New Methods for the Comprehensive Analysis of Bioactive Compounds in Cannabis sativa L. (hemp)

Cannabis sativa L. is a dioecious plant belonging to the Cannabaceae family. The main phytochemicals that are found in this plant are represented by cannabinoids, flavones, and terpenes. Some biological activities of cannabinoids are known to be enhanced by the presence of terpenes and flavonoids in the extracts, due to a synergistic action. In the light of all the above, the present study was aimed at the multi-component analysis of the bioactive compounds present in fibre-type C. sativa (hemp) inflorescences of different varieties by means of innovative HPLC and GC methods. In particular, the profiling of non-psychoactive cannabinoids was carried out by means of HPLC-UV/DAD, ESI-MS, and MS2. The content of prenylated flavones in hemp extracts, including cannflavins A and B, was also evaluated by HPLC. The study on Cannabis volatile compounds was performed by developing a new method based on headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with GC-MS and GC-FID. Cannabidiolic acid (CBDA) and cannabidiol (CBD) were found to be the most abundant cannabinoids in the hemp samples analysed, while β-myrcene and β-caryophyllene were the major terpenes. As regards flavonoids, cannflavin A was observed to be the main compound in almost all the samples. The methods developed in this work are suitable for the comprehensive chemical analysis of both hemp plant material and related pharmaceutical or nutraceutical products in order to ensure their quality, efficacy, and safety.

A PRENYLATED FLAVONE FROM THE HEARTWOOD OF Artocarpus scortechinii King (Moraceae)

Two prenylated flavones have been successfully isolated from the methanol extract of the heartwood Artocarpus scortechinii King. They were determined as artelastisin and artelastin. It has been reported that artelastisin and artelastin were obtained from Artocarpus elasticus. The cytotoxicity toward cell murine leukemia P-388 showed that artelastisin is active with IC50 3.0 µg/mL. In addition, artelastin is inactive with IC50 5.75 µg/mL. The structures of isolated compounds were determined based on spectroscopy data including UV, IR, 1H and 13C-NMR. These compounds are reported for the fist time from this plant. Keywords: Artocarpus scortechinii King, prenylated flavone, and cell murine leukemia P-388.

Prenylated Flavones from Artocarpus Lanceifolius and their Cytotoxic Properties against P-388 Cells

New prenylated flavones, artoindonesianins Z-4 and Z-5, together with four known prenylated flavones, artonin E, 12-hydroxyartonin E, artobiloxanthone, and cycloartobiloxanthone, have been isolated from the methanol extract of the tree bark of Artocarpus lanceifolius. The structures of these compounds were determined on the basis of spectroscopic data, including UV, IR, 1D and 2D NMR, and mass spectra. The cytotoxic effect of the isolated compounds against murine leukemia P-388 cells is described.