Ethanolic extract of Ferula gummosa is cytotoxic against cancer cells by inducing apoptosis and cell cycle arrest

Ferula gummosa Boiss. has medicinal applications in treating a wide range of diseases including cancer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the antiproliferative activities of the seed and gum extracts of F. gummosa as well as to study the effect of the potent extract on the induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Our results demonstrated that the ethanolic extract had the lowest IC₅₀ value at 72 h (0.001 ± 1.2 mg/mL) in BHY cells. Moreover, flowcytometry and annexin-V analysis revealed that the ethanolic extract induced apoptosis and cell-cycle arrest in BHY cells at G1/S phase. In addition, colorimetric methods exhibited the highest amount of total phenolics and flavonoids in the aqueous and gum extracts (0.12 ± 0.037, 0.01 ± 2.51 mg/g of dry powder). Generally, the results obtained indicate that F. gummosa ethanol extract may contain effective compounds which can be used as a chemotherapeutic agent.     

A Comparative Study of Hydrodistillation and Hydrodistillation–Solvent Microextraction Methods for Identification of Volatile Components of Echinophora cinerea

A recently developed hydrodistillation–solvent microextraction (HD–SME) method coupled to gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) was applied to the analysis of volatile components of aerial parts of Echinophora cinerea (Boiss). By the use of a simplex optimization method, the effects of extraction time, sample weight and microdrop volume on the extraction efficiency of the method were optimized. In the optimized conditions, 3 µL of n-heptadecane was suspended in the headspace of 6 g of hydrodistillating sample, using a microsyringe. After 7 min, the solvent was retracted back into the syringe and directly injected into the GC–MS injection port. The HD–SME method was compared to a conventional hydrodistillation technique. In general, the extraction with HD–SME was relatively faster and required smaller amounts of sample. The microextraction method also showed some selectivity towards α-phellandrene and Z-β-ocimene monoterpenes. A precision better than 6.5% (expressed as relative standard deviation) was obtained for the method.

     

Auslander Class,G C,and C–projective Modules Modulo Exact Zero-divisors

For a semidualizing module C over a ring R, we study the following classes modulo exact zero divisors: G _C –projectives, 𝒢 _C ; the Auslander class 𝒜 _C ; the Bass class ? _C ; 𝒫 _C –projective; ? _C –projective; and ? _C –injective dimensions.     

Rapid isocratic HPLC analysis of caffeic acid derivatives from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Echinacea purpurea</Emphasis> cultivated in Iran

Cichoric acid and caftaric acid are the main phenolic compounds in Echinacea purpurea tops. The level of these phenolic compounds in E. purpurea extracts is affected by different factors such as seasonal variations, drying methods, extraction methods, and growing location of the plant. HPLC analysis of caffeic acid derivatives in extracts of Echinacea purpurea (Cultivar) aerial parts, produced by boiling water extraction and ethanol-water extraction methods, showed various levels of the derivatives. Our findings revealed that the Iranian cultivated E. purpurea had a high level of cichoric acid (3.5–5.7 %). Caftaric acid was also the main phenolic compound in E. purpurea tops (3.1–4.5 %). After 2 h of boiling water extraction, the level of cichoric acid was 5.7 %, whereas the level of this acid in 60:40 ethanol-water extraction did not exceed 3.9 %. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 2, pp. 150–152, March–April, 2008.     

In vitro anti-proliferative activity of novel hexacoordinated triphenyltin(IV) trifluoroacetate containing a bidentate N-donor ligand

The discovery of the antitumor activity of cisplatin led several research groups to investigate the possible therapeutic applications of other metal based compounds. In an attempt to develop novel metal based drugs with a different therapeutic profile to cisplatin, we have synthesized a new N,N-chelated organotin(IV) trifluoroacetate by the reaction of Ph₃SnOCOCF₃ with equimolar amounts of 2,9-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline (Neocuproine). The complex is characterized by FT-IR and multinuclear NMR (¹H, ¹³C, ¹⁹F and ¹¹⁹Sn). FT-IR results authenticate the ligand coordination to the organotin moiety via nitrogen atoms. Furthermore, the cytotoxic activity of the free ligand (Neocuproine) and triorganotin(IV) complex towards human cervix carcinoma HeLa, human myelogenous leukemia K562 and normal immunocompetent cells, peripheral blood mononuclear cells PBMC is evaluated by the MTT (3-[4,5-dimetylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) method. The complex exhibits higher activities than antitumor drug cisplatin in all the tested cell lines. These results indicate that the studied triorganotin(IV) complex can be a potential anticancer agent for further stages of screening in vitro and/or in vivo.     

Anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity of Alkanna bracteosa and Alkanna tricophila

Alkanna bracteosa and Alkanna tricophila, Boraginaceae, have been reported to be useful for their anti-inflammatory and wound-healing effects in traditional medicine. Methanol extracts of A. bracteosa and A. tricophila were evaluated for their potential analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. Alkanna bracteosa was observed to produce a maximum of 42% reduction of hind paw licking in acute as well as 68% alleviation in inflammatory phase of formalin test in mice and about 30% declination of carrageenan-induced rats paw swelling at doses 100-400?mg?kg?1 in comparison to negative control; on the other hand, A. tricophila required at least 200?mg?kg?1 to exhibit a significant reduction in paw licking or oedemas at the early phase of formalin test and the late phase of carrageenan test, respectively. Our results suggest that the extracts may be of use for their analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects.     

Preparation of a Novel Agarose-Salen Adsorbent,and its Use for Efficient Column Preconcentration and Flame AAS Determination of Lead in Water

A cross-linked agarose (Novarose) support was chemically modified with a novel salen-type Schiffs base; 2,2-[1,2-ethandiyl bis(nitrilimethylidyne)] bis(orthocresol) and was used to develop an efficient, simple and low-cost method for matrix separation and preconcentration of lead in water. The binding capacity of the adsorbent, packed in a 6.5mm i.d. glass column, was tested for different metal ions, and a capacity of 4973 (±95) µg per mL of packed adsorbent for triplicate measurements was obtained for lead at pH 6.0.The effects of pH, ionic strength, buffer concentration, sample volume, eluent concentration and volume, and matrix ions on the column recovery of Pb²⁺ were carefully studied. Quantitative recoveries were obtained for the analyte in a pH range of 5.5 to 7.0. Enrichment volumes up to 300mL and ionic strengths up to 0.5molL^–1 had no significant effect on the recovery of Pb²⁺. The method also tolerated relatively high concentrations of matrix ions such as Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Fe³⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Mg²⁺ and Cd²⁺ with no considerable effect on the analytes signal. A few mL of 0.4molL^–1 hydrochloric acid was sufficient for quantitative elution of the analyte from a 0.5mL column before its flame AAS determination. Preconcentration factors up to 60 and a detection limit of 2.5µgL^–1 were obtained for the method. The precision, expressed as relative standard deviation, was 2.9% (at 100µgL^–1) calculated from six replicate measurements. The method was successfully applied to the determination of Pb²⁺ in some river and spiked river water samples with good precision.     

A further note on the force discrepancy for wing theory in Euler flow

Uniform steady potential flow past a wing aligned at a small angle to the flow direction is considered. The standard approach is to model this by a vortex sheet, approximated by a finite distribution of horseshoe vortices. In the limit as the span of the horseshoe vortices tends to zero, an integral distribution of infinitesimal horseshoe vortices over the vortex sheet is obtained. The contribution to the force on the wing due to the presence of one of the infinitesimal horseshoe vortices in the distribution is focused upon. Most of the algebra in the force calculation is evaluated using Maple software and is given in the appendices. As in the two previous papers by the authors on wing theory in Euler flow [E Chadwick, A slender-wing theory in potential flow, Proc. R. Soc. A461 (2005) 415–432, and E Chadwick and A Hatam, The physical interpretation of the lift discrepancy in Lanchester-Prandtl lifting wing theory for Euler flow, leading to the proposal of an alternative model in Oseen flow, Proc. R. Soc. A463 (2007) 2257–2275], it is shown that the normal force is half that expected. In this further note, in addition it is demonstrated that the axial force is infinite. The implications and reasons for these results are discussed.