The focus of this work was to develop a simple electrochemical method for the determination of vitamin C (VitC) by using a specially constructed microelectrode made from pyrolytic graphite sheet (PGS). A procedure for quantifying VitC in a real sample was established. VitC shows a single quasi-reversible reaction. The method was optimized, and analytical determination was performed by using cyclic voltammetry and square wave voltammetry for electroanalytical purposes. The obtained results show a linear response of the PGS electrode in a wide concentrations range. For the lower concentration range, 0.18–7.04 µg L−1, the sensitivity is 11.7 µAcm−2/mgL−1, while for the higher concentration range, 10.6–70.4 µg L−1, the sensitivity is 134 µAcm−2/mgL−1, preserving the linearity of 0.998 and 0.999. The second objective was to determine the effect of the addition of five different types of “green” biowaste on plant growth, VitC content, and antioxidant activity in arugula (Eruca sativa L.) using the developed method. After three weeks of cultivation, small differences in growth and large differences in certain nutritional characteristics were observed. The addition of black coffee makes the soil slightly alkaline and causes a significant increase in VitC content and antioxidant activity.
Tropaeolum majus L. is an annual herbaceous plant and a member of the
Tropaeolaceae family, which belongs to the Brassicales order. It is an excellent
source of flavonoids, carotenoids, phenolic acids, vitamin C, and it is a plant
that contains the glucosinolate glucotropaeolin. The major degradation product
of glucotropaeolin is benzyl isothiocyanate which is known for its various
biological activities. In this study, an essential oil was isolated from the seeds
of the Tropaeolum majus L. altum plant by microwave-assisted distillation and
analysed using the GC-MS technique. Two compounds were identified, benzyl
isothiocyanate as the major one (97.81%), and 2-phenylacetonitrile as a minor
one (0.80%). Tropaeolum majus L. altum essential oil and pure benzyl isothiocyanate were then submitted to the two-phase in vitro and ex vivo digestion simulations. The
analysis performed by the GC-MS/MS technique showed greater stability of
benzyl isothiocyanate from essential oil after in vitro (97.57%), and ex vivo
(73.47%) gastric phases of the simulated digestion methods, compared to its
stability after in vitro (71.17%) and ex vivo (54.90%) intestinal phases. A
similar trend was shown for pure benzyl isothiocyanate.
Research background. Plant Tropaeolum majus L. belongs to the family Tropaeolaceae, and contains benzyl glucosinolate. The breakdown product of benzyl glucosinolate, benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC), exhibits various biological activities such as antiproliferative, antibacterial, and antiinflammatory activities. In order to optimize the content of biologically active volatile compounds in plant extract and essential oil, the use of appropriate extraction technique has a crucial role.
Experimental approach. The current study investigated the effect of two modern extraction methods (microwave-assisted distillation (MAD) and microwave hydrodiffusion and gravity (MHG)) on the chemical composition of volatile components present in essential oil and extract of T. majus L. var. altum seeds. The biological activity of samples (essential oil, extract and pure compounds) was focused on the antiproliferative effect against different cancer cell lines: cervical cancer cell line (HeLa), human colon cancer cell line (HCT116), and human osteosarcoma cell line (U2OS), and the antibacterial activity which was evaluated against growth and adhesion to polystyrene surface of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli.
Results and conclusions. Essential oil and extract of T. majus seeds were isolated by two extraction techniques: MAD and MHG. BITC and benzyl cyanide (BCN) present in extract were identified by GC-MS. Essential oil of T. majus showed higher antiproliferative activity (IC50<5 µg/mL) than T. majus extract (IC50<27 µg/mL) against three cancer cell lines: HeLa, HCT116, and U2OS. BITC showed much higher inhibitory effect on all tested cells in contrast to BCN. Essential oil and extract of T. majus showed
strong antimicrobial activity against S. aureus and E. coli.
Novelty and scientific contribution. This work represents the first comparative report on the antiproliferative activity of essential oil and extract of T. majus seeds, BITC and BCN against HeLa, HCT116, and U2OS cells as well as their antimicrobial activity against S. aureus and E. coli. This study demonstrated that essential oil of T. majus seeds exhibits stronger antiproliferative and antimicrobial activity than plant extract.
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