Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) is a well known and widely used herb, especially in Asia, which contains several interesting bioactive constituents and possesses health promoting properties. In this study, the antioxidant activities of methanol extracts from the leaves, stems and rhizomes of two Zingiber officinale varieties (Halia Bentong and Halia Bara) were assessed in an effort to compare and validate the medicinal potential of the subterranean part of the young ginger. The antioxidant activity and phenolic contents of the leaves as determined by the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) assay and the total amounts of phenolics and flavonoids were higher than those of the rhizomes and stems. On the other hand, the ferric reducing/antioxidant potential (FRAP) activity of the rhizomes was higher than that of the leaves. At low concentration the values of the leaves’ inhibition activity in both varieties were significantly higher than or comparable to those of the young rhizomes. Halia Bara had higher antioxidant activities as well as total contents of phenolic and flavonoid in comparison with Halia Bentong. This study validated the medicinal potential of the leaves and young rhizome of Zingiber officinale (Halia Bara) and the positive relationship between total phenolics content and antioxidant activities in Zingiber officinale.

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) belongs to the Iridaceae family. The stigma of saffron has been widely used as spice, medicinal plant, and food additive in the Mediterranean and Subtropical countries. Recently, attention has been paid to the identification of new sources of safe natural antioxidants for the food industry. The antioxidant activities of spices are mainly attributed to their phenolic and flavonoid compounds. Saffron is one of the spices believed to possess antioxidant properties, but information on its antioxidant activity and phenolic, flavonoids compound are rather limited, therefore this research was carried out to evaluate the antioxidant activity of saffron stigmas extracted with different solvents. The phenolic and flavonoid compounds of saffron were also examined using reversed phase (RP)-HPLC. Results showed that saffron stigma possess antioxidant activity. The free radical scavenging and ferric reducing power activities were higher for the methanolic extract of saffron stigma at a concentration of 300 μg/mL, with values of 68.2% and 78.9%, respectively, as compared to the corresponding boiling water and ethanolic extracts, but the activities were lower than those of antioxidant standards such as BHT and α-tocopherol. The obtained total phenolics value for methanolic saffron extract was 6.54 ± 0.02 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g dry weight (DW), and for total flavonoids, 5.88 ± 0.12 mg rutin equivalent/g DW, which were also higher than values obtained from the ethanolic and boiling water extracts. In addition, the RP-HPLC analyses indicated the presence of gallic acid and pyrogallol as two bioactive compounds. In summary, saffron stigmas showed antioxidant activity and methanol appeared to be the best solvent to extract the active components, among which the presence of gallic acid and pyrogallol might contribute towards the stigma’s antioxidant properties. Hence, saffron stigma could be applied as a natural antioxidant source for industrial purposes.

A split plot 3 by 4 experiment was designed to examine the impact of 15-week variable levels of nitrogen fertilization (0, 90, 180 and 270 kg N/ha) on the characteristics of total flavonoids (TF), total phenolics (TP), total non structurable carbohydrate (TNC), net assimilation rate, leaf chlorophyll content, carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N), phenyl alanine lyase activity (PAL) and protein content, and their relationships, in three varieties of Labisia pumila Blume (alata, pumila and lanceolata). The treatment effects were solely contributed by nitrogen application; there was neither varietal nor interaction effect observed. As nitrogen levels increased from 0 to 270 kg N/ha, the production of TNC was found to decrease steadily. Production of TF and TP reached their peaks under 0 followed by 90, 180 and 270 kg N/ha treatment. However, net assimilation rate was enhanced as nitrogen fertilization increased from 0 to 270 kg N/ha. The increase in production of TP and TF under low nitrogen levels (0 and 90 kg N/ha) was found to be correlated with enhanced PAL activity. The enhancement in PAL activity was followed by reduction in production of soluble protein under low nitrogen fertilization indicating more availability of amino acid phenyl alanine (phe) under low nitrogen content that stimulate the production of carbon based secondary metabolites (CBSM). The latter was manifested by high C/N ratio in L. pumila plants.

A local herb, Kacip Fatimah, is famous amongst Malay women for its uses in parturition; however, its phytochemical contents have not been fully documented. Therefore, a study was performed to evaluate the phenolics, flavonoids, and total saponin contents, and antibacterial and antifungal properties of the leaf, stem and root of three varieties of Labisia pumila Benth. Total saponins were found to be higher in the leaves of all three varieties, compared to the roots and stems. Leaves of var. pumila exhibited significantly higher total saponin content than var. alata and lanceolata, with values of 56.4, 43.6 and 42.3 mg diosgenin equivalent/g dry weight, respectively. HPLC analyses of phenolics and flavonoids in all three varieties revealed the presence of gallic acid, caffeic acid, rutin, and myricetin in all plant parts. Higher levels of flavonoids (rutin, quercitin, kaempferol) were observed in var. pumila compared with alata and lanceolata, whereas higher accumulation of phenolics (gallic acid, pyrogallol) was recorded in var. alata, followed by pumila and lanceolata. Antibacterial activities of leaf, stem and root extracts of all varieties determined against both Gram positive (Micrococcus luteus, Bacillus subtilis B145, Bacillus cereus B43, Staphylococcus aureus S1431) and Gram negative (Enterobacter aerogenes, Klebsiella pneumonia K36, Escherichia coli E256, Pseudomonas aeruginosa PI96) pathogens showed that crude methanolic extracts are active against these bacteria at low concentrations, albeit with lower antibacterial activity compared to kanamycin used as the control. Antifungal activity of methanolic extracts of all plant parts against Fusarium sp., Candida sp. and Mucor using the agar diffusion disc exhibited moderate to appreciable antifungal activities compared to streptomycin used as positive control.

Abstract:A study was conducted to compare secondary metabolites and antioxidant activity of Labisia pumila Benth (Kacip Fatimah) in response to two sources of fertilizer [i.e., organic (chicken dung; 10% N:10% P 2 O 5 :10% K 2 O) and inorganic fertilizer (NPK green; 15% N, 15% P 2 O 5 , 15% K 2 O)] under different N rates of 0, 90, 180 and 270 kg N/ha. The experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design replicated three times. At the end of 15 weeks, it was observed that the application of organic fertilizer enhanced the production of total phenolics, flavonoids, ascorbic acid, saponin and gluthathione content in L. pumila, compared to the use of inorganic fertilizer. The nitrate content was also reduced under organic fertilization. The application of nitrogen at 90 kg N/ha improved the production of secondary metabolites in Labisia pumila. Higher rates in excess of 90 kg N/ha reduced the level of secondary metabolites and antioxidant activity of this herb. The DPPH and FRAP activity was also highest at 90 kg N/ha. The results indicated that the use of chicken dung can enhance the production of secondary metabolites and improve antioxidant activity of this herb.

Nowadays, phytochemicals and antioxidants in plants are raising interest in consumers for their roles in the maintenance of human health. Phenolics and flavonoids are known for their health-promoting properties due to protective effects against cardiovascular disease, cancers and other disease. Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is one of the traditional folk medicinal plants and it is widely used in cooking in Malaysia. In this study, four levels of glasshouse light intensities (310, 460, 630 and 790 μmol m−2s−1) were used in order to consider the effect of light intensity on the production, accumulation and partitioning of total phenolics (TP), total flavonoids (TF) and antioxidant activities in two varieties of Malaysian young ginger (Zingiber officinale). TF biosynthesis was highest in the Halia Bara variety under 310 μmol m−2s−1 and TP was high in this variety under a light intensity of 790 μmol m−2s−1. The highest amount of these components accumulated in the leaves and after that in the rhizomes. Also, antioxidant activities determined by the 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) assay in both of varieties, increased significantly (p ≤ 0.01) with increasing TF concentration, and high antioxidant activity was observed in the leaves of Halia Bara grown under 310 μmol m−2s−1. The ferric reducing (FRAP) activity of the rhizomes was higher than that of the leaves in 310 μmol m−2s−1 of sun light. This study indicates the ability of different light intensities to enhance the medicinal components and antioxidant activities of the leaves and young rhizomes of Zingiber officinale varieties. Additionally, this study also validated their medicinal potential based on TF and TP contents.

Rubus fruticosus L. is a shrub famous for its fruit called blackberry fruit or more commonly blackberry. The fruit has medicinal, cosmetic and nutritive value. It is a concentrated source of valuable nutrients, as well as bioactive constituents of therapeutic interest highlighting its importance as a functional food. Besides use as a fresh fruit, it is also used as ingredient in cooked dishes, salads and bakery products like jams, snacks, desserts, and fruit preserves. R. fruticosus contains vitamins, steroids and lipids in seed oil and minerals, flavonoids, glycosides, terpenes, acids and tannins in aerial parts that possess diverse pharmacological activities such as antioxidant, anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial anti-diabetic, anti-diarrheal, and antiviral. Various agrogeoclimatological factors like cultivar, environmental conditions of the area, agronomic practices employed, harvest time, post-harvest storage and processing techniques all influence the nutritional composition of blackberry fruit. This review focuses on the nutrients and chemical constituents as well as medicinal properties of different parts OPEN ACCESSMolecules 2014, 19 10999 of R. fruticosus. Various cultivars and their physicochemical characteristics, polyphenolic content and ascorbic acid content are also discussed. The information in the present work will serve as baseline data and may lead to new biomedical applications of R. fruticosus as functional food.

Zingiber officinale Roscoe. (Family Zingiberaceae) is well known in Asia. The plant is widely cultivated in village gardens in the tropics for its medicinal properties and as a marketable spice in Malaysia. Ginger varieties are rich in physiologically active phenolics and flavonoids with a range of pharmacological activities. Experiments were conducted to determine the feasibility of increasing levels of flavonoids (quercetin, rutin, catechin, epicatechin, kaempferol, naringenin, fisetin and morin) and phenolic acid (gallic acid, vanillic acid, ferulic acid, tannic acid, cinnamic acid and salicylic acid), and antioxidant activities in different parts of Malaysian young ginger varieties (Halia Bentong and Halia Bara) with CO2 enrichment in a controlled environment system. Both varieties showed an increase in phenolic compounds and flavonoids in response to CO2 enrichment from 400 to 800 µmol mol-1 CO2. These increases were greater in rhizomes compared to leaves. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) results showed that quercetin and gallic acid were the most abundant flavonoid and phenolic acid in Malaysian young ginger varieties. Under elevated CO2 conditions, kaempferol and fisetin were among the flavonoid compounds, and gallic acid and vanillic acid were among the phenolic compounds whose levels increased in both varieties. As CO2 concentration was increased from 400 to 800 µmol mol-1, free radical scavenging power (DPPH) increased about 30% in Halia Bentong and 21.4% in Halia Bara; and the rhizomes exhibited more enhanced free radical scavenging power, with 44.9% in Halia Bentong and 46.2% in Halia Bara. Leaves of both varieties also displayed good levels of flavonoid compounds and antioxidant activities. These results indicate that the yield and pharmaceutical quality of Malaysian young ginger varieties can be enhanced by controlled environment production and CO2 enrichment.