Volatile Compounds and Total Phenolic Content of Perilla frutescens at Microgreens and Mature Stages

Microgreens are considered products of high biological value because they contain natural and beneficial metabolites and antioxidants in high amounts; also, consumers appreciate them very much for their aromas. In this work, we focused our attention on the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from whole fresh leaves of two Chinese basil varieties (Perilla frutescens var. frutescens and var. crispa) at the microgreens stage; to show that the emission is microgreens specific we tested whether this capacity remains during subsequent growth of the plants. We found differences between the VOCs produced by the leaves of the two varieties at the microgreens stage and significantly reduced emission after development (additional four weeks of growth) particularly for the green variety (var. frutescens). The main volatiles emitted by whole leaves were D-Limonene for the red variety (crispa) and 2-Hexanoylfuran for the green one. In addition, the total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant power increase in adult leaves. These results clearly indicate that the particular smell of microgreens Perilla leaves depends on the specific variety and is not related to the amount of total phenols or antioxidant capacity of the leaves.

Perilla frutescens Leaf Extract Attenuates Vascular Dementia-Associated Memory Deficits, Neuronal Damages, and Microglial Activation

Vascular dementia (VaD) is characterized by a time-dependent memory deficit and essentially combined with evidence of neuroinflammation. Thus, polyphenol-rich natural plants, which possess anti-inflammatory properties, have received much scientific attention. This study investigated whether Perilla frutescens leaf extract (PFL) exerts therapeutic efficacy against VaD. Sprague Dawley rats were divided into five groups: SO, sham-operated and vehicle treatment; OP, operated and vehicle treatment; PFL-L, operated and low-dose (30 mg/kg) PFL treatment; PFL-M, operated and medium-dose (60 mg/kg) PFL treatment; and PFL-H, operated and high-dose (90 mg/kg) PFL treatment. Two-vessel occlusion and hypovolemia (2VO/H) were employed as a surgical model of VaD, and PFL was given orally perioperatively for 23 days. The rats underwent the Y-maze, Barnes maze, and passive avoidance tests and their brains were subjected to histologic studies. The OP group showed VaD-associated memory deficits, hippocampal neuronal death, and microglial activation; however, the PFL-treated groups showed significant attenuations in all of the above parameters. Using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated BV-2 cells, a murine microglial cell line, we measured PFL-mediated changes on the production of nitric oxide (NO), TNF-α, and IL-6, and the activities of their upstream MAP kinases (MAPKs)/NFκB/inducible NO synthase (iNOS). The LPS-induced upregulations of NO, TNF-α, and IL-6 production and MAPKs/NFκB/iNOS activities were globally and significantly reversed by 12-h pretreatment of PFL. This suggests that PFL can counteract VaD-associated structural and functional deterioration through the attenuation of neuroinflammation.

​Nutritional Value and Anti-nutritional Factor’s Analyses of Five Indigenous Spices used by the Karbi Group of Assam, India

Background: Uses of indigenous herbs and spices have become ubiquitous on modern culinary systems. But to date literatures on nutritional aspects of these group of plants are limited. Therefore the present study was done to evaluate the nutritional and anti-nutritional compositions of five indigenous spices commonly used in Karbi cuisines. The present study will help identify long forgotten multifunctional food resources which was previously neglected due to its low quantity in use. Methods: The nutritional compositions were determined according to procedures established by Association of official Analytical chemists 1990 and the anti-nutritive factors of the samples were determined according to the procedure described in the reported scientific publications. Result: The results showed appreciable amount of nutrients in Citrus macroptera Montrouz., Litsea cubeba (Lour.) Pers., Ocimum citriodorum Vis., Perilla frutescens (L.) Britton. and Zanthoxylum armatum DC. The energy value of these five spices showed remarkable values, with the highest value observed in Ocimum citriodorum Vis. (354.08 Kcal) and lowest in Litsea cubeba (Lour.) Pers. (108.67 Kcal). The moisture, ash, crude protein, crude fats, total carbohydrate and crude fibre content of the studied spices vary from 0.85-7.45%, 3.30-14.25%, 1.85-25.30%, 1.80-43.09%, 7.03-32.32% and 1.39-72.55% in range respectively. The vitamin C content was estimated highest in Perilla frutescens (L.) Britton. (34 mg/100 g) and lowest in Citrus macroptera Montrouz. (22 mg/100g). The phytate (17.22-18.85 mg/100 g), oxalate (10.15-12.42 mg/100 g), tannin (9.45-11.61 mg/100 g) and saponin (8.82-10.55 mg/100 g) contents were very low and hence these spices are less toxic for human consumptions.

Exploring the Critical Components and Therapeutic Mechanisms of Perilla frutescens L. in the Treatment of Chronic Kidney Disease via Network Pharmacology

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a chronic progressive disease that seriously threatens human health. Some patients will continue to progress into the CKD stage 3–5 (also called chronic renal failure), which is mainly manifested by a decline in renal function and multi-system damage. Perilla frutescens (L.) Britton. (Lamiaceae) is one of the most widely used traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) herbs in CKD, especially in CKD stage 3–5. But its active components and mechanisms are still unclear. In this study, we used network pharmacology to analyze the active components of P. frutescens and the main therapeutic targets for intervention in CKD stage 3–5. Then, the key components were selected for enrichment analysis and identified by high performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC). Finally, we verified the critical components through molecular docking, and in vitro experiments. The results show that 19 main active components of P. frutescens were screened, and 108 targets were intersected with CKD stage 3–5. The PPI network was constructed and found that the core nodes AKT1, TP53, IL6, TNF, and MAPK1 may be key therapeutic targets. Enrichment analysis shows that related targets may be involved in regulating various biological functions, and play a therapeutic role in CKD stage 3–5 by regulating apoptosis, T cell receptor, and PI3K-AKT signaling pathways. Molecular docking indicates that the key active components were well docked with its corresponding targets. Five active components were identified and quantified by HPLC. According to the results, luteolin was selected as the critical component for further verification. In vitro experiments have shown that luteolin can effectively alleviate adriamycin (ADR)-induced renal tubular apoptosis and suppress AKT and p53 phosphorylation. The effects of luteolin to reduce apoptosis may be mediated by inhibiting oxidative stress and downregulating the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and p53 pathways. In general, we screened and analyzed the possible active components, therapeutic targets and pathways of P. frutescens for treating CKD. Our findings revealed that luteolin can reduce renal tubular epithelial cell apoptosis and may be the critical component of P. frutescens in the treatment of CKD. It provides references and direction for further research.