Comparative evaluation of different extraction methods of medical plants

The development of extraction techniques of medical plants aims to maximize the bioactive compounds production. Тechnologies in this area of industry have not high enough еfficiency factor. In some cases, it reaches only 40-50 %. Therefore, development of new methods to effectively extract different compounds from plant material and their input into large-scale industry is of great importance. The goal is to determine an effective and suitable technology for extracting bioactive compounds from medical plant. This is a narrative review paper which focuses on different extraction methods of medical plant. To find relevant articles for this narrative review, 73 articles were reviewed. Of these, 14 irrelevant documents were discarded. This review analyses various extraction processes to guide the selection of suitable methods for various types of medical plants and applications. This is done by outlining traditional and modern methods of extraction techniques, exploring the importance of solvents for extraction, and comparing novel and alternative methods of extraction. In conclusion, based on the current knowledge, solvent extraction is the most common method for medical plants extraction. Enzymatic hydrolysis and supercritical extraction are advanced techniques with high yield of compounds. However, more research is needed for some modern extraction methods

Linkages of Leaves Moisture of Medical Plant (Senecio L.) and Elevation in Shan County

A key plant species (Senecio L.) not only is a vital multilevel functional medicinal material of indications of respiratory tract infections, tonsillitis, pharyngitis, pneumonia, conjunctivitis, enteritis, dysentery, but also it is a widely distributed wide plant species. This plant species is widely distributed elevation from 500m to 1500m in six landscapesin Shan County of China. However, understanding dynamics of leaves moisture of theplants is difficult along elevation. Herein showed that linkages between leaves moisture of the species and elevation is a significant positive connection from 500m to 1000m(P<0.01) as well as linkages between leaves moisture of this species to elevation is asignificant negative connection from 1000m to 1500m(P<0.01). Herein provides six types and eco-adaptation for finding new species. Therefore, this study has theoretical and vital practical significance for plants protection along elevation and environmental gradientover the spatial-temporal-environmental-disturbance scales (STEDS) in interdisciplinary research from species diversity, ecosystems diversity and landscape diversity.Keywords: leaves moisture; elevation; relationship; eco-adaptation; eco-functional value; medicinal plant

Enhancement of antioxidant activity of kencur rhizome in the shade by potassium fertilizer

Abstracts. Kencur has been traditionally used as a medical plant for a long time. The potential content of kencur rhizomes as a medical plant lead to the idea of conducting a study that aims to determine the yield and antioxidant content of rhizomes cultivated in the shade and the effect of potassium fertilizer application. The research was conducted in two stages. The first stage was kencur cultivation in the AgroTechno-Park UB in Jatikerto from November 2020 to June 2021 designed according to the Split-split plot design (3 factor treatments). The main factor was the shade, sub plots were accession of kencur, and t doses of potassium fertilizer. The second stage was conducted in the Plant Physiology Laboratory to analyze the antioxidant content after the field experiment. The results showed that there was increased antioxidant activity in kencur rhizomes due to the use of potassium fertilizer and shade. The 25% shade produced higher antioxidants than 50% shade in both Lumajang and Nganjuk’s accessions.

Analysis of bioactive compounds present in Kaempferia galanga rhizome collected from different regions of East Java, Indonesia

Kaempferia galanga, also known as kencur in Indonesia, is a medical plant that is traditionally used in various human diseases therapy. Ethyl p-methoxycinnamate (EPMC) is an essential bioactive compound in kencur that plays a role in the management of diseases. Kencur is widely spread in East Java. Thus this study aims to identify and analyze the bioactive compounds in kencur rhizome from a different region in East Java. This study was conducted from June 2020 until November 2020. The samples were collected from 12 regencies in East Java, including Banyuwangi, Blitar, Gresik, Kediri, Lumajang, Madura, Malang, Mojokerto, Nganjuk, Pacitan, Ponorogo, and Trenggalek. A sample from Wonogiri (Central Java) was used as a comparison because its cultivation procedure has been standardized. The altitude of sample accessions location was 15-995 masl (m above sea levels) with the rain intensity of 500-2000 mm3. Based on soil analysis, Banyuwangi had good soil characteristics with high total nitrogen, available P2O5, cation exchange capacity (CEC), and organic carbon. The bioactive compounds were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results showed that all the samples contain three major compounds: EPMC, pentadecane, and (Z)-ethyl cinnamate. The highest content of EPMC was obtained in Wonogiri (79.8%), followed by Malang (78.28%), Blitar (77.23%), and Trenggalek (73.33%). It can be concluded that the kencur samples from Malang, Blitar, and Trenggalek have a high content of EPMC, thus could become the source of kencur used in further medicinal research.

Verbena officinalis L. regulates killing efficiency of natural killer cells

Verbena officinalis L. (V. officinalis) has been used as a medical plant in traditional and modern medicine, exhibiting anti-tumor and anti-inflammation activity. In this work, we investigated the impact of bioactive constituents of V. officinalis on immune regulation. Using network pharmacology approaches, we analyzed potential regulatory roles of five compounds (Acteoside, Apigenin, Kaempferol, Verbenalin and Hastatoside) from V. officinalis on immune cell functions and revealed NK cells as a major target. The effect of these compounds on NK killing efficiency was examined with real-time killing assay, and Verbenalin enhanced NK killing efficiency significantly. Further investigation showed that Verbenalin did not affect proliferation, expression of cytotoxic proteins, or lytic granule degranulation, but rather reduced contact time required for killing therefore enhancing total killing events per NK cell, suggestively via inhibition of inhibitory receptors as determined by docking assay. Our findings reveal the underlying mechanisms how V. officinalis regulates functions of immune cells, especially NK cells, suggesting Verbenalin from V. officinalis as a promising therapeutic reagent to fight cancer and infection.

Developing a Procedure of Extracting Total Polysaccharide from Dendrobium Nobile Lindl. in Vietnam

Dendrobium nobile Lind., also known as Hoang thao dui ga, is a species of plant belonging to the genus Dendrobium, a large genus of the Orchidaceae. This is a medical plant used in many remedies in China and Vietnam. Polysaccharide from this species has been shown many valuable biological activities such as hypoglycemia antioxidant and anti-cancer. In this paper, a procedure for extracting total polysaccharide by aqueous solvent from D.nobile based on the survey of factors: temperature, time, material/solvent ratio affecting this extraction process was proposed. The total polysaccharide content was also determined according to phenol-sulfuric acid method.

A validated method for coumarin quantification in Meliloti herba and its ethanolic extracts using micellar thin-layer chromatography

A micellar thin-layer chromatography method for the quantitative determination and validation of coumarin in Meliloti herba and its ethanolic extracts was developed and validated. For achieving good determination, the mobile phase of 5 x 10-4 mol/L Tween-80 in a mixture propanol-2 – water (5:95 v/v) was used. Densitometric determination was carried out at 275 nm. The calibration curve was linear in the range of 0.1-2.5 μg per band. The proposed method is simple, rapid, precise and accurate; replacing hazardous solvents by greener ones correspond to the modern requirements in “Green chemistry” concepts. The obtained data can be used for the routine analysis of coumarin in medical plant and extracts.

Anticancer effects of Melissa officinalis: A traditional medicine

Melissa officinalis (M. officinalis) is an herbal-based plant from the family of Lamiaceae and native to Europe and the Mediterranean region, widely used to cure various cancers. Phytochemical investigations proved different compounds such as polyphenolic compounds, flavonoids, and essential oil in the stem and leaves of M. officinalis as main ingredients contributing to different antitumor activity, including antiproliferation and antioxidant antiangiogenetic, antimigratory, antiapoptotic, and change in cell cycle profile of cancer cells. Herbal formulations with colorful ingredients use several types of these mentioned biological processes to display synergistic cancer treatment activities. M. officinalis extracts a wide range from water to ethanol using varied mechanisms to reduce the viability of cancer cells. Hence, scientists are currently interested in evaluating these extracts based on the medical plant to minimize the adverse effects of conventional anti-cancer drugs and discover these mechanisms to pave the way for future studies. This review aimed to discuss the recent studies that M. officinalis have used as an anti-cancer agent to investigate its potential effect on several types of cancer. Therefore, after a short introduction of M. officinalis, we will explain the several biological processes by which M. officinalis exert an anti-cancer effect.