Volume 76, Issue 3-4

Hoja santa ( Piper auritum ) refers to an important presence in Mexican cuisine. The information of this review article was gathered from several electronic sources such as Scopus, Medline, Scielo, ScienceDirect, SciFinder, Web of Science, Google Scholar and Lilacs. Phytochemical studies have revealed the presence of benzoic acid derivatives, phenylpropanoids and triterpenoids, while the essential oils have shown its richness in safrole, hence it has several activities, such as antioxidant, toxicity, insecticidal, anti-diabetic and cytotoxic properties. This review is expected to draw the attention of medical professionals and the general public towards P. auritum as well as to open the door for detailed research in the future.

Chikusetsusaponin IVa (CHS-IVa), a saponin from herb Panacis japonicas , possesses extensive biological activities. However, the roles and underlying mechanisms of CHS-IVa on inflammation have not been fully clarified in the setting of murine macrophages. In this study, we found that CHS-IVa effectively reduced the expression of inflammatory mediators, including interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-10 (IL-10), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), cyclooxygenase (COX-2), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated murine macrophage-like RAW264.7 cells. Meanwhile, CHS-IVa could also evidently bate the contents of nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in cell culture supernatants. Furthermore, the anti-inflammatory activity of CHS-IVa may be via diminishing the phosphorylation of extracellular regulated protein kinases (ERK), p38, and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). Collectively, these findings will help to understand of the anti-inflammatory effects and mechanisms of P. japonicas deeply, and suggest a validated therapeutic use as an anti-inflammatory medication.

The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda , is a polyphagous pest that causes important damage in different regions of America and mainly affects corn crops in both tropical and subtropical areas. Currently, control relies on both transgenic plants and/or chemical pesticides. In this work, we describe insecticidal activity against the fall armyworm from a series of Mannich bases ( 1–10 ), derived from 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (lawsone), substituted benzaldehydes, and two primary amines, and their Cu 2+ complexes ( 11–20 ). The [Cu(L) 2 ] complexes were more effective in larval mortality compared to the free Mannich bases. Among the tested compounds, complex 11 showed the highest toxicity, with 70.00% larval mortality.

In order to obtain novel botanical fungicides, three series of novel 6-substituted n -butyphthalide derivatives have been designed and synthesized via nucleophilic addition, reduction, nitrification, amination, sulfonation, Sandmeyer and Suzuki reaction. The mycelium growth rate method was used to evaluate the inhibition activity against eight phytopathogenic fungi in vitro . Preliminary bioassay tests showed that compounds 6f , 6n , 6p , 6r and 7a exhibited better activity for some fungi at 50 μg/mL than the positive drug hymexazol and lead compound n -butyphthalide (NBP). The preliminary structure–activity relationships indicated that the antifungal activity is significantly affected by the substituents on the benzene ring.

Current plant-derived anticancer therapeutics aim to reach higher effectiveness, to potentiate chemosensitivity and minimize the toxic side effects compared to conventional chemotherapy. Cotinus coggygria Scop. is a herb with high pharmacological potential, widely applied in traditional phytotherapy. Our previous study revealed that leaf aqueous ethanolic extract from C. coggygria exerts in vitro anticancer activity on human breast, ovarian and cervical cancer cell lines. The objective of the present research was to investigate possible molecular mechanisms and targets of the antitumor activity of the extract in breast cancer MCF7 cells through analysis of cell cycle and apoptosis, clonogenic ability assessment, evaluation of the extract genotoxic capacity, characterization of cells thermodynamic properties, and analysis on the expression of genes involved in cellular epigenetic processes. The obtained results indicated that in MCF7 cells C. coggygria extract causes S phase cell cycle arrest and triggers apoptosis, reduces colony formation, induces DNA damage, affects cellular thermodynamic parameters, and tends to inhibit the relative expression of DNMT1 , DNMT3a , MBD3 , and p300 . Further studies on the targeted molecules and the extract anti-breast cancer potential on animal experimental model system, need to be performed in the future.

The fruits of Elaeocarpus floribundus Bl. (Elaeocarpaceae) are edible and are normally prescribed for treatment of diseases. The medicinal uses of the fruit create considerable quantities of seeds as wastes. In an attempt to valorise this biomass, we studied the antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of the ethanolic seed extract. The extract inhibited the growth of the tested pathogens and was also a very strong scavenger of DPPH free radicals. Consequently, the extract was phytochemically investigated and this study reports the initial isolation of five phenolic compounds from this source. The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated by spectra analyses including HR-ESI-MS, 1D and 2D NMR experiments. The isolated compounds exhibited a wide range of antimicrobial activities against the tested pathogens. Gallic acid ( 4 ) showed the most activity against Bacillus subtilis with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 30 µg/mL, while the MIC values of the antimicrobial standards range between 10 and 35 µg/mL. Compound 4 , crude ethanolic extract, and the ethyl acetate fraction were more a potent free radical scavenger of DPPH compared to ascorbic acid. Hence, the seeds of E. floribundus could be considered as a new source of bioactive compounds for pharmaceutical and food-related industries.

Two new lignans, 3,4-(10-methoxy-phenylallyl)-9″-((10′-isopropanol-3′,4′-furan)-phenylacetyl)-8″-dioxane-7″-O- β - d -glucopyranoside ( 1 ), 3,4-benzolactone-9″-((12′-isopropanol-3′,4′-furan)-phenylbutenone)-8″-dioxane-7″-O- β - d -glucopyranoside ( 2 ), and nine known lignan derivatives ( 3 – 11 ) were isolated from the flower buds of Magnolia biondii Pamp. for the first time. Their structures were elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR, UV, IR, and MS data, as well as by comparison with those of the references. Compounds ( 1 – 11 ) were evaluated for their neuroprotective activities against 6-OHDA-induced cell death in SH-SY5Y cells. As a result, compounds 1 , 2 , and 5 exhibited significant neuroprotective activities with IC 50 values in the range of 3.08–6.12 μM.

The essential oils (EOs) of Origanum floribundum Munby, an aromatic and medicinal plant endemic in Algeria, were extracted by different hydrodistillation times (30 min, 1, 2 and 3 h) and analyzed by GC and GC–MS. The chromatographic analysis showed that thymol (32.7–45.0%), p -cymene (16.8–23.1%) and γ -terpinene (21.6–28.7%) were the most prominent components of the oils. The antioxidant ability was measured using the reductive potential, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) assay and the inhibition of free radicals DPPH ● and ABTS ●+ . Antibacterial activity was assessed by the disc diffusion method against three bacteria ( Escherichia coli , Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis ) and one fungus ( Candida albicans ). Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined using a microdilution method. Thymol is one of the compounds of EOs, which are widely reported as very biologically active. Although the oil isolated for 30 min was the less-thymol rich, it was the most active with all the antioxidant tests. In the most cases, the antimicrobial activity showed the best results with oils isolated for 30 min and 3 h (MIC = 0.25–1.75 μL/mL). These results suggest that it might be possible to isolate the EO from this plant for a minimum distillation time to obtain oil that can give maximum biological activities.

Root of Chrysopogon zizanioides (L.) Roberty has been used in Siddha system of medicine to treat hypertension. The present study was therefore to investigate the vasorelaxation effect of root essential oil of C. zizanioides using rat isolated thoracic aortic rings. Chemical characterization of root essential oil was carried out using Gas Chromatography–Flame Ionization Detector (GC–FID) and Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS). Essential oil nanoemulsion (EONE) was prepared and characterized. Vasorelaxant effect of EONE in endothelium-intact aortic rings precontracted with phenylephrine (PE) (1 µM) or KCl (80 mM) was investigated. Role of Ca 2+ , nitric oxide and K + channels in precontracted aortic rings were investigated to elucidate the mechanism of action of the essential oil. Further, the role of muscarinic and prostacyclin receptors in EONE induced relaxation was studied. The EONE significantly induced relaxation (E max 77.1 ± 4.87%) in PE precontracted aortic rings. The nitric oxide synthase, and cyclooxygenase inhibitors and potassium channel blockers have not significantly inhibited the vasorelaxation induced by EONE. However, EONE induced relaxation in precontracted endothelium-intact aortic rings was significantly inhibited by muscarinic receptor and calcium channel. The root essential oil of C. zizanioides possesses vasorelaxant effect through muscarinic pathway as well as acts as calcium channel blocker.

Combination of various compounds and essential oils for pharmaceutical formulations withdraw attention. In this present study, it was aimed to evaluate the in vitro potential synergistic antibacterial effect of Lavandula latifolia (spike lavender) essential oil with camphor by using the checkerboard method against the human pathogens; Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes. Pharmacopoeia quality L. latifolia essential oil and racemic camphor were analyzed and verified by GC-FID and GC/MS, simultaneously. In vitro antibacterial activity of essential oil and camphor (MIC range: 0.16–20 mg/mL) and standard antimicrobial clarithromycin (MIC range: 0.125–16 μg/mL) were carried out by broth microdilution against S. aureus and L. monocytogenes standard strains, respectively. Resulting antibacterial effects were evaluated for their fractional inhibitory concentrations (FICs) as antagonistic, additive and synergistic effects. The analytical results showed that the major component of essential oil was linalool (45.2%) and 1,8-cineole (25.6%). Antibacterial effects of essential oil were determined as MIC 1.25–5 mg/mL. As a result of the experiments, L. latifolia essential oil–camphor combinations were identified as “synergistic (FIC ≤ 0.5), and additive (0.5 < FIC ≤ 1)” in the respective combinations, suggesting further evaluation for formulations for potential antimicrobial applications in food and pharmaceuticals.