Journal of Medicinal Plants
Volume:21 Issue: 83, Sep 2022

According to the reverse pharmacological method, traditional medicine has a good source of information for discovering new drug candidates. Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is the most common cause of endocrine disorder and infertility among women of reproductive age. This syndrome is commonly treated by oral contraceptive pills; however, it could be associated with side effects.

The purpose of this study was to identify and prioritize medicinal plants proposed by Persian medicine (PM) for the treatment of PCOS.

The first step was to find out the most relevant keywords to the symptoms of PCOS among five authentic PM manuscripts because there was no medical term called PCOS in PM texts. According to those keywords, all materia medicas that was described in the selected books were recorded. Each materia medica received scores based on specific criteria.  The scores were used to prioritize medicaments.

Ferula assa-foetida L., Tanacetum parthenium L., Lycium barbarum, Cymbopogon schoenanthus L., Lepidium sativum L. and Marrubium vulgare were six top materia medica identified in this study.

Identification of closely related terminology for PCOS in traditional medical texts and prioritization of herbal remedies could be a sound approach to discover new drugs. Accordingly, Ferula assa-foetida L. with the highest score was considered the best candidate for the treatment of PCOS in PM.

Different parts of plants are rich sources of bioactive ingredients and have received much attention during recent decades.

The aim of this study was to assess the antibacterial properties of five common allergenic pollens extracts.

The aqueous and lipid extracts were prepared from allergenic plant pollens including Amaranthus retroflexus, Chenopodium album, Artemisia vulgaris, Cupressus arizonica, and Ailanthus altissima. Antibacterial activity of the extracts was determined using the broth microdilution method against ATCC bacteria strains.

Total protein content of aqueous extracts was form 453 to 2772 μg/ml, but for all lipid extracts it was less than 0.2 μg/ml. Aqueous pollen extracts of C. album, C. arizonica and A. altissima (MIC between 38.8 to 562 μg/ml), and the lipid pollen extracts of C. album, C. arizonica, A. altissima, A. retroflexus, and A. vulgaris (MIC between 0.89 to 21.9 μg/ml) had a significant antibacterial activity on E. faecalis. Moreover, the aqueous pollen extract of A. altissima (MIC = 8.7 μg/ml), and the lipid pollen extracts of C. arizonica, A. altissima, A. retroflexus, and A. vulgaris (MIC between 1.78 to 21.9 μg/ml) showed a significant antibacterial activity against S. aureus. The only extract with antibacterial effect on K. pneumoniae was the lipid pollen extract of A. vulgaris (MIC value of 3.72 μg/ml).

The results of this study showed the significant antibacterial activity of some plants pollen extracts. More studies are needed to further assess the active compounds in the pollen extracts and their cytotoxic effects.

Falcaria vulgaris and Echinophora platyloba, two members of Apiaceae family, are native flora of Iran and have numerous ethnobotanical applications.

The present study focuses on the chemical composition of the essential oils and the evaluation of the antioxidant capacity of F. vulgaris and E. platyloba growing in Hamadan province.

Hydrodistillated essential oil from aerial parts of F. vulgaris and E. platyloba were obtained using clevenger apparatus. The chemical composition of the essential oils was determined using GC-MS analysis. Methanol extracts from aerial parts and seeds of F. vulgaris and E. platyloba were obtained by Soxhlet extractor. The antioxidant properties of the extracts were determined through use of several antioxidant assays (DPPH, FRAP, β-carotene-linoleic acid and iron-chelating test).

GC-MS analysis revealed that the major components of F. vulgaris essential oil were spathulenol, and palmitic acid. The main components of E. platyloba were γ-decalactone and (E)-sesquilavandulol. The extract from aerial parts of F. vulgaris consistently exhibited more antioxidative power than the rest of the extracts, followed by the extracts from aerial parts of E. platyloba. The results of DPPH, FRAP and β-carotene-linoleic tests were well correlated with each other, but they were somewhat different from the results of the iron-chelating test.

The results of this research showed that F. vulgaris and E. platyloba contain significant antioxidant properties; therefore, their use in food and pharmaceutical industries as preservatives will be fruitful.

Cancer development is a multi-stage process in which apoptosis plays an important role. Apoptotic agents from natural products like phenolic compounds can be used effectively in the treatment of cancer. Berberis vulgaris L. fruits are a rich source of natural phenolic compounds and have been evaluated for their apoptotic effects.

this study was carried out to evaluate the apoptotic effect of B. vulgaris fruits in normal and cancerous cells by investigating p53, Bax, and Bcl-2 genes expression and identifying an active compound.

B. vulgaris fruits were extracted with ethanol using maceration method. To yield an active compound, the extract was divided into fractions and subfractions that could be evaluated using chromatography techniques, and the purified compound structure was determined by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The cytotoxic activity of the selected fraction against 3T3 and MCF-7 cell lines along with its effect on the mRNA apoptosis regulating genes like p53, Bax, and Bcl-2 were investigated subsequently.

Results showed that B. vulgaris extract increased the mRNA level of p53 and Bax and decreased Bcl-2 mRNA level in cancer cell lines. The structure of the purified compound was determined as the 3-caffeoylquinic acid (chlorogenic acid).

B. vulgaris fruit has in vitro antineoplastic activity by stimulating cellular apoptosis via increasing the levels of p53 and Bax proteins and decreasing Bcl-2 and comprises chlorogenic acid as one of its phenolic phytochemicals.

The cyanobacteria isolated and purified from soil can increase plant growth and productivity as bioelicitors.

This study aimed was to investigate the effect of cyanobacteria as a bioelicitor on the production efficiency and essential oil composition of Mentha longifolia L.

Two species of heterocystous cyanobacteria, Anabaena vaginicola ISB42 and Nostoc spongiaeforme ISB65, were used as bioelicitors to optimize the growth and productivity of Mentha longifolia L. Five pots were considered for each treatment and five others for the control plants. Treatment lasted for 100 days, and the treated plants were irrigated with 200 ml of cyanobacterial suspensions (0.2 %) every 21 days intervals. The experiment was performed in a randomized complete block design in an experimental greenhouse condition. After inoculation of treated plants with cyanobacterial bioelicitors, the vegetative factors, including shoot and root length, leaf area, as well as fresh and dry weight of plants were evaluated. In addition to growth factors, analyses of essential oils in studied plants were performed.

The results showed significant improvement in vegetative growth indices of the treated plants. Also, some economic and medicinal metabolites such as menthol, eucalyptol and phytol were increased in the essential oil of treated plants. The results also showed a significant increase in sesquiterpene hydrocarbons and oxygenated diterpenes in plants treated with cyanobacteria compared to controls.

So, the use of cyanobacterial bioelicitors can be suitable to increase the yield as well as the economic and medicinal value of this medicinal plant.

Punica granatum L. peel is a rich source of phenolic compounds such as punicalagin and ellagic acid that represent a major part of the fruit and many fruit by-products in Asian countries, mainly Iran.

The purpose of this study is to design a value-added pomegranate peel product.

For this purpose, a safe and environmentally friendly method of resin column chromatography was used to enrich the hydroalcoholic extract of pomegranate peel with punicalagin. The enrichment conditions were optimized in terms of column condition and the amount of extract used. The results were monitored and confirmed by HPLC-PDA. In order to improve the physicochemical properties of the enriched extract, the obtained extract was loaded onto nano-phytosome by thin-film hydration method. FT-IR confirmed the nano-phytosome structure.

The resin column was optimized at a 3:1 resin-to-extract ratio in an optimum contact time duration of 30 minutes (80.50 %) and a 2.63-fold increase in the phenolic compounds compared to the crude extract. The results indicated that encapsulation efficiency was equal to 58 %, the particle size was equal to 154.0 to 216.5 nm, and one-year stability was achieved with an optimal polydispersity index of 0.215-0.287 in terms of particle size.

The enrichment of the crude extract before formulation and fabrication polyphenol enriched extract is a promising strategy to transform of pomegranate peel into a valuable product.

Flavonoids, a group of natural substances, are found in flowers, fruits, roots and stems. These natural products are well known for their health-beneficial effects. Hence, isolation and purifying of flavonoids from the ingredients is worthwhile. Flavonoids are now considered indispensable in various nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, medicinal and cosmetic applications. Apigenin, quercetin, and apigenin-7-O-glycoside have therapeutic properties that these two are in the flavonoid group.

In this study, apigenin, quercetin, and apigenin 7-O-glycoside were purified by column chromatography and identified by NMR and HPLC UV-visible techniques.

Total extracts of three plants (Apium graveolens, Petroselinum crispum, Allium cepa) were divided into different solvent fractions. Column chromatography is used to purify these fractions. Finally, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and mass spectrometry techniques were used for identification. Also, the HPLC technique was used for identifying these compounds and standardized.

In the present work, apigenin was extracted from ethyl acetate fraction of Apium graveolens seeds. High purity of apigenin 7-O-glycoside isolated from the butanol fraction of Petroselinum crispum aerial parts. Also, ethyl acetate fraction isolated quercetin from the Allium cepa. Identification of the data obtained from 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR, which were proofed by comparison with the sources of purified compounds.

The methods used in this research were able to produce these three compounds with a high percentage of purity to be used in industry as standards.

Capparis spinosa L. due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties plays a key role in preventing and treatment of cancer, also reduces the growth rate of cancer cells. This plant can be used in various ways in medicinal compounds, food, etc. as an extract, oil, or essential oil.

In the current study, the rate of antioxidant activity extracts and oils (cold press and n-hexane oils) of Capparis seeds and also the effect of the seeds on the SH-SY5Y cell line have been investigated.

First, extract, cold press, and n-hexane oils were prepared; then all reached concentrations of 50, 100, and 200 mg/ml, and their antioxidant capacity was evaluated by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method. After that, the number of antioxidant compounds in the extract was measured, and finally, the toxicity of the extracts was evaluated by the (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) method on SH-SY5Y cancer cells.

The IC50 data showed that the antioxidant activity of the Capparis seeds extracts was significantly (P < 0.001) increased compared to cold press and n-hexane. Antioxidant compounds analysis of Capparis seeds extract indicated high rate of total phenolic, flavonoid as rutin, and quercetin. MTT assay demonstrates that Capparis seeds extracts in a concentration of 1000 μg/ml decreased the viability of the SH-SY5Y cancer cell lines in comparison with hacked cells (P < 0.001).

The seed extract of Capparis seeds at high concentrations, probably due to its high antioxidant content, inhibits the growth of SH-SY5Y cancer cells.