpum, Zingiber officinale Roscoe, Solidago microglossa andStryphnondedron barbatiman plants. The elements Hg and Se were determined using radiochemical separation by means of retention of Se in HMD inorganic exchanger and solvent extraction of Hg by bismuth diethyldithiocarbamate solution. Precision and accuracy of the results were evaluated by analyzing biological reference materials. The therapeutic action of some elements found in plant extracts analyzed is briefly discussed.     

Antifungal activity of Mongolian medicinal plant extracts

Abstract

The in vitro antifungal activity of extracts obtained from 14 medicinal plants of the mongolian flora were investigated by measuring their minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) against fungi cause of cutaneous diseases such as Candida species, dermatophytes and Malassezia furfur. Among the species examined, Stellaria dichotoma L., Scutellaria scordifolia L. Aquilegia sibirica Fisch. Et Schrenk. and Hyoscyamus niger L. extracts demonstrated antifungal activity against all studied fungi. In particular, S. scordifolia L. methanol extract, obtained at room temperature, showed the best activity against Candida spp., Malassezia furfur and dermatophytes with GMMIC₅₀ values of 22?µg/mL, 64?µg/mL and 32?µg/mL, respectively. The flavones, luteolin and apigenin, identified in S. scordifolia extracts, and rutin identified in S. dichotoma and Hyoscyamus niger L. extracts, could be responsible of the observed antifungal activity.     

Characterization of membrane vesicles in plant extracts

During the preparation of plant extracts by a press-slit technique, membranes of cell walls and cell organelles of the plant material form vesicles, which are colloidally dispersed. It was assumed that chlorophyll-containing green extracts enclose lipoidic structures. Vesicles in aqueous mistletoe extracts (extracts of Viscum album L.) were analyzed by cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) without fixation. For the first time, it was possible to analyze unfixed vesicles in the mistletoe extract. Micrographs of cryo-TEM showed predominantly unilamellar vesicles of different sizes. The quantification of vesicles was established through the analysis of phospholipids, which are major components of membranes. The method was validated mainly according to ICH guidelines for the validation of analytical methods (Q2A and Q2B). For further characterization of the vesicle size, a method was developed which is based on the separation of the vesicles from low molecular weight substances by size exclusion chromatography. Fractions were collected and average sizes were determined by multi-angle laser light scattering (MALLS). Furthermore, the UV-vis absorbance and phospholipid concentration were analyzed. Phospholipid quantification was in agreement with photometrical data. Sizes determined by cryo-TEM and by light scattering showed consistent results.     

Metabolomic assessment with CE-MS of the nutraceutical effect of Cystoseira spp extracts in an animal model

There is a need of scientific evidence of claimed nutraceutical effects, but also there is a social movement towards the use of natural products and among them algae are seen as rich resources. Within this scenario, the development of methodology for rapid and reliable assessment of markers of efficiency and security of these extracts is necessary. The rat treated with streptozotocin has been proposed as the most appropriate model of systemic oxidative stress for studying antioxidant therapies. Cystoseira is a brown alga containing fucoxanthin and other carothenes whose pressure-assisted extracts were assayed to discover a possible beneficial effect on complications related to diabetes evolution in an acute but short-term model. Urine was selected as the sample and CE-TOF-MS as the analytical technique to obtain the fingerprints in a non-target metabolomic approach. Multivariate data analysis revealed a good clustering of the groups and permitted the putative assignment of compounds statistically significant in the classification. Interestingly a group of compounds associated to lysine glycation and cleavage from proteins was found to be increased in diabetic animals receiving vehicle as compared to control animals receiving vehicle (N6,N6,N6-trimethyl-L-lysine, N-methylnicotinamide, galactosylhydroxylysine, L-carnitine, N6-acetyl-N6-hydroxylysine, fructose-lysine, pipecolic acid, urocanic acid, amino-isobutanoate, formylisoglutamine. Fructoselysine significantly decreased after the treatment changing from a 24% increase to a 19% decrease. CE-MS fingerprinting of urine has provided a group of compounds different to those detected with other techniques and therefore proves the necessity of a cross-platform analysis to obtain a broad view of biological samples.     

Tropical plant extracts as potential antihyperglycemic agents

Preliminary investigations on 14 plant extracts (obtained by ethanolic and aqueous extraction) identified those having high antioxidant and a significant total phenolic content. Antihyperglycemic, α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition activities were also observed. A correlation between the antihyperglycemic activity, total phenolic content and antioxidant (DPPH scavenging) activity was established. To further substantiate these findings, the possibility of tannins binding non-specifically to enzymes and thus contributing to the antihyperglycemic activity was also investigated. Our study clearly indicated that the antihyperglycemic activity observed in the plant extracts was indeed not due to non-specific tannin absorption.     

几种天然植物提取物对酪氨酸酶活性的抑制作用

选择合适的溶剂体系,用维生素C(Vc)作为阳性对照物,采用分光光度法测定了不同浓度的茶多酚、丹皮酚及金银花叶子总黄酮提取物(乙酸乙酯相)对酪氨酸酶活性的抑制作用.结果表明:采用1%丙三醇和1%吐温-80(体积比1∶1)混合液作溶剂可显著增加丹皮酚和金银花叶子总黄酮提取物在水中的溶解度;茶多酚、丹皮酚、金银花叶子总黄酮提取物对酪氨酸酶的活性都有一定的抑制作用,其抑制作用从强到弱依次为Vc、Vc∶丹皮酚=1∶2(质量比)、Vc∶丹皮酚=1∶1(质量比)、茶多酚、茶多酚∶丹皮酚=2∶1(质量比)、丹皮酚、金银花叶子总黄酮提取物.     

Effect of plant extracts on book deteriorated fungal species

Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of leaf extracts of four plants against some isolated fungal species from deteriorated books. Aqueous, methanol and chloroform extracts of selected plant species were screened in vitro for their antifungal activity against some book deteriorating fungal species. Fifteen species belonging to 09 genera were isolated and identified from infested books in library. Aqueous and solvent extracts of leaves of Azadiracta indica, Callistemon citrinus, Eucalyptus lanceolatus and Pongamia pinnata were tested against some dominant fungal species viz. Chaetomium spiralis, Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus fumigatus and Rhizopus stolonifer. Solvent extracts exhibited potent inhibitory activity than aqueous extracts. However, these plant extracts exhibited moderate activity against A. flavus, C. spiralis, R. stolonifer and A. alternata.     

Analysis of Salvia officinalis plant extracts by capillary electrophoresis

Salvia officinalis (commonly called Sage) and similar plants contain many compounds of pharmaceutical interest and are used as a tea or in various pharmaceutical products. In this work, the use of CE for analysis of aqueous or ethanolic extracts from various Salvia plants has been studied. Especially, several buffers like borate, phosphate, acetate, etc., were examined under different concentrations, pH, separation voltage, injection time, and other parameters to find the optimal separation conditions. The optimization was also performed using experimental design and artificial neural networks. The optimal conditions were: separation voltage +20 kV, 40 mM buffer borate, pH 9.2, injection time 5 s, and UV detection at 280 nm. A new CE method has been developed, validated, and applied to analyze samples of S. officinalis from various countries.     

Antimicrobial activity of plant extracts against sexually transmitted pathogens

Comprehensive management of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) using vaginal or rectal microbicide-based intervention is one of the strategies for prevention of HIV infection. Herbal products have been used for treating STIs traditionally. Herein, we present in vitro activity of 10 plant extracts and their 34 fractions against three sexually transmitted/reproductive tract pathogens – Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Haemophilus ducreyi and Candida albicans. The plant parts were selected; the extracts/fractions were prepared and screened by disc diffusion method. The minimum inhibitory and minimum cidal concentrations were determined. The qualitative phytochemical analysis of selected extracts/fractions showing activity was performed. Of the extracts/fractions tested, three inhibited C. albicans, ten inhibited N. gonorrhoeae and five inhibited H. ducreyi growth. Our study demonstrated that Terminalia paniculata Roth. extracts/fractions inhibited growth of all three organisms. The ethyl acetate fraction of Syzygium cumini Linn. and Bridelia retusa (L.) Spreng. extracts was found to inhibit N. gonorrhoeae at lowest concentrations.     

Metabolomic analysis of saponins in crude extracts of Quillaja saponaria by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry for product authentication

Analysis of 50% aqueous methanolic extracts of bark of Quillaja saponaria Molina (quillaja) by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS), using negative ion electrospray, revealed over 100 saponins. The majority could be assigned to known structures or generalised variations of these from the product ion spectra obtained by serial mass spectrometry in a quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer. Ten saponins contained a fatty acid domain terminated with both a pentose and deoxyhexose unit, a feature thus far only reported in QS-III. Twenty saponins were based on a hydroxylated derivative of quillaic acid, whereas only six 22beta-hydroxyquillaic acid saponins have been described. The occurrence of pairs of saponins differing only by the presence of a rhamnose or xylose unit in the C-3-substituted saccharide was readily observed in two-dimensional mass maps, and these showed the presence of the unreported 'rhamnose partner' of QS-III. However, one sample labelled as Q. saponaria appeared to lack all saponins containing rhamnose in the C-3 saccharide. Methods to authenticate saponin extracts of quillaja by LC/MS are suggested based on the general metabolomic profile, the occurrence of specific major saponins covering known structural variations, or the presence of saponins containing the unusual fatty acid domain, revealed by neutral loss analysis.     

Preprocessing and exploratory analysis of chromatographic profiles of plant extracts

The characterization of herbal extracts to compare samples from different origin is important for robust production and quality control strategies. This characterization is now mainly performed by analysis of selected marker compounds. Metabolic fingerprinting of full metabolite profiles of plant extracts aims at a more rapid and thorough screening or classification of plant material. We will show that HPLC is an appropriate technique for metabolic fingerprinting of secondary metabolites, given that adequate preprocessing of raw profiles is performed. Additional variation, which results from sample preparation and changing measurement conditions, usually obscures the information of interest in these raw profiles. This paper illustrates the importance of preprocessing of chromatographic fingerprinting data. Different alignment methods are discussed as well as the influence of normalization. Weighted principal component analysis is introduced as a valuable alternative to autoscaling of data. LC-UV data on Willow (Salix sp.) extracts is used to evaluate these preprocessing methods and their influence on exploratory data analysis.