No abstract

Deoxypodophyllotoxin content of the aerial parts of Anthriscus sylvestris Hoffm. growing at different altitudes was evaluated in comparison to the roots. The lignan accumulation in ground parts was at least double compared to aerial ones.In addition antioxidant-guided fractionation of the crude methanol extract of aerial parts was performed with the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) test. Active fractions contained mainly luteolin-7-O-glucoside and chlorogenic acid. Antioxidant properties of both crude extract and isolated compounds were also investigated with the Briggs-Rauscher (BR) oscillating reaction. A satisfactory agreement between the results obtained with the two methods was observed.

Laurus nobilis L. (Lauraceae) is an evergreen tree widespread in the Mediterranean area and Europe, and as a folk medicine, the decoction or tea of bay leaves is often used as a carminative, intestinal and gastric antispasmodic, against diarrhea , for rheumatic pains, in diseases of the respiratory tract, as a cough sedative, to treat asthma and cardiac diseases , 1-3) and in cases of dysmenorrhea (pers. comm.). Previous phytochemical investigations have led to the isolation of several classes of secondary metabolites of laurel leaves, particularly sesquiterpene lactones, 4,5) alkaloids, 5,6) monoterpene and germacrane alcohols, 5,7,8) catechin and pro-cyanidine derivatives, 5,9) glycosylated flavonoids, 10) and megastigmane glucosides. 11) As well as sesquiterpene lac-tones, laurenobiolide 12) and costunolide 13) have been identified as the major compounds of L. nobilis. Many of these lactone derivatives have been shown to possess various pharmacological effects, with antimicrobial, 14,15) immuno-modulating 16) and cytotoxic activities. 17) Three costunolide and germacranolide derivatives, isolated from L. nobilis, were recently shown to be able to induce apoptotic chro-matin condensation in leukemia cells (HL-60), 18,19) indicating their possibility as leads in the development of new classes of antileukemic drugs. For this reason, we considered this plant in our ongoing studies on antiproliferative agents from vege-tal sources. Sequential extracts were prepared using solvents in increasing polarity (petroleum ether, chloroform and methanol), and residues were used to perform preliminary cytotoxic tests against two different cell lines. Activity against Jurkart cell line was established in petroleum ether (PEE) and chloroform extracts, with an IC 50 of 9.1 and 10.2 mg/ml respectively. Only PEE was active against LoVo with an IC 50 of 15.1 mg/ml. Fractionation of the extracts led to the isolation of five sesquiterpene lactones, two of which (1, 2) are new natural products. Compound 1 was obtained as colorless needles. The high resolution (HR)-MS [atmospheric pressure ionization-time of flight (API-TOF)] spectrum showed a protonated molecular ion [MH] at m/z 233.1524, corresponding to a molecular formula of C 15 H 20 O 2. The IR spectrum showed the presence of a g-lactone ring (1765 cm 1). The 1 H-NMR spectrum showed two doublets (each, J0.8 Hz) at d 5.33 and 6.10, as-cribable to an exocyclic methylene group, and a broad singlet at d 5.00. Two singlets, each integrating for three protons, were observed at d 1.10 and 1.47, indicating the presence of two methyl groups (Table 1). The 13 C-NMR data revealed the presence of fifteen carbon atoms. Quaternary carbon resonances were obtained by comparison of heteronuclear multiple quantum coherence (HMQC) and 13 C data. A carbonyl function at d C 171.8 and two quaternary olefin carbons at d C 136.8 and 145.9 were observed. Other quaternary resonances were observed at d C 74.2 and 46.8. Six methylene groups were observed in HMQC spectrum, one linked to sp 2 carbon resonanc...

Laurus nobilis L. (Lauraceae) is an evergreen tree widespread in the Mediterranean area and Europe, and as a folk medicine, the decoction or tea of bay leaves is often used as a carminative, intestinal and gastric antispasmodic, against diarrhea, for rheumatic pains, in diseases of the respiratory tract, as a cough sedative, to treat asthma and cardiac diseases, [1][2][3] and in cases of dysmenorrhea (pers. comm.). Previous phytochemical investigations have led to the isolation of several classes of secondary metabolites of laurel leaves, particularly sesquiterpene lactones, 4,5) alkaloids, 5,6) monoterpene and germacrane alcohols, 5,7,8) catechin and procyanidine derivatives, 5,9) glycosylated flavonoids, 10) and megastigmane glucosides.11) As well as sesquiterpene lactones, laurenobiolide 12) and costunolide 13) have been identified as the major compounds of L. nobilis. Many of these lactone derivatives have been shown to possess various pharmacological effects, with antimicrobial, 14,15) immunomodulating 16) and cytotoxic activities. 17) Three costunolide and germacranolide derivatives, isolated from L. nobilis, were recently shown to be able to induce apoptotic chromatin condensation in leukemia cells (HL-60), 18,19) indicating their possibility as leads in the development of new classes of antileukemic drugs. For this reason, we considered this plant in our ongoing studies on antiproliferative agents from vegetal sources. Sequential extracts were prepared using solvents in increasing polarity (petroleum ether, chloroform and methanol), and residues were used to perform preliminary cytotoxic tests against two different cell lines. Activity against Jurkart cell line was established in petroleum ether (PEE) and chloroform extracts, with an IC 50 of 9.1 and 10.2 mg/ml respectively. Only PEE was active against LoVo with an IC 50 of 15.1 mg/ml. Fractionation of the extracts led to the isolation of five sesquiterpene lactones, two of which (1, 2) are new natural products.Compound 1 was obtained as colorless needles. The high resolution (HR)-MS [atmospheric pressure ionization-time of flight (API-TOF)] spectrum showed a protonated molecular ion [MϩH] ϩ at m/z 233.1524, corresponding to a molecular formula of C 15 H 20 O 2 . The IR spectrum showed the presence of a g-lactone ring (1765 cm As a part of our ongoing interest in new bioactive compounds from natural sources, we studied Laurus nobilis (Lauraceae). This plant is widespread in the Mediterranean area and is used for medicinal and economic purposes. Chromatographic separations on active extracts led to the isolation of two new sesquiterpene lactones, 5a,9-dimethyl-3-methylene-3,3a,4,5,5a,6,7,8-octahydro-1-oxacyclopenta[c]azulen-2-one (1) and 3b b-chlorodehydrocostuslactone (2). The structures of the new compounds were identified by 1D and 2D NMR experiments, as well as high resolution mass spectrometry. The cytotoxic activity was also evaluated against three different tumor cell lines of human origin.