Chemical composition and pharmacological activity of the fruits ofPaliurus spina-christi Mill

Abstract

The bushes ofPaliurus spina-christi Mill., also known as Christ's thorn or hold-tree, are widespread in all regions of Caucasus and Central Asia. This is a nectariferous flower-bearing fruit plant, the fruits having been used in folk medicine for the treatment of various disorders. Recently, it was reported that the ethanol extract of some parts of this plant exhibit antimicrobial activity [1].The leaves, flowers, and fruits of Paliurus spina-christi contain epigallocatechol, gallocatechol, catechol, rutin, isoquercetin, quercetin-3-rutinoside-7-rhamnoside, kaempferol-3-glycoside, fatty acids, and alkaloids [2 -5]. However, the fruits of this plant are still insufficiently studied with respect to pharmacological properties.The purpose of this work was to study the lipophilic and hydrophilic components of the fruits and seeds of Paliurus spina-christi, characterize the biological activity of these substances, and create a medicinal preparation on this base.We have succeeded in isolating a neutral lipid (NL) fraction (20%) from the plant seeds, which is a yellow oily fluid with the following characteristics: d 2~ 0.9227; n~ ~ 1,4778; iodine number, 102.6% 12; acid number, 4.5 mg KOH; unsaponifiable fraction, 1.2%.Investigation of the NL composition by methods of column chromatography, followed by analytical and preparative thin-layer chromatography of the narrow-band fractions, revealed a series of compounds belonging to the following classes (wt.%): hydrocarbons, 1.5; esters of fatty acids and sterols, 2.3; triacylglycerides (TAG), 90.5; free fatty acids (FFA), 2.2; diacylglycerides (DAG), 0.5; flee sterols, 0.8; monoacylglycerides, 0.3; unidentified compounds, 1.9.Fatty acids (FA) were isolated by alkaline hydrolysis from the fraction of basic acyl-containing lipids and analyzed (in the form of methyl esters) by gas chromatography (GC) on polar and medium-polarity immobile phases. The 1 Kutateladze Institute of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of Georgia, Tbilisi, Georgia. 2 Deceased. 591UV spectrum of a hexane solution of FA exhibited no absorption bands; the IR absorption spectrum of FA displayed no bands due to the vibrations of transolefin bonds [6].As seen from data on the FA composition (Table 1), unsaturated 18 : 1 and 18 : 2 acids dominate in all classes of NL, while saturated components are mostly contained in the fraction of free fatty acids (FFA). The difference in the content of 18 : 0, 18 : 2, and 18 : 3 acids, detected by GC with polar and medium-polarity immoi~ile phases, is indicative of the presence of isomers of the unsaturated acids [7]. The structure of fatty acids was studied by fractionating their methyl esters with respect to the degree of saturation. This was achieved by preparative TLC oh silica gel impregnated with 15% AgNO s, followed by destructive oxidation of the isolated fractions with a periodate -permaganate reagent [8]. During TLC, methyl esters of diene and triene fatty acids partly separated into two isomer fractions, which were jointly desorbed. The TLC analysis s...

Ethnobotany of the Alt Empordà region (Catalonia, Iberian Peninsula)

“…An antihypercholesterolaemic phytopharmaceutical remedy based on this plant exists in the market, but the folk use for this purpose has only been detected in the studied area (now and in our preliminary prospect, Parada, 1997;Bonet et al, 1999) and in another region of the Catalan Pyrenees (Agelet, 1999;Agelet and Vallès, 2001). Some phytochemical studies have been performed on this plant, one of them related to hepatic diseases (Kamertelidze et al, 1999). As for the use as antiuricemic, it has not been found in the literature.…”

Characterization, pathogenicity and host range studies of Paecilomyces formosus associated with dieback of Christ's thorn trees (Paliurus spina‐christi Mill.) in Iran

“…It has also been reported that different extracts of P. spina‐christi possess antimicrobial, hypolipidemic, antioxidant and antigenotoxic activities (Jukic et al, 2012). The leaves, flowers and fruits of this species contain alkaloids, amino acids, coumarins, fatty acids, flavonoids, phenolic acids and tannins (Kayalar et al, 2016; Kemertelidze et al, 1999; Zor et al, 2017). In recent years, Christ's thorn trees in the studied area have been affected by cankers and dieback disease, which can eventually lead to death.…”

Antigenotoxic properties of Paliurus spina-christi Mill fruits and their active compounds

“…Its water extract and their compounds show antimicrobial, antibacterial, antifungal, hypolipidemic and antioxidant activities [9–11]. Tsarubol was isolated from the whole fruit of PS and its therapeutic efficacy on chronic hepatocholecystitis was demonstrated by Kemertelidze et al [12]. To continue our studies on the evaluation of the protective effects of the medicinal plants on genotoxicity by comet assay [13–15], we decided to examine the effects of PS extract also.…”