No abstract

The distribution of six compounds with three different polyphenol skeletons have been studied in Rosmarinus officinalis: phenolic diterpenes (carnosic acid, carnosol, and 12-O-methylcarnosic acid), caffeoyl derivatives (rosmarinic acid), and flavones (isoscutellarein 7-O-glucoside and genkwanin), each showing a characteristic behavior and distribution during the vegetative cycle. Only in leaves were all six compounds present, and the highest accumulation rate was related with the young stages of development. Rosmarinic acid showed the highest concentrations of all the polyphenols in all organs. The distribution of this acid in leaves, flowers, and stems suggests that in the first stages of flower growth, levels were due to in situ biosynthesis, and in the last stages, the contribution of transport phenomena was increased. The antioxidant activity of six extracts with different polyphenolic composition was evaluated in aqueous and lipid systems. The results clearly suggest that rosemary extracts are excellent antioxidants in both aqueous and lipid systems.

Plants of the Schisandraceae family contain a variety of pharmacologically active lignans like schizandrin, deoxyschizandrin, deangeloylgomisin B, gomisin A, gomisin O, gamma-schizandrin and isogomisin O. Here we have compared the composition of different polar and non-polar extracts of Schisandra sphenanthera and Schisandra chinensis. We also have screened the extracts for antiproliferative and anti-inflammatory effects in different cell-based and cell-free assays. Extracts produced with the non-polar solvents CO(2), hexane and CO(2)/5% ethanol had a similar composition. In contrast, polar extraction with ethanol provided a considerably higher yield, but a lower content of volatiles and lignans in comparison to the non-polar extracts. The proliferation of the epidermal cell lines HaCaT and A431 was dose-dependently inhibited by both the Schisandra sphenanthera and Schisandra chinensis extracts, the non-polar extracts being superior to the polar ones. The non-polar Schisandra sphenanthera extract was the most active with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration of 20 microg/mL. In a cell-free enzyme inhibition assay with recombinant cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) the non-polar Schisandra sphenanthera extract dose-dependently inhibited COX-2 catalysed prostaglandin (PG) production (IC(50) = 0.2 microg/mL). It also reduced the ultraviolet-B (UVB)-induced PGE (2) production (IC(50) = 4 microg/mL) and COX-2 expression in HaCaT keratinocytes. We conclude that non-polar SChisandra extracts obtained by CO(2) extraction might be useful in the prevention and treatment of hyperproliferative and inflammatory skin diseases.

ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Die dadurch begründeten Rechte. insbesondere die der Übersetzung. des Nachdrucks. der Entnahme von Abbildungen, der Funksendung. der Wiedergabe auf photo mechanischem oder ähnlichem Weg und der Speicherung in Datenverarbeitungsanlagen bleiben, auch bei nur auszugsweiser Verwertung vorbehalten. Die Vergütungsansprüche des § 54. Abs. 2 UrhG, werden durch die "Verwertungsgesellschaft Wort", München, wahrgenommen.

Mango ginger (Curcuma amada Roxb.) is among the less-investigated species of Curcuma for anticancer properties. We have investigated the anticancer potential and the mechanism of action of a supercritical CO2 extract of mango ginger (CA) in the U-87MG human glioblastoma cell line. CA demonstrated higher cytotoxicity than temozolomide, etoposide, curcumin, and turmeric force with IC50, IC75, and IC90 values of 4.92 μg/mL, 12.87 μg/mL, and 21.30 μg/mL, respectively. Inhibitory concentration values of CA for normal embryonic mouse hypothalamus cell line (mHypoE-N1) is significantly higher than glioblastoma cell line, indicating the specificity of CA against brain tumor cells. CompuSyn analysis indicates that CA acts synergistically with temozolomide and etoposide for the cytotoxicity with combination index values of <1. CA treatment also induces apoptosis in glioblastoma cells in a dose-dependent manner and downregulates genes associated with apoptosis, cell proliferation, telomerase activity, oncogenesis, and drug resistance in glioblastoma cells.