Phytochemical Approach Research Articles

Antioxidant, Antimicrobial, Anticancer, and Molecular Docking Insights into Pancratium maritimum Seeds and Flowers: A Phytochemical Approach.

This study investigates the antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer properties of Pancratium maritimum L. in Sp. Pl.: 291 (1753) seeds and flowers. Antioxidant activity was assessed using DPPH free radical scavenging and iron chelation assays. Antimicrobial evaluations assessed the efficacy of the extracts against diverse microorganisms. Cell viability assays were conducted on the dukes c colon cancer (SW480), while gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis facilitated the identification of bioactive compounds. The ethanol extract of P. maritimum seeds exhibited a total phenolic content of 296.89±14.53 mg GAE/g extract DW and a total flavonoid content of 361.03±20.18 mg QE/g extract DW. Conversely, the flower extract showed a total phenolic content of 95.03±7.22 mg GAE/g extract DW and a total flavonoid content of 272.12±16.42 mg QE/g extract DW. As a result, the ethanol extract of P. maritimum seeds contains higher phenolic and flavonoid contents than the flower extract. Antimicrobial evaluations demonstrated significant inhibitory effects of both seed and flower extracts, with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranging from 25 to >50 mg/mL. Notably, the seed extract showed greater activity against E. coli and C. krusei. GC-MS analysis identified 18 bioactive compounds in the seed extract and 16 in the flower extract, with crucial components including ethyl oleate and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural. Additionally, cell viability assays revealed that ethanol extracts from seeds and flowers significantly reduced SW480 cell viability, particularly at doses of 750 μg/mL and 250 μg/mL, respectively. These findings underscore the therapeutic potential of P. maritimum in terms of its antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer properties, highlighting its value as a natural source of antioxidants and antimicrobial agents. Furthermore, the molecular docking study emphasises strong binding interactions of key compounds, particularly ethyl oleate and hexadecanoic acid ethyl ester, with the human STARD10 protein. The biological interactions and health implications of P. maritimum provide a significant foundation for future research in drug development and therapeutic applications.

A Review of Taro Leaves on Its Phytochemical Screening and Approach on Anti-diabetic Activities on Specific Receptor

Taro, scientifically known as Colocasia esculenta, is a plant that holds considerable nutritional and medicinal importance. Its leaves are structured with multiple layers of palisade and air-filled spongy mesophyll. The vascular traces are surrounded by a ring of vacuolate cells that could extend to both the upper and lower epidermis. The leaves have stomata on both sides, with a higher number on the abaxial side. The stalk of the taro leaf is rich in various compounds such as saponins, flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids, steroids, and terpenoids, which have potential medicinal uses, including wound healing and antioxidant properties. An interesting feature of the taro leaf is the presence of water bubbles on its surface, which trap air in the cavity, forming a silvery layer. Although the bundle sheath is present in the taro leaf, there is no definitive proof to suggest that taro can perform carbon fixation via a C4 pathway. This research offers insights into the morphological characteristics of taro, its culinary uses, cultivation regions, and seasons. It also highlights the genetic variations among different genotypes, which could be useful for breeding programs.

EVALUATION OF THE ANTI-TYROSINASE-ANTI-AGING POTENTIAL AND METABOLITE PROFILING FROM THE BIOACTIVE FRACTION OF CORN COB (ZEA MAYS L.)

Objective: Maize (Zea mays L.) is a crop that has been widely cultivated in Indonesia. Using corn kernels on a large scale will produce much corn cob waste, usually unused. According to the literature search, corn cobs’ phytochemical studies and pharmacological activities still need to be improved. This study aims to determine the content of secondary metabolites (metabolite profiling) and their antityrosinase and anti-aging potential.
 Methods: Corn cobs were macerated with methanol and fractionated with n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and butanol. The phytochemical profiling approach of the methanol extract was performed by liquid chromatography-mass spectra (LC-MS/MS). Anti-tyrosinase and anti-aging bioactivity were evaluated by thin layer chromatography (TLC)-bioautography and IC50 spectrophotometrically.
 Results: The evaluation results show that the butanol fraction leads to a potential value (IC50 99.92 µg/ml). Several compounds, especially flavonoid compounds (including catechin; kaempferol 3-arabinofuranoside 7-rhamnoside; 6,8-Di-C-beta-D-arabino pyranosyl apigenin; 5,7-Dihydroxy-8,4’-dimethoxyisoflavone) were identified by LC-MS/MS by comparing the molecular mass of MS/MS data with literature data.
 Conclusion: Based on this study, it can be concluded that butanol is the fraction that most actively inhibits tyrosinase, elastase, and collagenase enzymes, which means it potentially becomes a new anti-aging candidate.

Nematocidal Potential of Phenolic Acids: A Phytochemical Seed-Coating Approach to Soybean Cyst Nematode Management.

Soybeans, one of the most valuable crops worldwide, are annually decimated by the soybean cyst nematode (SCN), Heterodera glycines, resulting in massive losses in soybean yields and economic revenue. Conventional agricultural pesticides are generally effective in the short term; however, they pose growing threats to human and environmental health; therefore, alternative SCN management strategies are urgently needed. Preliminary findings show that phenolic acids are significantly induced during SCN infection and exhibit effective nematocidal activities in vitro. However, it is unclear whether these effects occur in planta or elicit any negative effects on plant growth traits. Here, we employed a phytochemical-based seed coating application on soybean seeds using phenolic acid derivatives (4HBD; 2,3DHBA) at variable concentrations and examined SCN inhibition against two SCN types. Moreover, we also examined plant growth traits under non-infected or SCN infected conditions. Notably, 2,3DHBA significantly inhibited SCN abundance in Race 2-infected plants with increasingly higher chemical doses. Interestingly, neither compound negatively affected soybean growth traits in control or SCN-infected plants. Our findings suggest that a phytochemical-based approach could offer an effective, more environmentally friendly solution to facilitate current SCN management strategies and fast-track the development of biopesticides to sustainably manage devastating pests such as SCN.

A Phytochemical Approach to the Removal of Contaminants from Industrial Dyeing Wastewater

This study investigates the influence of photoperiod and wastewater concentration on the growth of microalgae and cyanobacteria for the removal of environmentally significant parameters (COD, BOD, Cr, Fe, color, chlorides, nitrogen compounds, and phosphates) from dyeing wastewater. A two-factor central composite design with surface response was employed, involving two algae species (Chlorella and Scenedesmus sp.) and two cyanobacteria species (Hapalosiphon and Oscillatoria sp.). The findings indicated that extended photoperiods (>13 h) and higher wastewater concentrations (70–80% v/v) enhanced biomass production across all strains. However, Hapalosiphon and Chlorella sp. (1.6 and 0.45 g/L) exhibited better tolerance to the wastewater’s high toxicity, resulting in higher biomass concentrations and improved COD and BOD removal by Hapalosiphon sp. (75% and 80%, respectively). Further analysis of the obtained biomass revealed their potential applications. Among the cyanobacteria, Hapalosiphon sp. synthesized the highest concentrations of total proteins and lipids (38% and 28% w/w, respectively), while Oscillatoria sp. displayed a high protein content (42% w/w). In contrast, the algae demonstrated a strong propensity for storing substantial quantities of total carbohydrates (65% and 57% w/w for Scenedesmus and Chlorella sp., respectively). These results signify the feasibility of cultivating photosynthetic microorganisms in industrial dyeing wastewater as a sustainable source of nutrients for targeted metabolite production.

Bio-evaluation of Untapped Alkaloids from Vinca minor Enriched by Methyl-jasmonate-induced Stress: an Integrated Approach.

The low amount of metabolites isolated from natural products is one of the challenges preventing their biological evaluation. The modulation of biosynthetic pathways by stimulating stress-induced responses in plants was proven to be a valuable tool for diversification of already known natural products. Recently, we reported the dramatic effect of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) on Vinca minor alkaloids distribution. In this study, three compounds identified as 9-methoxyvincamine, minovincinine, and minovincine are successfully isolated in good yield and subjected to several bioassays based on a network pharmacology study. The extracts and isolated compounds show weak to moderate antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities. Also, they are found to significantly promote wound healing in scratch assay, and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) modulation is suggested to be the potential pathway based on bioinformatic analysis. Hence, Western blotting is used to assess the expression of several markers related to this pathway and wound healing. The extracts and isolated compounds are able to increase the expression of Smad3 and Phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K), while downregulating the levels of cyclin D1 and the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) except for minovincine, which increases the mTOR expression, inferring that it might act through a different mechanism. Molecular docking is used to give insights on the ability of isolated compounds to bind with different active sites in mTOR. Collectively, the integrated phytochemical, in silico, and molecular biology approach reveal that V.minor and its metabolite could be repurposed for the management of dermatological disorders where these markers are dysregulated, which opens the gate to develop new therapeutics in the future.

Phytochemical Approach Including Total Phenolic and Flavonoid Contents and Evaluation of in vitro ABTS Antioxidant Capacity and Lipoxygenase Inhibition of Anisosciadium lanatum

Anisosciadium lanatum Boiss is commonly known in Bedouins as besbas. Traditional, it is palatable plant and used in medicine of livestock to treat skin conditions . The main objective of current approach was to screen the presence of different kind of metabolites applying standard procedures followed by assessment of total phenolic (TPC) and flavonoids (TFC) contents. In addition, the in vitro ABTS antioxidant and lipoxygenase activities were evaluated. Different organs (leaves, stems and flowers) of Anisosciadium lanatum were extracted using 70% methanol to yield total methanol extracts of leaves (TML), stems (TMS) and flowers (TMF). Results demonstrated that TML, TMS and TMF are characterized by the content of different constituents such as flavonoids, phenolics/tannins, steroids, saponins, and carbohydrates at different levels. Ethyl acetate (EA) and butanol (BT) fractions of TML and TMS demonstrated the highest percentage of TPC and TFC. The results demonstrated the competence of EA and BT as free radical scavenger fractions compared to other fractions and its opportunity to contain bioactive antioxidant metabolites . TML, TMS and TMF exhibited Lipoxygenase inhibitory activity with IC50 values of 4.88, 5.40 and 6.05 μg/mL, respectively when compared to that of the positive control baicalein (IC50: 0.27 μg /mL). In conclusion, present investigation highlighted the potential of Anisosciadium lanatum to be promising candidate with activity against wide range of inflammatory-related diseases.

Potency of Ginger (Zingiber officinale) in Commonly Consumed Beverages. The Phytochemical and Antioxidant Approach in a Nasarawa State, Nigeria Environment

Zingiber officinale is a well known and widely used herb, which contains several interesting bioactive constituents and possesses health promoting properties. The phyotochemical screening and proximate composition of Zingiber officinale were investigated. The rhizomes of ginger were collected, treated and chopped into tiny pieces. These were dried at room temperature for 14 days and milled into fine powder using a mortar and pestle. The resulting powdered sample was subjected to phytochemical tests. The results of the phytochemical screening shows that saponins was absent in ethanol extract, present in petroleum ether extract and absent in aqueous extract, flavonoids was present at higher level in ethanol extract, moderately present in petroleum ether extract but absent in aqueous extract, tannins was present in all extracts, cardiac glycoside was present in both ethanol and petroleum extracts but absent in aqueous extract, Phlobatannins was present in all extracts, anthraquinone was highly present in ethanol extract but present in both petroleum ether and aqueous extracts however, carbohydrates, reducing sugars and combined reducing sugars were present in all extracts. Similarly, proximate analysis results obtained in percentage were average moisture content: 46.98%, ash content: 13.64%, protein content: 13.7%, fat content: 3.5% and crude fiber content: 75% values of the rhizomes. The results indicated that ginger rhizome is an excellent natural remedy for a wide range of ailments. DOI: 10.7176/JEES/12-3-03 Publication date: March 31 st 2022

CYNODON DACTYLON LEAF EXTRACT AS AN EFFICIENT ECO-FRIENDLY CORROSION INHIBITOR IN ACIDIC MEDIA: AN EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH

The effect of Cynodon Dactylon leaf extract on the suppression of mild steel corrosion in 1N Hydrochloric acid solution was examined using the weight loss approach. The effects of weight loss on different inhibitor concentrations were examined on the surface of mild steel. The highest inhibitory efficiency was found to be 83 percent. The influence of corrosion was noted with various doses ranging from 10 to 40 ml of extract. The initial phytochemical screening approach detects flavonoids, steroids, tannins, saponin, alkaloids, proteins, terpenoids, cardiac glycosides, and phenol. The presence of this natural extract reduces the rate of corrosion in acidic environments. The surface assimilation of Cynodon dactylon on metal surface obeyed Langmuir, freundlich, Temkin, and frumkin isotherms. The negative values of ΔGo (Gibb’s free energy) of -16.479 kJmol-1, -0.5201 kJmol-1, -10.052 kJmol-1, and -19.509 kJmol-1 for Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, and Frumkin isotherms implies the very nature of the spontaneous process

COVID-19: Risks on animal health, phytochemical approach for prevention and impact on livestock sector: A short review

COVID-19: Risks on animal health, phytochemical approach for prevention and impact on livestock sector: A short review

In vitro Test for Inhibition of Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 Parasites using Streptomyces hygroscopicus subsp. hygroscopicus Strain i18, Isolated from a Pineapple Farm in Lampung

Increasing natural ingredient awareness and utilization has created an increased demand for sources of natural medicinal ingredients, including sources of compound used to treat malaria. Streptomyces is a genus of prokaryote well recognized for its production of antibiotics and other pharmaceutically useful compound. This study aimed to assess the ability of unpurified fermentation metabolites to inhibit Plasmodium parasites. A strain of bacteria identified as Streptomyces hygroscopicus subsp. hygroscopicus strain i18 were isolated from pineapple fields in Lampung province, and was cultured and fermented on liquid synthetic Gause medium for 10 days. The supernatant was separated from the cells and extracted with ethyl acetate-methanol (1:1). Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 was used for antiplasmodial testing. Metabolites were tested qualitatively using a phytochemical approach. Saponins and triterpenoids were found to be present in the extract. Parasite inhibition as measured using probit analysis and yielded an IC50 value of 11.07 g.m/L. These findings suggest further examinations of this extract (e.g. assessment of off-target effects) are warranted.

Sub-Tissue Localization of Phytochemicals in Cinnamomum camphora (L.) J. Presl. Growing in Northern Italy.

In the present paper, we focused our attention on Cinnamomum camphora (L.) J. Presl. (Lauraceae), studied at three levels: (i) micromorphological, with the analysis of the secretory structures and a novel in-depth histochemical characterization of the secreted compounds; (ii) phytochemical, with the characterization of the essential oils from young stems, fruits, and leaves, subjected to different conservation procedures (fresh, dried, stored at −20 °C, stored at −80 °C) and collected in two different years; (iii) bioactive, consisting of a study of the potential antibacterial activity of the essential oils. The micromorphological investigation proved the presence of secretory cells characterized by a multi-layered wall in the young stems and leaves. They resulted in two different types: mucilage cells producing muco-polysaccharides and oil cells with an exclusive terpene production. The phytochemical investigations showed a predominance of monoterpenes over sesquiterpene derivatives; among them, the main components retrieved in all samples were 1,8-cineole followed by α-terpineol and sabinene. Conservation procedures seem to only influence the amounts of specific components, i.e., 1,8-cineole and α-terpineol, while analyses on each plant part revealed the presence of some peculiar secondary constituents for each of them. Finally, the evaluation of the antibacterial activity of the essential oil showed a promising activity against various microorganisms, as Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In conclusion, we combined a micromorphological and phytochemical approach of the study on different plant parts of C. camphora, linking the occurrence of secretory cells to the production of essential oils. We compared, for the first time, the composition of essential oils derived from different plant matrices conserved with different procedures, allowing us to highlight a relation between the conservation technique and the main components of the profiles. Moreover, the preliminary antibacterial studies evidenced the potential activity of the essential oils against various microorganisms potentially dangerous for plants and humans.

Chemical Fractionation Joint to In-Mixture NMR Analysis for Avoiding the Hepatotoxicity of Teucrium chamaedrys L. subsp. chamaedrys.

Dietary supplements based on Teucrium chamaedrys L. subsp. chamaedrys aerial parts were banned, due to the hepatotoxicity of furan-containing neo-clerodane constituents. Indeed, the plant leaf content in phenolic compounds could be further exploited for their antioxidant capability. Accordingly, bio-guided fractionation strategies have been applied, obtaining seven partially purified extracts. These latter were chemically investigated through 1D and 2D NMR techniques and tested for their antiradical, reducing and cytotoxic capability. Data acquired highlighted that, through a simple phytochemical approach, a progressive neo-clerodane depletion occurred, while maximizing phenylethanoid glycosides in alcoholic fractions. Thus, although the plant cannot be used as a botanical remedy as such, it is suggested as a source of healthy compounds, pure or in mixture, to be handled in pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and/or cosmeceutical sectors.

A Combined Phytochemical and Network Pharmacology Approach to Reveal the Effective Substances and Mechanism of Eomecon chionantha Hance for the Treatment of Ulcerative Colitis

Eomecon chionantha Hance (ECH), a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, has been reported for the treatment of traumatic injuries and colitis. The current treatments for ulcerative colitis (UC) are unstable and have side effects, so ECH is potentially useful for treating this condition. However, the active ingredients and pharmacological mechanisms of ECH in treating UC remain unclear. In this study, 21 alkaloids were extracted and purified from the roots of ECH, among which 13 were extracted from this herb for the first time. Our results showed that 12 ingredients may have effective pharmacological effects after absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) screening. Network pharmacological analysis revealed that the active ingredients may have positive effects on 19 significant signaling pathways, such as on small cell lung cancer, serotonergic synapses, the IL-17 signaling pathway, Th17 cell differentiation, the estrogen signaling pathway, transcriptional misregulation in cancer, the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, and others by targeting 23 proteins, including MAPK14, RXRA, GSK3B, CDK2, RXRB, HSP90AA1, PTGS2, and ESR1. It is of great benefit to use separation, purification, and network pharmacology together to screen active natural products. This study indicated potential anti-UC mechanisms of the active ingredients of ECH and provides theoretical support for the treatment of UC using ECH.

The Role of Botanical Families in Medicinal Ethnobotany: A Phylogenetic Perspective.

Studies suggesting that medicinal plants are not chosen at random are becoming more common. The goal of this work is to shed light on the role of botanical families in ethnobotany, depicting in a molecular phylogenetic frame the relationships between families and medicinal uses of vascular plants in several Catalan-speaking territories. The simple quantitative analyses for ailments categories and the construction of families and disorders matrix were carried out in this study. A Bayesian approach was used to estimate the over- and underused families in the medicinal flora. Phylogenetically informed analyses were carried out to identify lineages in which there is an overrepresentation of families in a given category of use, i.e., hot nodes. The ethnobotanicity index, at a specific level, was calculated and also adapted to the family level. Two diversity indices to measure the richness of reported taxa within each family were calculated. A total of 47,630 use reports were analysed. These uses are grouped in 120 botanical families. The ethnobotanicity index for this area is 14.44% and the ethnobotanicity index at the family level is 68.21%. The most-reported families are Lamiaceae and Asteraceae and the most reported troubles are disorders of the digestive and nutritional system. Based on the meta-analytic results, indicating hot nodes of useful plants at the phylogenetic level, specific ethnopharmacological research may be suggested, including a phytochemical approach of particularly interesting taxa.

Integration of LC/MS-based molecular networking and classical phytochemical approach allows in-depth annotation of the metabolome of non-model organisms - The case study of the brown seaweed Taonia atomaria

Untargeted LC-MS based metabolomics is a useful approach in many research areas such as medicine, systems biology, environmental sciences or even ecology. In such an approach, annotation of metabolomes of non-model organisms remains a significant challenge. In this study, an analytical workflow combining a classical phytochemical approach, using the isolation and the full characterization of the chemical structure of natural products, together with the use of MS/MS-based molecular networking with various levels of restrictiveness was developed. This protocol was applied to the marine brown seaweed Taonia atomaria, a cosmopolitan algal species, and allowed to annotate more than 200 metabolites. First, the algal organic crude extracts were fractionated by flash-chromatography and the chemical structure of eight of the main chemical constituents of this alga were fully characterized by means of spectroscopic methods (1D and 2D NMR, HRMS). These compounds were further used as chemical standards. In a second step, the main fractions of the algal extracts were analyzed by UHPLC-MS/MS and the resulting data were uploaded to the Global Natural Products Social Molecular Networking platform (GNPS) to create several molecular networks (MNs). A first MN (MN-1) was built with restrictive parameters and allowed the creation of clusters composed by nodes with highly similar MS/MS spectra. Then, using database hits and chemical standards as “seed” nodes and/or similarity between MS/MS fragmentation pattern, the main clusters were easily annotated as common glycerolipids and phospholipids, much rare lipids -such as acylglycerylhydroxymethyl-N,N,N-trimethyl-ß-alanines or fulvellic acid derivatives- but also new glycerolipids bearing a terpene moiety. Lastly, the use of less and less constrained MNs allowed to further increase the number of annotated metabolites.

Efficiency of RAPD, ISSR, iPBS, SCoT and phytochemical markers in the genetic relationship study of five native and economical important bamboos of North-East India

10 primers each of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSR), inter primer binding site (iPBS) and start codon targeted (SCoT) were used to analyze genetic polymorphism and relationship between 50 genotypes of 5 economical important native bamboos (Bambusa cacharensis, B. mizorameana, Dendrocalamus manipureanus, D. hamiltonii and D. sikkimensis) of North-East India. The 40 different primers generated 111, 115, 116 and 138 polymorphic bands for RAPD, ISSR, iPBS and SCoT markers respectively. The comparative analysis of 4 marker systems based on polymorphic information content (PIC), effective multiplex ratio (EMR) and marker index (MI) values showed SCoT to be more informative with higher discriminating power than the other three markers. The correlation value (r) as determined by the Mantel test ranged from 0.60 (SCoT and RAPD) to 0.83 (iPBS and ISSR) indicating a high positive correlation between the markers. The close correspondence between the genetic matrices of RAPD, ISSR, iPBS and SCoT markers revealed the effectiveness of each marker system in determining the genetic relationship between bamboos. UPGMA (Unweighted Pair Group Arithmetic Mean Method) dendrograms generated from DNA marker analysis demonstrated species-specific clustering of different bamboo genotypes. Except for RAPD, the dendrograms of ISSR, iPBS and SCoT markers also showed a close association of bamboo genotypes based on geographical origin. Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) revealed the distribution of different bamboo genotypes in accordance with the cluster analysis. The cluster grouping based on phytochemical study not only discriminated the different bamboo species but also illustrated a location-specific grouping of the genotypes. The bamboo clustering pattern derived from phytochemical analysis matched closely with the dendrograms generated by the DNA markers. The present investigation established the possibility of using a combined molecular and phytochemical marker approach to determine the genetic relationship between 5 native bamboos of North-East India with high precision.

Pharmacognostic Evaluation of Bitter Melon from Brazilian Northeast (Momordica charantia L.): Identification of Momordicin II

Objectives: To perform a pharmacognostic evaluation of bitter melon from Brazilian northeast (Momordica charantia L.) Methods: The botanical materials used consisted of leaves of Momordica charantia L., microcarpa and macrocarpa varieties collected in the period of flowering and fruiting. For the collection of the leaves was used pruning shears and for herborization were followed the usual procedures in this type of collection. The studies were carried out with the fresh leaves of these two varieties of Momordica charantia L to do the macro and micro morphological analysis. Results: the micro morphological analysis showed that the main differential parameter is that in the macrocarpa variety the trichomes are less frequent and are of the short multicellular type with 3 to 5 cells, whereas the microcarpa variety the trichomes are of the long multicellular type with 7 to 11 cells. The phytochemical approach has shown that the two varieties have in common alkaloids, steroids, triterpenoids, flavonoids, saponins, phenolic compounds, condensed tannins and flavonoids. Conclusion: Momordicin II (C36H58O9) was isolated and identified in the microcarpa variety by means of 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR and 2D structure similar to that found in the variety of Asian origin. Key words: Momordica charantia, Pharmacognostic, Momordicin II Natural Products, Pharmacognosy.

The use of jarilla native plants in a Diaguita-Calchaquí indigenous community from northwestern Argentina: An ethnobotanical, phytochemical and biological approach.

In northwestern Argentina inhabit several ancient indigenous communities with diverse cultural and historical background. Geographical isolation has contributed to the prevalence of a native plant-based folk medicine; "jarilla" species are medicinal plants widely used in local communities for the treatment of mycosis, respiratory, gastrointestinal and rheumatic disorders. To assemble the traditional knowledge acquired through years with scientific data concerning to phytochemistry, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential of three "jarillas" species. Ethnobotanical data of three "jarillas", Zuccagnia punctata (Zp), Larrea cuneifolia (Lc), and Larrea divaricata (Ld), were explored by interviewing native people from Indigenous Community of Amaicha del Valle, Tucumán. Phenolic profiles from each infusion were analyzed by HPLC-ESI-MS/MS. Antioxidant activity was determined by superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide scavenging capacity, lipoperoxidation inhibition, and ferrous iron chelating activity. It was also assessed their ability to inhibit pro-inflammatory enzymes, such as xanthine oxidase, lipoxygenase, and hyaluronidase. Ethnobotanical interviews showed that local people use "jarillas" mainly as infusions and baths. It was reported different categories of uses, such as medicinal (10 curative applications), to religious purposes, tinctorial, as construction material and as fuel. From infusions prepared, the MS and MS/MS data allowed the identification of 27 compounds from Z. punctata, and 11 from both Larrea sp. The infusions showed an important antioxidant activity through different mechanisms, highlighting Zp and Lc in free radical scavenging capacity and Ld on lipid peroxidation inhibition and iron binding. They were also capable of inhibit xanthine oxidase and lipoxygenase enzymes, being Lc the most active one. This research work provides novel information concerning to several categories of traditional uses of "jarilla" species in a Diaguita-Calchaquí community and focus attention to infusions from a phytochemical and biological approach.

Caracterização fitoquímica da polpa e amêndoa de Caryocar brasiliense Cambess

Caryocar brasiliense, pequizeiro, is one of the most important plant species of the cerrado. In traditional medicine, its fruits, commonly called pequi, are used as toning, aphrodisiac and antitumor. Phytochemical research in plants investigates the presence of chemical constituents with the possibility of biological and therapeutic potential. The present work has as objective to realize phytochemical approach in almond and pulp of Caryocar brasiliense Cambess. The almond and the pulp were obtained from the fruit commercially purchased in the market of Montes Claros - MG, crushed in blender, submitted to oven drying at 50°C. Afterwards, they were submitted to the phytochemical approach to identify alkaloids, anthraquinone glycosides, flavonoids, saponins and tannins. The results of the tests were positive for alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, tannins and negative for the presence of anthraquinone glycosides. The presence of compounds verified in this phytochemical approach suggests other studies to evaluate the biological activities of extracts and fractions from the almond and pulp of Caryocar brasiliense Cambess that may contribute to the identification of active principles with therapeutic potential.