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The composition of hydrodistilled essential oils of three species of Phlomis (Lamiaceae), P. lanceolata, P. anisodonta and P. bruguieri, were investigated by GC and GC-MS, and 31, 28 and 21 compounds, representing 94.1%, 96.0% and 96.8%, respectively, of the total oils, were identified. In all three samples, sesquiterpenes were the main components. In P. lanceolata oil the main components were germacrene D (47.0%), (E)-β β β β β-farnesene (10.5%), α α α α α-pinene (8.7%), germacrene B (8.0%), bicyclogermacrene (5.9%); in P. anisodonta, germacrene D (65.0%) and β β β β β-caryophyllene (11.0%); and in P. bruguieri, germacrene D (60.5%), γ γ γ γ γ-elemene (16.5%), germacrene B (7.1%) and bicyclogermacrene (4.1% Isolation ProcedureThe fresh aerial parts (100 g of each sample) were hydrodistilled for 4 h using a Clevenger-type apparatus and the oils were dried over anhydrous sodium sulphate and stored in sealed glass vials at 4°C before analysis. Gas ChromatographyA Thermoquest 2000 GC chromatograph with capillary column DB-1 (30 m × 0.25 mm i.d., 0.25 µm film thickness) was employed.

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Two essential oil samples obtained by hydrodistillation from aerial parts of Phlomis persica Boiss. and Phlomis chorassanica Bunge. (Lamiaceae), were analysed by GC and GC-MS; 41 compounds in the oil of P. persica, representing 97.3%, and 42 compounds in the oil of P. chorassanica, representing 99.5%, were identified. Both essential oils were rich in sesquiterpenes (81.3% and 90.1%, respectively) with germacrene D (32.5% and 51.5%, respectively) as the major component.

BackgroundNatural α-amylase inhibitors of herbal origin are an attractive therapeutic approach to control post-prandial hyperglycemia via reducing the glucose release from starch and delaying carbohydrate absorption. These compounds are able to inhibit the activity of the carbohydrate hydrolyzing enzymes in the small intestine and potentially useful in control of diabetes. The enlarged Lamiaceae (Labiatae) family contains about 6,900 to 7,200 species worldwide and many species of this family possess medicinal properties and have been used traditionally for treatment of chronic illnesses including diabetes.MethodsIn the present study particular species of Labiatae family from the genera, Phlomis, Satureja, Salvia, Scutellarua, Stachys and Hymenocrater, which are growing wildly in Iran, selected to evaluate for possible in vitro α-amylase inhibitory activity, compared to acarbose as a positive control.ResultsThe inhibitory activities of all the herbal extracts were varied from 1.9 to 18.6 (IC50, μg/mL). Additionally, the ethyl acetate extract of P. bruguieri (IC50 = 1.9 μg/mL) and the butanol extract of P. persica (IC50 = 3.6 μg/mL) exhibited the lowest IC50 values among all the species as the most potent herbal extracts, while the inhibitory activity of S. sahendica and S. macrosiphon (ethyl acetate extracts) as well as P. caucasica (butanol extract) on α-amylase enzyme was observed as weak and did not reach at least to the 50% of the enzyme inhibition level.ConclusionsTaking together, P. bruguieri and P. persica among the Phlomis species can be the promising sources of α-amylase inhibitors. However, P. rigida, S. bizantina and H. bituminosus that exhibited moderate activity can be stand on second level of interest.

Antioxidants are important substances with the ability to protect the body from damage caused by free radicalinduced oxidative stress. A variety of free-radical scavenging antioxidants exist within the body, many of which are derived from dietary sources such as fruits, vegetables, and teas. In this study, various extracts of Tripleurospermum disciforme (C. A. Mey) Schultz Bip. (Compositae) with different solvents and a new isolated compound from its chloroform extract were tested by linoleic acid peroxidation for antioxidant activity using 1,3-diethyl-2-thiobarbituric acid as reagent. The chloroform extract was found to be the most active one (IC 50 ¼ 10.75 mg=ml), comparable to a-tocopherol (IC 50 ¼ 14.75 mg=ml) as positive control. The isolated dioxaspiran derivative showed an IC 50 value of 185.50 mg=ml with the same condition. Since this is higher than the IC 50 value of the crude chloroform extract, other effective compounds may be responsible for such a difference.