A phytochemical study of the rhizome essential oils of four different Hedychium species was performed by means of GC and GC/MS analyses. H. ellipticum mainly contained 1,8-cineole, sabinene, and terpin-4-ol, while H. aurantiacum possessed terpin-4-ol, para-cymene, and bornyl acetate as the major entities. Similarly, trans-meta-mentha-2,8-diene and linalool were noticed in H. coronarium. Three different collections (I-III) of H. spicatum showed amazing differences in the relative contents of their essential oils, 1,8-cineole and 10-epi-gamma-eudesmol being identified as markers for samples I and II, terpin-4-ol and sabinene being the major compounds in sample III. The rhizome essential oils of the above species were studied for their antioxidant activities by different methods, including their effect on the chelating properties of Fe(2+), DPPH radical-scavenging activity, and reducing power. Antimicrobial screenings of the oils by the paper-disc method were performed against Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella flexneri, Pasteurella multocida, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella enterica enterica, and the respective minimum-inhibitory-concentration (MIC) values were determined. The rhizome essential oils from all Hedychium species exhibited moderate-to-good Fe(2+) chelating activity. H. spicatum from collection site III showed a completely different DPPH radical-scavenging profile than the samples from the other collection sites.

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In an effort to determine the chemical diversity of the Valeriana genera of the Northwestern Himalaya (Uttaranchal), V. wallichii, V. himalayana (syn. V. dioica), V. pyrolaefolia, and V. hardwickii var. arnottiana were investigated for their terpenoid compositions by means of GC and GC/MS analyses of their essential oils, as well as by one- and two-dimensional NMR studies of the isolates. Our results establish that V. wallichii DC. includes two stable chemotypes, with no mixed population, chemotype I being characterized by the presence of maaliol (1), and chemotype II having patchouli alcohol (2) and 8-acetoxypatchouli alcohol (3) as major compounds. V. hardwickii var. arnottiana was also found to exist as two independent chemotypes. Here, chemotype I is characterized by alpha-kessyl acetate (4), valeracetate (5), and 8-epikessyl glycol diacetate (6), whereas the chemotype-II species contain maaliol (1) and kessanyl acetate (7). V. himalayana Grub. had maaliol (1), valeranone (8), kessane (9), and alpha-kessyl acetate (4) as major compounds, and V. pyrolaefolia Decne. contained patchouli alcohol (2) and valeranone (8) as markers.

An Ayurvedic polyherbal extract (PHE) comprising six herbs viz. Berberis aristata, Cyperus rotundus, Cedrus deodara, Emblica officinalis, Terminalia chebula and Terminalia bellirica is mentioned as an effective anti-hyperglycemic agent in 'Charaka Samhita', the classical text of Ayurveda. Previously, antidiabetic drug metformin was found to elicit antiaging effects and PHE was also found to exhibit antidiabetic effects in humans. Therefore, we screened it for its in vivo antioxidant antiaging effect on stress and lifespan using human homologous Caenorhabditis elegans model system. The effect on aging is evaluated by studying effect of PHE on mean survival in worms. The stress modulatory potential was assessed by quantification of intracellular ROS level, autofluorescent age pigment lipofuscin, oxidative and thermal stress assays. Additionally, stress response was quantified using gene reporter assays. The 0.01 µg/ml dose of PHE was able to enhance mean lifespan by 16.09% (P < 0.0001) in C. elegans. Furthermore, PHE treated worms demonstrated oxidative stress resistance in both wild type and stress hypersensitive mev-1 mutant along with upregulation of stress response genes sod-3 and gst-4. The delayed aging under stress can be attributed to its direct reactive oxygen species-scavenging activity and regulation of some age associated genes like daf-2, daf-16, skn-1, sod-3 and gst-4 in wild-type worms. Additonally, PHE delayed age related paralysis phenotype in CL4176 transgenic worms. Altogether, our results suggest PHE significantly improves the oxidative stress and life span in C. elegans. Overall the present study suggests this polyherbal formulation might play important role in regultaing aging and related complications like diabetes.

Three new phytoecdysteroids, ajugacetalsterones C (1) and D (3) and breviflorasterone (2), were isolated from the roots of Ajuga macrosperma var. breviflora along with five known compounds, namely, 20-hydroxyecdysone, cyasterone, makisterone A, 20-hydroxyecdysone 3-acetate, and 20-hydroxyecdysone 2-acetate. The structures of 1-3 were elucidated on the basis of extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic studies. The new compounds possess acetal oxygen bridges between C-26 and C-20/C-22, or C-26/C-23, or a lactone bridge between C-26 and C-23.