Helichrysum italicum (Roth) G. Don Essential Oil from Serbia: Chemical Composition, Classification and Biological Activity—May It Be a Suitable New Crop for Serbia?

H. italicum essential oil (EO) is one of the most popular ingredients utilized by the cosmetic industry, and it is also used as natural antioxidant and as a value-added ingredient in food products. The chemical composition of the EO H. italicum cultivated in Serbia was analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The quantitative structure–retention relationship was used to predict the retention indices of the EO constituents acquired by GC-MS data, applying five molecular descriptors selected by factor analysis and a genetic algorithm. Also, antimicrobial activity, and biological activity by four common antioxidant tests (DPPH and ABTS assays, reducing power, and β-carotene bleaching test), and in vitro antihyperglycemic and anti-inflammatory capacities were evaluated. A total of 70 EO constituents were detected, of which 17 (8.5%) could not be identified. The H. italicum EO in this study belonged to γ-curcumene chemotype. The coefficients of determination reached the value of 0.964, demonstrating that this model could be used for prediction purposes. All applied tests showed that H. italicum EO possesses good biological activity and an interesting chemical composition. Therefore, the EO of H. italicum grown in Serbia has a potential to be used in food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical products.

Comparative Analysis of Infusions with the Addition P. padus Bark: Assessment of the Antioxidant Potential and Their Inhibitory Effect on Enzymes Associated with Oxidative Stress

Prunus padus L., is not very popular plant, it is commonly found due to low soil requirements and easy to settle in various places. As for now, concerning food technology, there is no wide application for P. padus. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the possibility of using bird cherry bark as an ingredient in herbal functional teas. In the first step, the conditions for extraction of the bark were electrochemically optimized. It was proven that the highest content of polyphenols could be found in the sample consisting of chamomile, linden flower, and calendula (7939.8 ± 106.6 mg/100 g dm). In the beta-carotene bleaching test, the highest activity could be spotted for calendula tea (16.7 ± 1.1c%) and chamomile tea (15.0 ± 2.0c%) and concerning the test for linden flower tea without added bark (134.4 ± 15.1b μg ascorbic acid /mL). The property of the tested teas to inhibit cholinesterases was proven. What is more, P. padus bark infusion showed the highest activity of 15.8 ± 1.1d μg neostigmine/mL, for acetylcholinesterases (AChE) inhibition and 21.2 ± 1.0c μg neostigmine/mL for butyrylcholinesterases (BChE). The same tea also showed the highest activity to reduce ions of iron (Fe(III)): 25.3 ± 0.9c μg Trolox /mL and glutathione reductase and glutathione peroxidase inhibition, 87.0 ± 1.1e% and 64.9 ± 2.0d% respectively. The use of P. padus bark may be vital in the preventive care concerning modern-age diseases and allow for the production of a new range of products with distinctive sensory characteristics and functional properties and, at the same time, in combating the spread of P. padus in the farm and forest ecosystem.

Phytochemical Investigation and Biological Activities of Lantana rhodesiensis

Lantana rhodesiensis Moldenke is a plant widely used to treat diseases, such as rheumatism, diabetes, and malaria in traditional medicine. To better understand the traditional uses of this plant, a phytochemical study was undertaken, revealing a higher proportion of polyphenols, including flavonoids in L. rhodesiensis leaf extract and moderate proportion in stem and root extracts. The antioxidant activity of the extracts was also determined using three different assays: the radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity, the FRAP method (Ferric-reducing antioxidant power) and the β-carotene bleaching test. The anti-malarial activity of each extract was also evaluated using asexual erythrocyte stages of Plasmodium falciparum, chloroquine-sensitive strain 3D7. The results showed that the leaf extract exhibited higher antioxidant and anti-malarial activities in comparison with the stem and root extracts, probably due to the presence of higher quantities of polyphenols including flavonoids in the leaves. A positive linear correlation was established between the phenolic compound content (total polyphenols including flavonoids and tannins; and total flavonoids) and the antioxidant activity of all extracts. Furthermore, four flavones were isolated from leaf dichloromethane and ethyl acetate fractions: a new flavone named rhodescine (5,6,3′,5′-tetrahydroxy-7,4′-dimethoxyflavone) (1), 5-hydroxy-6,7,3′,4′,5′-pentamethoxyflavone (2), 5-hydroxy-6,7,3′,4′-tetramethoxyflavone (3), and 5,6,3′-trihydroxy-7,4′-dimethoxyflavone (4). Their structures were elucidated by 1H, 13CNMR, COSY, HSQC, HMBC, and MS-EI spectral methods. Aside from compound 2, all other molecules were described for the first time in this plant species.

Olive Mill Wastewater Polyphenol-Enriched Fractions by Integrated Membrane Process: A Promising Source of Antioxidant, Hypolipidemic and Hypoglycaemic Compounds

The valorisation of food wastes is a challenging opportunity for the green, sustainable, and competitive development of industry. The recovery of phenols contributes to the sustainability of olive waste sector, reducing its environmental impact and promoting the development of innovative formulations of interest for pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and cosmeceutical applications. In this work, olive mill wastewater was treated through a combination of microfiltration (MF), nanofiltration (NF), and reverse osmosis (RO) in a sequential design to produce polyphenol-enriched fractions that have been investigated for their chemical profile using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC), and their potential antioxidant, hypolipidemic, and hypoglycaemic activities. RO retentate exhibited the highest content of hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol, oleuropein, verbascoside, vanillic acid, and luteolin. In particular, a content of hydroxytyrosol of 1522.2 mg/L, about five times higher than the MF feed, was found. RO retentate was the most active extract in all in vitro tests. Interestingly, this fraction showed a 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic) acid (ABTS) radicals scavenging activity with an IC50 value of 6.9 μg/mL and a potential inhibition of lipid peroxidation evaluated by the β-carotene bleaching test with IC50 values of 25.1 μg/mL after 30 min of incubation. Moreover, RO retentate inhibited α-amylase and α-glucosidase with IC50 values of 65.3 and 66.2 μg/mL, respectively.

Phenolic Content, Antibacterial and Antioxidant Activities of Moroccan propolis

Background:Propolis contains compounds with antibacterial and antioxidant capacities, such as phenolic compounds and flavonoids. The aim of this study was to investigate the antibacterial and antioxidant effects of six propolis samples from northern Morocco and to determine their content of polyphenols and flavonoids.Methods:The total polyphenols and flavonoids of Ethanol Extracts (EEP) were evaluated by colorimetric assays. To test the antibacterial activity, the well diffusion and micro-dilution methods were adopted. The kinetic of bacterial growth in the presence of EEP was tested. The antioxidant activity was evaluated using three techniques: reducing power, β-carotene bleaching test, and DPPH scavenging capacity assay.Results:The EEPs were found to have high total phenolic content (65.09 - 122.00 mg GAE/g) and flavonoids (41.95 - 50.44 mg QE/g). The screening of the antibacterial activity showed that all tested bacteria were sensitive to EEP except Escherichia coli. The inhibitory zones varied from 11.50 ± 0.70 to 32.00 ± 0.70 mm, and MIC and MBC ranged from 0.07 to 5 mg/mL and 0.07 to >5 mg/mL, respectively. The antioxidant activity was proportional to the phenolic content of propolis. The IC50 varied from 48.70 to 156.00 mg/mL and the RAA% ranged from 75.07 to 96.68 %.

New 5-Thiazolyl-carbohydrazon-n-allyl-thiazolines Synthesis, characterization and antioxidant activity

In an effort to obtain new NSAIDs, that act as COX-2 selective inhibitors with simultaneous iNOS inhibition properties and direct antioxidant activity, we designed a series of 8 new compounds bearing the 5-thiazolyl-carbohydrazon-N-allyl-thiazoline scaffold. The synthesized compounds were physicochemically characterized by: 1H-NMR, MS and elemental analysis. An initial, in vitro, free radical scavenging assay (DPPH bleaching) test showed that most compounds are superior to standard antioxidants Trolox and BHT.

Non-Pungent n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid (PUFA)-Derived Capsaicin Analogues as Potential Functional Ingredients with Antioxidant and Carbohydrate-Hydrolysing Enzyme Inhibitory Activities

N-Eicosapentaenoyl vanillylamine (EPVA) and N-docosahexaenoyl vanillylamine (DHVA), derived from n-3 polyunsaturated eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), respectively, were studied for their potential antioxidant and carbohydrate-hydrolysing enzyme inhibitory activities together with capsaicin and the corresponding n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). The antioxidant potential was evaluated by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) assay, β-carotene bleaching test, and ferric reducing ability power (FRAP). In the ABTS assay the following trend of potency could be observed EPVA > DHVA ≥ capsaicin. In addition, except for the FRAP test, all samples showed a greater activity than the positive controls used as reference compounds in the antioxidant assays. Both EPVA and DHVA showed half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values much lower than acarbose, which was used as the reference drug in the carbohydrate-hydrolysing enzyme inhibitory activity assays. It is interesting to note that structural changes in capsaicin derivatives had higher impacts on α-glucosidase than on α-amylase inhibition. Taken together, our data suggest that both EPVA and DHVA, which are not limited in compliance-related considerations with respect to capsaicin, due to absence of pungency, could be proposed as functional ingredients for the development of products for the management of type II diabetes and border-line hyperglycaemic patients.

Effects of nano-ferric oxide on quality, quantity and antioxidant properties of essential oil components in Carum copticum (L.) Link

The effect of exogenous application of nano-ferric oxide (50 and 100 mg/l) in early flowering stage on components of essential oils (EOs) of Carum copticum (L.) Link was evaluated. EO extracted by hydrodistillation from Iranian C. copticum was characterized by means of GC/MS. The nano-ferric oxide application increased limonene, γ- terpinene, cis-limonene oxide, thymol, carvacrol and decreased α-thujene, α-pinene, β-pinene and p-cymene concentration. The EO was also subjected to evaluation for antioxidant properties. Thymol, γ-terpinene and carvacrol possessed the highest antioxidant properties among the major components. C. copticum EO exhibited a higher activity in each antioxidant system with a special attention to β-carotene bleaching test and reducing power. The TLC-bioautography screening and fractionation resulted in the separation of the main antioxidant compounds which were identified as thymol, γ-terpinene and carvacrol.

A Novel Fluorimetric Method to Evaluate Red Wine Antioxidant Activity

In the light of the increasing use of red wine in the diet, due to its antioxidant properties, the availability of a simple and fast method to assay the antioxidant activity of this beverage is needed. Here we measured wine antioxidant capacity (WAC) via "crocin bleaching test", wine polyphenol content (WPC), via Folin Ciocalteu method, and fluorimetric response (WF) of 13 Italian red wines. A fairly good correlation between WAC and WF (R = 0.82) was found, thus validating the fluorimetric method as a simple, fast and cheap method to evaluate the antioxidant activity of red wines.

Investigation of Galatella villosa and G. tatarica for Antioxidant, α-Amylase, Tyrosinase, Lipoxygenase and Xanthine Oxidase Inhibitory Activities

In the present work two Galatella species, Galatella villosa Rchb.f. and Galatella tatarica (Less.) Novopokr collected from Kazakhstan were subjected to hydrodistillation to yield essential oils (EOs), and to maceration in methanol to yield extracts (MEs). The EOs and MEs were evaluated for antioxidant and in vitro inhibitory activities against α-amylase, tyrosinase, lipoxygenase and xanthine oxidase enzymes. The EOs of G. villosa and G. tatarica were investigated for chemical composition using GC-FID and GC/MS techniques. The composition of MEs was investigated with LC-MS/MS technique. Monoterpenes, β-pinene (23.6 %) and α-pinene (14.4 %) were the main constituents of G. tatarica essential oil, while the oil of G. villosa was characterized not only with monoterpene α-pinene (9.0 %), but also fatty acid, hexadecanoic acid (10.2%). 3-, 5-, 1,5- and 3,4-caffeoylquinic acids, 3-, 4- and 5-feruloylquinic acids, quercetin and its different glycosides were detected in MEs according to mass spectral data. G. tatarica (IC50=74.3 μg/mL) and G. villosa (IC50=78.5 μg/mL) extracts showed significant antioxidant activity. In the β-carotene bleaching test, the extracts demonstrated noteworthy activity (%Inh 44.46 and 41.14). The extracts scavenged ABTS radical as 1.85 mM and 1.27 mM of Trolox. In a concentration of 0.5 mg/mL, the oils showed 89% and 85% inhibition of α-amylase, while the extracts showed 86% and 78% inhibition at 2 mg/mL concentration, respectively. The EOs demonstrated noteworthy potent LOX enzyme inhibition ranging between 45% and 57%. In xanthine-xanthine oxidase model system, the extracts demonstrated the highest inhibitory potency ranging between 43% and 39%. The present work is the first contribution to the chemistry and biological activities of G. tatarica and G. villosa.