scholarly journals Flavonoids and Stilbenoids of the Genera Dracaena and Sansevieria: Structures and Bioactivities

Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. 2608 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zaw Min Thu ◽  
Ko Ko Myo ◽  
Hnin Thanda Aung ◽  
Chabaco Armijos ◽  
Giovanni Vidari

The genera Dracaena and Sansevieria (Asparagaceae, Nolinoideae) are still poorly resolved phylogenetically. Plants of these genera are commonly distributed in Africa, China, Southeast Asia, and America. Most of them are cultivated for ornamental and medicinal purposes and are used in various traditional medicines due to the wide range of ethnopharmacological properties. Extensive in vivo and in vitro tests have been carried out to prove the ethnopharmacological claims and other bioactivities. These investigations have been accompanied by the isolation and identification of hundreds of phytochemical constituents. The most characteristic metabolites are steroids, flavonoids, stilbenes, and saponins; many of them exhibit potent analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antiproliferative, and cytotoxic activities. This review highlights the structures and bioactivities of flavonoids and stilbenoids isolated from Dracaena and Sansevieria.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jia Hui Wong ◽  
Anna M. Barron ◽  
Jafri Malin Abdullah

Natural products remain a crucial source of drug discovery for accessible and affordable solutions for healthy aging. Centella asiatica (L.) Urb. (CA) is an important medicinal plant with a wide range of ethnomedicinal uses. Past in vivo and in vitro studies have shown that the plant extract and its key components, such as asiatic acid, asiaticoside, madecassic acid and madecassoside, exhibit a range of anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and cognitive benefits mechanistically linked to mitoprotective and antioxidant properties of the plant. Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress are key drivers of aging and neurodegenerative disease, including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Here we appraise the growing body of evidence that the mitoprotective and antioxidative effects of CA may potentially be harnessed for the treatment of brain aging and neurodegenerative disease.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Reza Shirazinia ◽  
Ali Akbar Golabchifar ◽  
Vafa Baradaran Rahimi ◽  
Abbas Jamshidian ◽  
Alireza Samzadeh-Kermani ◽  
...  

Lead is one of the most common environmental contaminants in the Earth’s crust, which induces a wide range of humans biochemical changes. Previous studies showed that Opuntia dillenii (OD) fruit possesses several antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The present study evaluates OD fruit hydroalcoholic extract (OHAE) hepatoprotective effects against lead acetate- (Pb-) induced toxicity in both animal and cellular models. Male rats were grouped as follows: control, Pb (25 mg/kg/d i.p.), and groups 3 and 4 received OHAE at 100 and 200 mg/kg/d + Pb (25 mg/kg/d i.p.), for ten days of the experiment. Thereafter, we evaluated the levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), catalase (CAT) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) in serum, and liver histopathology. Additionally, the cell study was also done using the HepG2 cell line for measuring the direct effects of the extract on cell viability, oxidative stress MDA, and glutathione (GSH) and inflammation tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) following the Pb-induced cytotoxicity. Pb significantly increased the serum levels of ALT, AST, ALP, and MDA and liver histopathological scores but notably decreased CAT activity compared to the control group ( p < 0.001 for all cases). OHAE (100 and 200 mg/kg) significantly reduced the levels of serum liver enzyme activities and MDA as well as histopathological scores while it significantly increased CAT activity compared to the Pb group ( p < 0.001 –0.05 for all cases). OHAE (20, 40, and 80 μg/ml) concentration dependently and significantly reduced the levels of MDA and TNF-α, while it increased the levels of GSH and cell viability in comparison to the Pb group ( p < 0.001 –0.05 for all cases). These data suggest that OHAE may have hepatoprotective effects against Pb-induced liver toxicity both in vitro and in vivo by its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 707-717 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo R. Cole ◽  
Jean P. de Andrade ◽  
João F. Allochio Filho ◽  
Elisângela F. P. Schmitt ◽  
Anderson Alves-Araújo ◽  
...  

Background: Amaryllidaceae plants are known to be a great source of alkaloids, which are considered an extensive group of compounds encompassing a wide range of biological activities. The remarkable cytotoxic activities observed in most of the Amaryllidaceae alkaloids derivatives have prompt the chemical and biological investigations in unexplored species from Brazil. Objective: To evaluate the cytotoxic and genotoxic properties of alkaloids of Griffinia gardneriana and Habranthus itaobinus bulbs and study the role of caspase-3 as a molecular apoptosis mediator. Methods: Methanolic crude extracts of Griffinia gardneriana and Habranthus itaobinus bulbs were submitted to acid-base extraction to obtain alkaloid-enriched fractions. The obtained fractions were fractionated using chromatographic techniques leading to isolation and identification of some alkaloids accomplished via HPLC and 1H-NMR, respectively. Molecular docking studies assessed the amount of free binding energy between the isolated alkaloids with the caspase-3 protein and also calculated the theoretical value of Ki. Studies have also been developed to evaluate in vitro cytotoxicity and genotoxicity in such alkaloids and apoptosis activation via the caspase pathway using both tumor and normal cell lines. Results: Seven alkaloids were isolated and identified. Among these, 11-hydroxyvittatine and 2-α-7- dimethoxyhomolycorine were not cytotoxic, whereas tazettine, trisphaeridine, and sanguinine only showed activity against the fibroblast lineage. Lycorine and pretazettine were 10 to 30 folds more cytotoxic than the other alkaloids, including cancerous lines, and were genotoxic and capable of promoting apoptosis via the caspase-3 pathway. This result supports data obtained in docking studies wherein these two compounds exhibited the highest free energy values. Conclusion: The cytotoxicity assay revealed that, among the seven alkaloids isolated, only lycorine and pretazettine were active against different cell lines, exhibiting concentration- and time-dependent cytotoxic actions alongside genotoxic action and the ability to induce apoptosis by caspase-3, a result consistent with those obtained in docking studies.


Biomolecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1307
Author(s):  
Laura Lucarini ◽  
Mariaconcetta Durante ◽  
Silvia Sgambellone ◽  
Cecilia Lanzi ◽  
Elisabetta Bigagli ◽  
...  

Pulmonary fibrosis is a severe lung disease with progressive worsening of dyspnea, characterized by chronic inflammation and remodeling of lung parenchyma. Carbonic anhydrases are a family of zinc-metallo-enzymes that catalyze the reversible interconversion of carbon-dioxide and water to bicarbonate and protons. Carbonic Anhydrase Inhibitor (CAI) exhibited anti-inflammatory effects in animals with permanent-middle-cerebral artery occlusion, arthritis and neuropathic pain. The pharmacological profile of a new class of hybrid compounds constituted by a CAI connected to a Nonsteroidal-Anti-Inflammatory Drug (NSAID) was studied in the modulation of inflammation and fibrosis. In-vitro tests were performed to assess their effects on cyclo-oxygenase enzyme (COX)-1 and COX-2, namely inhibition of platelet aggregation and thromboxane B2 production in the human-platelet-rich plasma, and reduction of Prostaglandin-E2 production in lipopolysaccharide-treated-RAW-264.7 macrophage cell line. The activity of compound 3, one of the most active, was studied in a model of bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis in C57BL/6 mice. The hybrid compounds showed a higher potency in inhibiting PGE2 production, but not in modifying the platelet aggregation and the TXB2 production in comparison to the reference molecules, indicating an increased activity in COX-2 inhibition. In the in-vivo murine model, the compound 3 was more effective in decreasing inflammation, lung stiffness and oxidative stress in comparison to the reference drugs given alone or in association. In conclusion, these CAI-NSAID hybrid compounds are promising new anti-inflammatory drugs for the treatment of lung chronic inflammatory diseases.


1998 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 571-575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy L. Ellis

Drugs from a variety of chemical classes used for a wide range of therapeutic indications can be photosensitizers in humans. Several drugs are phototoxic in animal models as well; there are no nonclinical data for many. In vitro tests have been developed as predictors of phototoxicity and although they have been used as screens, none have replaced the in vivo tests done in rodents (usually mice or guinea pigs) since these have been good predictors of clinical phototoxicity. Some phototoxic drug classes are co-carcinogens with ultraviolet radiation (UVA and/or UVB) in hairless mice, specifically psoralens, retinoids, and fluo-roquinolones. Treatment with 8-methoxypsoralen and ultraviolet A radiation for psoriasis is also carcinogenic in humans. It has been suggested that in vitro photogenotoxicity assays using microorganisms or mammalian cells may be predictive of photo co-carcinogenicity. Some attractions of these in vitro assays, compared to the hairless mouse photo co-carcinogenicity assay, are their generally shorter duration and lower cost as well as reducing the number of animals used in research. Currently, personnel at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are examining the available data on phototoxicity, photogenotoxicity, and photo co-carcinogenicity to determine how this information can best be used toregulate and label drug products, and considering which assays should be recommended under specific circumstances.


2010 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauro Serafini ◽  
Ilaria Peluso ◽  
Anna Raguzzini

Epidemiological evidence suggests that a high intake of plant foods is associated with lower risk of chronic diseases. However, the mechanism of action and the components involved in this effect have not been identified clearly. In recent years, the scientific community has agreed to focus its attention on a class of secondary metabolites extensively present in a wide range of plant foods: the flavonoids, suggested as having different biological roles. The anti-inflammatory actions of flavonoids in vitro or in cellular models involve the inhibition of the synthesis and activities of different pro-inflammatory mediators such as eicosanoids, cytokines, adhesion molecules and C-reactive protein. Molecular activities of flavonoids include inhibition of transcription factors such as NF-κB and activating protein-1 (AP-1), as well as activation of nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2). However, the in vitro evidence might be somehow of limited impact due to the non-physiological concentrations utilized and to the fact that in vivo flavonoids are extensively metabolized to molecules with different chemical structures and activities compared with the ones originally present in the food. Human studies investigating the effect of flavonoids on markers of inflammation are insufficient, and are mainly focused on flavonoid-rich foods but not on pure molecules. Most of the studies lack assessment of flavonoid absorption or fail to associate an effect on inflammation with a change in circulating levels of flavonoids. Human trials with appropriate placebo and pure flavonoid molecules are needed to clarify if flavonoids represent ancillary ingredients or key molecules involved in the anti-inflammatory properties of plant foods.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (7) ◽  
pp. 1916
Author(s):  
Zaw Min Thu ◽  
Sann Myint Oo ◽  
Thinn Myat Nwe ◽  
Hnin Thanda Aung ◽  
Chabaco Armijos ◽  
...  

The species Dracaena and Sansevieria, that are well-known for different uses in traditional medicines and as indoor ornamental plants with air purifying property, are rich sources of bioactive secondary metabolites. In fact, a wide variety of phytochemical constituents have been isolated so far from about seventeen species. This paper has reviewed the literature of about 180 steroidal saponins, isolated from Dracaena and Sansevieria species, as a basis for further studies. Saponins are among the most characteristic metabolites isolated from the two genera. They show a great variety in structural motifs and a wide range of biological activities, including anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-proliferative effects and, in most case, remarkable cytotoxic properties.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (8) ◽  
pp. 871-935 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zahra Ayati ◽  
Mahin Ramezani ◽  
Mohammad Sadegh Amiri ◽  
Ali Tafazoli Moghadam ◽  
Hoda Rahimi ◽  
...  

Ethnopharmacological relevance: The genus Curcuma, which is the most important source of curcumin, has been widely used in different traditional medicines. Various species of Curcuma have long been used for several purposes such as healing wounds, liver disorders, jaundice and also as a blood purifier. Aim of the study: This review focused on the ethnopharmacological uses and phytochemical aspects of Curcuma. Additionally, in this study, the different properties of two species of Curcuma in Islamic Traditional Medicine (ITM), C. longa and C. zedoaria, as well as their pharmacological aspects in modern medicine are reviewed. Materials and methods: ITM literatures were searched to find Curcuma’s applications. Also, electronic databases including PubMed and Scopus were searched to obtain studies giving any in vitro, in vivo or human evidence of the efficacy of C. longa and C. zedoaria in the treatment of different diseases. ChemOffice software was used to find chemical structures. Results: The analysis showed that ethno-medical uses of Curcuma have been recorded for centuries. Approximately, 427 chemical compounds have been isolated and identified from Curcuma spp. This genus is rich in flavonoids, tannins, anthocyanin, phenolic compounds, oil, organic acids and inorganic compounds. Curcumin is one of the main active ingredients in Curcuma which has strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Besides, pharmacological studies have indicated wide range of Curcuma’s activities, such as hepato-protective, antifungal, antihypertensive and neuroprotective. Conclusions: In this study, we reviewed various studies conducted on ethno-medicinal, ITM properties and photochemistry of Curcuma spp. Also, pharmacological activities of two species, C. longa and C. zedoaria are summarized. Pre-clinical investigations have demonstrated some of the traditional aspects of Curcuma, such as wound healing, anti-arthritic, anti-tumor and liver protective activities. These could be related to antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of Curcuma which might be due to high amounts of phenolic compounds. Curcuma is mentioned to have neural tonic properties in ITM which have been confirmed by some animal studies. Considering various preclinical studies on C. longa and C. zedoaria and their active ingredient, curcumin, randomized controlled trials are warranted to confirm their promise as a clinically effective hepato and neuro-protective agents.


Indigofera aspalathoides Vahl ex DC. belongs to the Fabaceae family. I. aspalathoides is applied to heal tumors, inflammations, diabetes, leprosy, and kidney illnesses in traditional medicines. Compounds including kaempferol, kaempferol 5-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, 5,4'-dihydroxy 6,8-dimethoxy 7-O-rhamnosyl flavone, indigocarpan, and mucronulatol have isolated from this plant species. Hitherto, there is no comprehensive review available regarding the reported bioactivities of I. aspalathoides. Thus, this article goals to analyze, summarize and document the published bioactivities-related publications. Electronic databases the Web of Science, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and PubMed used to find relevant publications from 1900 to December 2020. Thus far, only in vivo and in vitro scientific evidence levels of bioactivities are available. I. aspalathoides holds such as anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antihepatotoxic, anti-arthritic, immunomodulatory, and antidiabetic properties. Overall, immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer compounds have been isolated from this plant species Therefore, additional bioactivity and phytochemical-related researches would need to perform to generate more scientific evidence for other applications. This work will be useful for further bioactivity and phytochemical studies using this plant species.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 28
Author(s):  
Nahla Ayoub ◽  
Nadia Badr ◽  
Saeed S. Al-Ghamdi ◽  
Safaa Alsanosi ◽  
Abdullah R. Alzahrani ◽  
...  

Salvadora persica L. (S. persica, Siwak) is an ethnic plant that is widely used for improving oral hygiene. This study aimed to provide a phytochemical profiling of S. persica ethyl acetate fraction (SPEAF) and to evaluate the healing activity of a muco-adhesive formula of the fraction against acetic acid-induced oral ulcers in rats. HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS-MS analysis of SPEAF resulted in the tentative identification of 56 metabolites containing fatty acids (23%), urea derivatives (10.5%) and sulphur compounds (10%), in addition to several amides, polyphenols and organic acids (6.5%, 5% and 2%, respectively). For the first time, 19 compounds were identified from S. persica. In vitro and in vivo experiments indicated that the extract is non-toxic. SPEAF exhibited superior healing activities compared to both the negative and positive control groups on days 7 and 14 of tongue ulcer induction. This was confirmed by histopathological examinations of haematoxylin and eosin-stained (H&E) and Masson’s trichrome-stained tongue sections. Moreover, SPEAF showed potent anti-inflammatory activities, as evidenced by the inhibited expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis alpha (TNF-α). Moreover, SPEAF exhibited potent antioxidant activity, as it prevented malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation, reduced glutathione (GSH) depletion and superoxide dismutase (SOD) exhaustion. SPEAF significantly enhanced hydroxyproline tongue content and upregulated collagen type I alpha 1 (Col1A1) mRNA expression. SPEAF also improved angiogenesis, as shown by the increased mRNA expression of the angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1). In conclusion, S. persica has a wide range of secondary metabolites and ameliorates acetic acid-induced tongue ulcers in rats. This can be attributed, at least partly, to its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, procollagen and angiogenic activities. These findings provide support and validity for the use of S. persica as a traditional and conventional treatment for oral disorders.


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