Trends in Phytochemical Research
Volume:7 Issue: 4, Autumn 2023

Essential oils (EOs) are concentrated liquids extracted from various parts of plants and can be classified based on their phytochemical compounds. Terpenes and terpenoids have a wide range of biological activities, including anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and antiallergic properties. Terpenes are plant-based compounds commonly used in the pharmaceutical, food, biofuel, and chemical industries by humans. In synthetic biology, genomic resources and emerging tools facilitate the production of high-quality terpenoids in plants and microbes. Terpenoids, however, are difficult to produce in large quantities due to their complex chemical structures and the limited amounts found in plants. The regulation of terpenoid biosynthesis has gradually emerged as a research priority. This review presents an overview of the biological activities, synthesis pathways, and key enzymes involved in the biosynthetic pathways and regulation of terpenes or terpenoids. This review will also include references for further research on molecular regulation, biological advancements, and increasing the content of terpenes or terpenoids in plants.

Echinops macrophyllus Boiss & Hausskn, also known as “Shekartighal kohgiluyeh” in Persian, is a prickly perennial herbaceous plant. Various species within the genus Echinops have traditionally been used as remedies for severe coughs, nervous attacks, and infectious diseases. This study aimed to isolate and elucidate the structures of the compounds found in the aerial parts of E. macrophyllus. The ethyl acetate extract from the aerial parts of the plant was fractionated using column chromatography. The structures of the isolated compounds were characterized using 1H NMR, 13C NMR, 1H-1H COSY, HSQC-DEPT, HMBC and NOESY techniques. Phytochemical analysis of the plant resulted in the isolation of six compounds (1-6), including one triterpenoid (α-amyrin) (4), three sterols involving 3-O-[β-D-(6’-tetradecanoate)-glucopyranosyl]-β-sitosterol (6), β-sitosterol (3), and daucosterol (5) as well as two phenolic compounds, namely p-hydroxybenzoic acid (1) and ethyl-2-hydroxy-trans-cinamate (2), from this species for the first time. It is noteworthy that these compounds have previously been reported to exhibit various biological activities.

Morphine is a drug that can lead to addiction because of its rewarding effects. The present study investigated the effects of a hydro-ethanolic extract of Echinophora platyloba L. (Apiaceae) on the rewarding effects of morphine. The rewarding effects of morphine and the plant extract were evaluated using a conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm in mice. Additionally, the effects of administering the plant extract on the expression and acquisition of morphine CPP were investigated. Finally, the role of opioid receptors in the CPP of the plant extract was determined. Both morphine and the extract induced a significant CPP. Furthermore, naloxone could inhibit the CPP of the plant extract. The plant extract had no effect on the expression of morphine CPP, but it significantly inhibited the acquisition of morphine CPP. Consequently, the extract of E. platyloba L. has rewarding effects, which may be mediated through opioid receptors. The extract can also inhibit the acquisition of morphine CPP.

Garlic has been well recognized as a nutrient-rich food and conventional remedy in history. One of the key effective components of garlic is its polyphenols, which exhibit various bioactivities, including anti-cancerous, immune enhancing, and antioxidant properties. Garlic polyphenols consist of flavonoids, such as quercetin, kaempferol, and apigenin, and phenolic acids, including caffeic acid, ferulic acid, and gallic acid. Given its significant marketing potential and development prospects, garlic polyphenols have garnered substantial interest from researchers worldwide. This review is directed to provide comprehensive and up-to-date information on the extraction, identification, structural characteristics, and bioactivities of garlic polyphenols. Further, it presented compelling evidence to use polyphenols as medicinal foods.

Ethno-pharmacological surveys previously revealed that Hypoestes forskalei (Vahl) Sol. Roemer & Schl.(Acanthaceae), a local medicinal plant, is one of the most widely used herbs in traditional malaria therapy by the Marakwet and Kisii communities in Kenya. This study was aimed at validating the indigenous medicinal knowledge claims on the efficacy of H. forskalei and its safety as a traditional anti-malarial drug. It involved the sequential solvent extraction of plant material, bioassay-guided separation and isolation of components, identification of anti-plasmodial principles of H. forskalei and determination of their cytotoxicity and selectivity. From the roots of H. forskalei, (3, 4a, 7, 7,10a-pentamethyl-1, 3-vinyl-dodecahydro-benzo[f]chromene (1) and (3,4a,7,7,10a-pentamethyl-3-vinyl-dodecahydrobenzo[f]chromen-8-ol (2) with moderate and mild anti-plasmodial activity at IC50 2.39±0.0 µg/mL (7.81 µM) and 4.34±0.03 µg/mL or 15.0 µM), respectively, were isolated plus the inactive kaur-16-en-19-oic acid (IC50 19.75±0.11 µg/mL or 65.40 µM) against Plasmodium falciparum D6 (CQ-sensitive) strain.

In this report, the volatile profiles from the flowers, leaves, stems and roots of Allium tripedale Trautv. have been characterized using headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Accordingly, high quantities of non-terpene hydrocarbons have been identified as the major constituting groups of all the relevant chemical profiles. The impact of the experimental variables has also been optimized using Design-Expert software. In addition, antioxidant and antibacterial properties of the methanol extract of the plant material have been determined. The results of this study revealed that this plant can be considered a potent antioxidant and antibacterial agent, serving as an alternative to chemical drugs.

Medicinal plants are a rich source of secondary metabolite. In the present research, the dried aerial parts of Dracocephalum kotschyi Boiss were extracted by digestion method. Copper nanoparticles were synthesized from the combination of the extract with copper chloride solution at a ratio of 1:4. The characteristics of copper nanoparticles by ultraviolet-visible spectrometry (UV-Vis), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X- ray spectroscopy (EDS), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) were analyzed. The SEM analysis predicted the size of copper nanoparticles to be 63.28 nm. The EDS spectrum confirmed the presence of copper nanoparticles. BET analysis predicted mesoporous structure of copper nanoparticles. Thirty-three (31) compounds in the essential oil of plant identified, which constituted 99.7% of the essential oil and 8 major compounds were perillaacetate (49.0 %), 2-methyl-1-octen-3-yne (17.2%), D-limonene (15.0%), 1,8-cineole (5.2%), trans-alpha-ocimene (2.4%), p-mentha-1(7),8(10)-dien-9-ol (1.1%), sabinene (1.4%) and 4-terpineol (1.5%).