No abstract

Hydrodistilled oils of the fresh aerial parts of Mentha suaveolens Ehrh. cultivated in Egypt were prepared from samples collected along the four seasons. The percentage yields of these essential oils were 0.50%, 0.52%, 0.60%, and 0.47% of the dry weight for winter, spring, summer, and autumn samples. GC/MS analyses of all samples revealed a qualitative and quantitative variability in the oil composition. The total number of compounds identified was 46 among which 15 were common in all samples. The oxygenated compounds constituted about 45%, 46%, 63%, and 44% of the total composition of the oils for winter, spring, summer, and autumn samples, respectively. Carvone was the major constituent in spring, summer, and autumn samples (about 31%, 56%, and 35%, respectively), while limonene (ca. 26%) was the major constituent of the winter sample followed by carvone (ca. 25%). The essential oil of the highest yield (full-fl owering summer sample), with the highest oxygenated constituents and carvone contents, was screened for certain biological activities. It exhibited analgesic and acute anti-inflammatory activities (75% and 82% relative to indomethacin). It also showed a potent in vivo antioxidant activity (96% relative to vitamin E). In addition, it exerted moderate cytotoxic, hepatoprotective, and in vitro antioxidant activities. Moreover, the oil had a potent antifungal activity against Candida albicans (MIC = 4 μg/ml), Saccharomyces cerevisiae (MIC = 5.2 μg/ml), and Aspergillus niger (MIC = 6.8 μg/ml).

No abstract

No abstract

Anabasis articulata, traditionally used to treat diabetes, is rich in saponin content. This study was performed to investigate the agonistic effect of its saponins on peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ in human hepatoma (HepG2) cells to explore the possibility of the involvement of these nuclear receptors in the mechanism of the antidiabetic effect of the plant. Chemical investigation of the n-butanol fraction resulted in the isolation of three new and one known 30-noroleanane triterpenoid saponins. The structures of the new compounds were elucidated as 3β-hydroxy,23-aldehyde-30-norolean-12,20(29)-dien-28-oic acid-28-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl ester (1), 3β-O-D-galactopyranosyl-23-aldehyde-30-norolean-12,20(29)-dien-28-oic acid-28-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl ester (2), and 3β-O-D-xylopyranosyl-30-norolean-12,20(29)-dien-28-oic acid 28-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl ester (3), while the known 30-nortriterpenoidal saponin was identified as boussingoside E (4). Although, the isolated saponins (1 – 4) did not show > 1.5-fold activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ, but two of them (1 and 3) activated peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α to the higher extents of 2.25- and 1.86-fold, respectively. These results suggest that the reported antidiabetic action of the isolated saponins may not solely involve the activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ. However, the agonistic activity of the n-butanol fraction of A. articulata (1.71-fold induction) and two of its saponins (1 and 3) towards peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α may be beneficial in the cardiovascular condition that is closely associated with diabetes and other metabolic disorders.

Context: Despite the traditional use of Bergia ammannioides Henye ex Roth. (Elatinaceae) for the treatment of wounds in India, there is a scarcity of scientific data supporting this use. Objective: The objective of this study is to assess wound-healing potentiality of the plant, to study pharmacological activities that may contribute in eliminating wound complications, and to investigate the biologically active fractions. Material and methods: The ethanolic extract (EtOH) of the aerial parts was fractionated to obtain n-hexane (HxFr), chloroform (ClFr), ethyl acetate (EtFr), and n-butanol (BuOH) fractions. EtOH and its fractions were formulated in strength of 5 and 10% w/w ointment and tested for wound-healing activity using the excision model. The topical anti-inflammatory, in vitro antioxidant, and antibacterial activities were evaluated. HxFr and EtFr were chemically investigated to isolate their constituents. Results: Application of EtOH, HxFr, and EtFr (10% w/w ointments) leads to 71.77, 85.62, and 81.29% healing of the wounds with an increase in the collagen content. HxFr had the strongest anti-inflammatory (64.5% potency relative to Voltaren Õ ) and antibacterial activity (MIC ¼ 104 mg/ml against Staphylococcus aureus), while EtFr showed the strongest antioxidant activity against DPPH, ABTS + , and super oxide radical with an IC 50 value of 10.25 ± 0.01, 66.09 ± 0.76, and 167.33 ± 0.91 mg/ml, respectively. b-Sitosterol, lupeol, cyclolaudenol, and cycloartenol were isolated from HxFr. Quercetin, ellagic acid, kaempferol-3-O-a-L-rhamnoside, and quercetin-3-O-a-L-rhamnoside were isolated from EtFr. Discussion and conclusion: Our study presents scientific evidence for the efficacy of B. ammannioides in enhancing wound healing, and the first isolation of cyclolaudenol and cycloartenol from Bergia.

Investigation of the different fractions of the ethanolic extract of the aerial parts of M. suaveolens growing in Egypt yielded nine compounds; two new triterpenes [3β-acetyl -22α-hydroxy ursa-12,20-diene (compound 1) and 2α, 3β-dihydroxy-olean-18-en-29-oic acid (compound 7)] and nine known compounds: a sterol and its glucoside; β-sitosterol (compound 2) and β-sitosterol-3-O-β-D-glucoside (compound 4), a triterpene; oleanolic acid (compound 3), two monoterepenes; dihydrolimonene (compound 5) and 7-hydroxy-p-cymene (compound 6), two flavonoids; isoquercitrin (compound 8) and rutin (compound 9) which were isolated from M. suaveolens Ehrh. for the first time. The structures of the isolated compounds were identified by spectral data (UV, MS, 1D and 2D-NMR) and comparison with authentic samples. Moreover, the ethanolic extract showed potent analgesic activity as compared to indomethacin. The ethyl acetate fraction was the most potent as anti-inflammatory (88%), followed by the ethanolic extract (82.9%) as compared with indomethacin. The ethanolic extract and its four subfractions showed a moderate inhibitory activity against the tested human pathogenic bacteria.

No abstract