An ionic liquid-based ultrasonic-assisted extraction method has been successfully applied to the effective extraction of phenolic compounds from Laminaria japonica Aresch. Three kinds of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium with different cations and anions were evaluated for extraction efficiency. The results showed that both the characteristics of anions and cations have remarkable effects on the extraction efficiency. In addition, the ionic liquid-based ultrasonic-assisted extraction procedure was also optimized on some extraction parameters, such as ultrasonic power, extraction time and solid-liquid ratio. Compared with the conventional solvent, the optimum approach gained the highest extraction efficiency within the shortest extraction time. Average recoveries of phenolic compounds were from 75.5% to 88.3% at three concentration levels.
Amaranthus viridis L. is a traditional medicine in Asia. In this study, the ethyl ether fraction of A. viridis L. (EA) was tested in vitro for anticancer activity against human colon cancer HT-29 cells. HT-29 cells were treated with different concentrations of EA. Cell proliferation was detected by MTT assay. The gene expression of Bax, Bcl-2, caspase-3, c-myc, p53 was determined by RT-PCR. The generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cell cycle assay was monitored by flow cytometry. Results indicated the EA significantly inhibited human colon cancer HT-29 cell growth in a dose-dependent manner by inducing G0/G1 phase arrest and apoptosis. The inhibition was associated with intracellular reactive oxygen species generation. Cell death induced by EA displayed features characteristic of apoptosis and was associated with generation of reactive oxygen species and enhanced expression of caspase-3 and the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio in HT-29 cells treated with EA. These findings suggest that A. viridis L. have anticancer properties and may be valuable for application in pharmaceutical industry.
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