Extraction, composition and the antioxidant and anticomplement activities of high molecular weight fractions from the leaves of Symphytum asperum and S. caucasicum

Abstract

High molecular weight fractions (> 1000 kDal) from the leaves of Symphytum asperum and S. caucasicum had anticomplement activity, were able to inhibit luminol-and lucigenin-dependent chemiluminescence (CL lum and CL luc respectively) induced by human polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) after stimulation with opsonized zymosan, and could decrease the CL luc signal induced by superoxide anion formation in a cell-free hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase system. The anticomplement and antioxidant activities of the high molecular weight fractions (> 1000 kDal) from the leaves of Symphytum asperum and S. caucasicum indicate that they might be used as anti-inflammatory and wound-healing agents.

Symphytum Species: A Comprehensive Review on Chemical Composition, Food Applications and Phytopharmacology

“…Among the two high-molecular-weight water-soluble biopolymers, the major one was poly[3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl) glyceric acid] or poly[oxy-1-carboxy-2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl) ethylene] isolated from S. officinale roots, and exhibited antioxidant effects by interfering in active oxygen species (AOS) formation, by polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) and AOS binding directly without PMNs cytotoxic effects [117]. The effect of phenolic polymer fractions from S. asperum and S. caucasicum roots and stems [48] and leaves [10] were studied by luminal and lucigenin induced chemiluminescence (CLlum and CLluc, respectively) test to evaluate their inhibition ability on ROS produced by human polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs; activated by opsonized zymosan (OPZ) and phorbol-myristate acetate (PMA)) and also on CLluc in cell-free hypoxanthine–xanthine oxidase (HX/XO) system to assay superoxide anions scavenging ability. The results exhibited a noticeable antioxidant activity for all fractions, where the major one was poly[3-3,4-dihydroxyphenyl) glyceric acid] in roots and stem extracts [48], already reported in the root of both Symphytum species [142], although this polymer was not identified in the extract from leaves [10].…”

“…S. officinale root extract contains allantoin and phenolic acids (e.g., rosmarinic, p -hydroxybenzoic, caffeic, chlorogenic and p -coumaric acids), and displays remarkable antioxidant effects, besides to exert a positive impact in human skin fibroblasts [9]. Barbakadze et al indicated that S. asperum and S. caucasicum leaves had an anticomplement and antioxidant potential [10]. Moreover, the strong antioxidant effects have been linked to polysaccharides, having a uronic acid group in the comfrey root [11].…”

Electron detachment dynamics of O2−(H2O): direct ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) approach

“…The superoxide anion (O 2 À ) is one of the reactive oxygen species and plays an important role in biochemistry, [1][2][3][4] in pharmacy, [5][6][7] and in catalysis science. [8][9][10] The O 2 À anion acts as a trigger in cancer generation because the triplet and singlet state oxygen molecules (expressed by O 2 ( 1 S) and O 2 ( 1 D)) are generated by the electron detachment.…”

Phenomena, Biometrics and Canopy Behavior of Prickly Comfrey (Symphytum Asperum Lep., Boraginaceae) in a Long-Term Experiment

“…Prickly comfrey (Symphytum asperum Lep.) differs from the other comfrey species in flower color and the sizes of organs, more vigorous growth (Mossberg and Stenberg, 2005), DNA, ploidy level and chemotaxonomic markers Kliphuis, 1975, 1978;Gadella et al, 1983;Jaarsma et al, 1989Jaarsma et al, , 1990Ozcan, 2010;Barbakadze et al, 2011). Among the comfreys mentioned, prickly comfrey has the smallest chromosome number (2n = 32) and contains echimidine alkaloid but not isobauerenol, which is typically found in common comfrey.…”

“…The strong bioactivity of its secondary compounds (pyrrolizidine alkaloids, allantoin and rosmarinic acid) have restricted prickly comfrey to medicinal uses and as fertilizer. Prickly comfrey is used in the Caucasus in folk medicine to treat wounds, ulcers and rheumatoid arthritis (Barbakadze et al, 2011). Prickly comfrey is now part of the global flora, occurring in natural and semi-natural areas on all continents.…”