Phytochemical constituents and ethnopharmacological properties of Ageratum conyzoides L

Ageratum conyzoides Extract Ameliorates Testosterone-Induced Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia via Inhibiting Proliferation, Inflammation of Prostates, and Induction of Apoptosis in Rats

Ageratum conyzoides, an annual herbaceous plant that inhabits tropical and subtropical regions, has been traditionally used in Asia, Africa, and South America for phytotherapy to treat infectious and inflammatory conditions. However, the pharmacological effects of standardized ethanolic extract of Ageratum conyzoides (ACE) on benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) remain unexplored. The objective of this research is to examine the potential physiological impacts of ACE, a traditionally utilized remedy for inflammatory ailments, in a rat model with BPH induced by testosterone propionate (TP). Rats were subcutaneously administered TP (3 mg/kg) to induce BPH and concurrently orally administered ACE (20, 50, and 100 mg/kg) daily for 42 days. ACE markedly improved BPH characteristics, including prostate weight, prostate index, and epithelial thickness, while also suppressing androgens and related hormones. The findings were supported by a decrease in androgen receptor and downstream signals associated with BPH in the prostate tissues of the ACE groups. Furthermore, increased apoptotic signals were observed in the prostate tissue of the ACE groups, along with heightened detection of the apoptotic nucleus compared to the BPH alone group. These changes seen in the group that received finasteride were similar to those observed in this group. These findings suggest that ACE shows promise as an alternative phytotherapeutic agent for treating BPH.

Ecology, Biology, Environmental Impacts, and Management of an Agro-Environmental Weed Ageratum conyzoides

Ageratum conyzoides L. (Billy goat weed; Asteraceae) is an annual herbaceous plant of American origin with a pantropical distribution. The plant has unique biological attributes and a raft of miscellaneous chemical compounds that render it a pharmacologically important herb. Despite its high medicinal value, the constant spread of the weed is noticeable and alarming. In many countries, the weed has severely invaded the natural, urban, and agroecosystems, thus presenting management challenges to natural resource professionals and farmers. Its interference with agricultural crops, grassland forbs, forest ground flora, and its ability to replace native plant species are of serious concern. Therefore, it is pertinent to monitor its continuous spread, its entry into new geographic regions, the extent of its impact, and the associated evolutionary changes. While management strategies should be improvised to control its spread and reduce its adverse impacts, the possible utilization of this noxious weed for pharmacological and agronomic purposes should also be explored. The objective of this review is to provide a detailed account of the global distribution, biological activities, ecological and environmental impacts, and strategies for the management of the agro-environmental weed A. conyzoides.

The aqueous extracts of Ageratum conyzoides inhibit inflammation by suppressing NLRP3 inflammasome activation

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Ageratum conyzoides L. (Asteraceae), a well-known and widely distributed traditional tropical medicinal herb, has been used to treat diverse diseases. Our preliminary research has shown that aqueous extracts of A. conyzoides leaf (EAC) have anti-inflammatory activity. However, the detailed underlying anti-inflammatory mechanism of EAC is still unclear.

AIM OF THE STUDY

To determine the anti-inflammatory mechanism of action of EAC.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The major constituents of EAC were identified by ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) combined with quadrupole-time-of-flight mass/mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS). LPS and ATP were used to activate the NLRP3 inflammasome in two types of macrophages (RAW 264.7 and THP-1 cells). The cytotoxicity of EAC was measured by the CCK8 assay. The levels of inflammatory cytokines and NLRP3 inflammasome-related proteins were detected by ELISA and western blotting (WB), respectively. The oligomerization of NLRP3 and ASC and the resulting inflammasome complex formation were observed by immunofluorescence. The intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) level was measured by flow cytometry. Finally, an MSU-induced peritonitis model was established to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effects of EAC in vivo.

RESULTS

Twenty constituents were identified in the EAC. Kaempferol 3,7-diglucoside, 1,3,5-tricaffeoylquinic acid, and kaempferol 3,7,4'-triglucoside were found to be the most potent ingredients. EAC significantly reduced the levels of IL-1β, IL-18, TNF-α, and caspase-1 in the two types of activated macrophages, implying that EAC can inhibit the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. A mechanistic study revealed that EAC inhibited NLRP3 inflammasome activation by blocking NF-κB signalling pathway activation and scavenging the level of intracellular ROS to prevent NLRP3 inflammasome assembly in macrophages. Furthermore, EAC attenuated the in vivo expression of inflammatory cytokines by suppressing NLRP3 inflammasome activation in a peritonitis mouse model.

CONCLUSION

Our results demonstrated that EAC inhibited inflammation by suppressing NLRP3 inflammasome activation, highlighting that this traditional herbal medicine might be used to treat NLRP3 inflammasome-driven inflammatory diseases.

Essential oil Ageratum conyzoides chemotypes and anti-tick activities

Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus represents a significant obstacle to animal productivity in tropical and subtropical areas, leading to considerable economic losses for the dairy and meat production industries. Essential oils (EO) extracted from Ageratum conyzoides are known to cause death and induce morphogenetic abnormalities in several insect species. This plant, however, presents morphological flower variations, which range from white to purple, associated to different chemotypes. In this context, this study aimed to conduct a novel assessment on the effects of EO extracted from two A. conyzoides chemotypes in the control of the bovine tick R. microplus. The primary constituents of the oil obtained from white flower samples (WFs) were precocene I (80.4 %) and (E)-caryophyllene (14.8 %), while purple flower oil samples (PFs) contained predominantly β-acoradiene (12.9 %), γ-amorphene (12.3 %), α-pinene (9.9 %), bicyclogermacrene (8.9 %), α-santalene (8.7 %), and andro encecalinol (5.6 %). Interestingly, only the EO chemotype from A. conyzoides PFs displayed acaricidal activity towards R. microplus larvae, with an LC₅₀ of 1.49 mg/mL.

Computational study of physicochemical, optical, and thermodynamic properties of 2,2-dimethylchromene derivatives

CONTEXT

A large number of heterocyclic compounds are used as drugs, mainly due to the duality of lipophilicity playing in hydrophobic interactions and solubility with at least one hydrogen bond acceptor. The study of electronic properties is then important to better understand not only these charge distribution effects but also some other physicochemical properties involved in bioactivity to directly assess the bioavailability of these compounds and a possible classification in related applications. Phytomolecules such as chromenes are very accessible molecules exhibiting a bioactivity. Our study is focused on the impact of a number of functional groups acting on some 2,2-dimethylchromene derivatives, namely their global reactivity from the frontier molecular orbitals and local reactivity from the Fukui functions, where the carbonyl group acting as an electron withdrawal group has the most relevant effect, the solubility from the partition coefficient Log P strongly depending on the charge distribution and electronegative sites, the optical effects from the delocalization in the vinyl group, as well as the evaluation of the entropy associated with the molecular flexibility also acting on the bioactivity. Despite the effects of the wave function or density methods on the order of magnitude of these properties, these compounds are consistent with the rules for a potential oral drug candidate.

METHODS

The calculations of the electronic properties were performed through two levels of theory: Hartree-Fock level as a wave function-based method as an ab initio reference including some physically consistent eigenvalues and density functional theory DFT as a correlation consistent method using different functionals: hybrid or with a long-range correction. The basis set used is a 6-311++G(d,p) Pople basis set including diffuse and polarization basis functions. The basis set is adapted to the size of the molecules and consequently to the degree of electronic localization. Gaussian 09 software was used for the computation.

Green Biosynthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Aqueous Extracts of Ageratum Conyzoides and Their Anti-Inflammatory Effects

The NLRP3 inflammasome, which plays a central role in innate immunity, is linked to a variety of inflammatory diseases, and thus it may provide a new target for the treatment of those diseases. Biosynthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), particularly those synthesized using medicinal plant extracts, have recently been shown to be a promising therapeutic option. Herein, the aqueous extract of Ageratum conyzoids was used to prepare a series of sized AgNPs (AC-AgNPs), in which the smallest mean particle size was 30 ± 1.3 nm with a polydispersity of 0.328 ± 0.009. The ζ potential value was -28.77 with a mobility of -1.95 ± 0.24 cm2/(v·s). Its main ingredient, elemental silver, accounted for about 32.71 ± 4.87% of its mass, and other ingredients included amentoflavone-7,7⁗-dimethyl ether, 1,3,5-tricaffeoylquinic acid, kaempferol 3,7,4'-triglucoside, 5,6,7,3',4',5'-hexamethoxyflavone, kaempferol, and ageconyflavone B. In LPS+ATP-stimulated RAW 264.7 and THP-1 cells, AC-AgNPs significantly inhibited the release of IL-1β, IL-18, TNF-α, and caspase-1, indicating that AC-AgNPs can inhibit the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. The mechanistic study revealed that AC-AgNPs could decrease the phosphorylation levels of IκB-α and p65, resulting in decreased expression of NLRP3 inflammasome-related proteins, including pro-IL-1β, IL-1β, procaspase 1, caspase 1P20, NLRP3, and ASC, and also scavenge the level of intracellular ROS to prevent NLRP3 inflammasome assembly. Furthermore, AC-AgNPs attenuated the in vivo expression of inflammatory cytokines by suppressing NLRP3 inflammasome activation in a peritonitis mouse model. Our study provides evidence that the as-prepared AC-AgNPs can inhibit the inflammatory process by suppressing NLRP3 inflammasome activation and might be used to treat NLRP3 inflammasome-driven inflammatory diseases.

The Synthesis, Fungicidal Activity, and in Silico Study of Alkoxy Analogues of Natural Precocenes I, II, and III

This study aimed to synthesize, characterize, and explore the eco-friendly and antifungal potential of precocenes and their derivatives. The organic synthesis of the mono-O-alkyl-2,2-dimethyl 2H-1-chromene series, including the natural product precocene I, and the di-O-alkyl 2,2-dimethyl-2H-1-chromene series, including the natural 2H-1-chromenes precocenes II and III, was achieved. The synthetic compounds were subjected to spectroscopic analysis, 1HNMR,13CNMR, and mass characterization. The antifungal activity of synthesized precocenes I, II, and III, as well as their synthetic intermediates, was evaluated by the poison food technique. Precocene II (EC50 106.8 µg × mL−1 and 4.94 µg mL−1), and its regioisomers 7a (EC50 97.18 µg × mL−1 and 35.30 µg × mL−1) and 7d (EC50 170.58 × µg mL−1), exhibited strong fungitoxic activity against Aspergillus niger and Rhizoctonia solani. Some of the novel chromenes, 11a and 11b, which had never been evaluated before, yielded stronger fungitoxic effects. Finally, docking simulations for compounds with promising fungitoxic activity were subjected to structure–activity relationship analyses against the polygalactouronases and voltage-dependent anion channels. Conclusively, precocenes and their regioisomers demonstrated promising fungitoxic activity; such compounds can be subjected to minor structural modifications to yield promising and novel fungicides.

Ethnomedicinal Use, Phytochemistry, and Other Potential Application of Aquatic and Semiaquatic Medicinal Plants

Medicinal plants have been treating various ailments and diseases since ancient times. Aquatic and semiaquatic medicinal plants play an essential role in human welfare to fulfill their daily needs. They have shown biological, pharmacological, nutraceutical, and commercial applications. This review aims to collect and update all recent information on ethnomedicinal, phytochemistry, pharmacological activities, and nanoparticle synthesis and their uses in aquatic and semiaquatic medicinal plants. Original research papers, review papers, short communications, and book chapters on aquatic and semiaquatic plants have been retrieved from PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Keywords, ethnomedicinal studies, phytochemistry, pharmacological activities, and nanoparticle synthesis from aquatic and semiaquatic medicinal plants are used for the search. Different aquatic and semiaquatic medicinal plants belonging to the families Acanthaceae, Alismataceae, Amaranthaceae, Apiaceae, Araceae, Asteraceae, Boraginaceae, Ceratophyllaceae, Cyperaceae, Fabaceae, Hydrocharitaceae, Lythraceae, Marsileaceae, Menyanthaceae, Nelumbonaceae, Nymphaeaceae, Onagraceae, Plantaginaceae, Poaceae, Polygonaceae, Pontederiaceae, Primulaceae, Scrophulariaceae, and Zingiberaceae have been studied. They are rich in alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, phenolics, saponins, tannins, dietary fiber, glycosidic derivatives, carbohydrates, and proteins. These phytochemicals have been used for their antimicrobial, antioxidant, hepatoprotective, sedative, anticonvulsant, cytotoxic, antiparasitic, and antidiabetic activities. Besides this, various parts of the plants are used as dietary supplements and green nanoparticle synthesis. These plants are also known for their commercial value and are used as an ingredient in some pharmaceutical industries.

Design and synthesis of novel 2,2-dimethylchromene derivatives as potential antifungal agents

In order to find novel environment-friendly and effective antifungal agents, four series of 2,2-dimethyl-2H-chromene derivatives were designed, synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic analysis. The antifungal activities of all the target compounds against nine phytopathogenic fungi were evaluated in vitro. Preliminary results indicated that most of the target compounds exhibited obvious antifungal activity at the concentration of 50 μg/mL. Among them, compound 4j displayed more promising antifungal potency against Fusarium solani, Pyricularia oryzae, Alternaria brassicae, Valsa mali and Alternaria alternata strains than the two commercially available fungicides chlorothalonil and hymexazol, with the corresponding EC₅₀ values of 6.3, 7.7, 7.1, 7.5, 4.0 μg/mL, respectively. Moreover, the cell experiments results suggested that the target compounds had low cytotoxicity to the PC12 cell. This research will provide theoretical basis for the future application of 2,2-dimethyl-2H-chromenes as botanical fungicides in agriculture. Four series of novel, potent and low-toxicity 2,2-dimethyl-2H-chromene derivatives were designed and synthesized as agricultural antifungal agents. The in vitro antifungal experiments showed that compound 4j exhibited higher antifungal efficacy against five strains than the two commercially-available fungicides chlorothalonil and hymexazol.

Toxic Potential of Cerrado Plants on Different Organisms

Cerrado has many compounds that have been used as biopesticides, herbicides, medicines, and others due to their highly toxic potential. Thus, this review aims to present information about the toxicity of Cerrado plants. For this purpose, a review was performed using PubMed, Science Direct, and Web Of Science databases. After applying exclusion criteria, 187 articles published in the last 20 years were selected and analyzed. Detailed information about the extract preparation, part of the plant used, dose/concentration tested, model system, and employed assay was provided for different toxic activities described in the literature, namely cytotoxic, genotoxic, mutagenic, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, insecticidal, antiparasitic, and molluscicidal activities. In addition, the steps to execute research on plant toxicity and the more common methods employed were discussed. This review synthesized and organized the available research on the toxic effects of Cerrado plants, which could contribute to the future design of new environmentally safe products.

Turning Waste into Beneficial Resource: Implication of Ageratum conyzoides L. in Sustainable Agriculture, Environment and Biopharma Sectors

The annual herb, Ageratum conyzoides L. (Asteraceae), is distributed throughout the world. Although invasive, it can be very useful as a source of essential oils, pharmaceuticals, biopesticides, and bioenergy. However, very limited information exists on the molecular basis of its different utility as previous investigations were mainly focused on phytochemical/biological activity profiling. Here we have explored various properties of A. conyzoides that may offer environmental, ecological, agricultural, and health benefits. As this aromatic plant harbors many important secondary metabolites that may have various implications, biotechnological interventions such as genomics, metabolomics and tissue-culture can be indispensable tools for their mass-production. Further, A. conyzoides acts as a natural reservoir of begomoviruses affecting a wide range of plant species. As the mechanisms of disease spreading and crop infection are not fully clear, whole-genome sequencing and various advanced molecular technologies including RNAi, CRISPER/Cas9, multi-omics approaches, etc., may aid to decipher the molecular mechanism of such disease development and thus, can be useful in crop protection. Overall, improved knowledge of A. conyzoides is not only essential for developing sustainable weed control strategy but can also offer potential ways for biomedicinal, environment, safe and clean agriculture applications.

Potential SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro inhibitors from chromene, flavonoid and hydroxamic acid compound based on FRET assay, docking and pharmacophore studies

This present study reports some natural products and one hydroxamic acid synthetic compound which were previously reported as matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) inhibitors to be evaluated for their inhibition toward severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (3CLpro). This enzyme is one of the proteins responsible for this coronaviral replication. Two herbal methanolic extracts i.e., Averrhoa carambola leaves and Ageratum conyzoides aerial part demonstrate >50% inhibition at 1000 µg/mL. Interestingly, apigenin, one of flavonoids, demonstrates 92% inhibition at 250 µg/mL (925 µM) as well as hydroxamic acid compound, N-isobutyl-N-(4-methoxyphenylsulfonyl)glycyl hydroxamic acid (NNGH), which shows 69% inhibition at 100 µM. The in vitro results are supported by the docking studies revealing that the binding mode of both compounds is mainly by interacting with GLU166 residue in the hydrophobic pocket of the 3CLpro. Pharmacophore mapping further supported the results by confirming that the in vitro activities of both compounds are due to their pharmacophore features employing hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA), hydrogen bond donor (HBD) and hydrophobic. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis reported chromene compounds in Ageratum conyzoides aerial part methanolic extract are potential to be this enzyme inhibitor candidate. These all results reflect their potencies to be SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors through 3CLpro inhibition mechanism.

Economically Feasible Wood Biopreservation Platform in Lannea coromandelica (Houtt.) Merr. Against Wood Rotting Fungus Through Bio-Prospecting Weed Extracts

As an alternative to synthetic preservatives, the use of plant-based, environmentally sustainable preservatives for wood protection has tremendous potential. The current research analyzed the dimensional stability and longevity of Lannea coromandelica wood using weed extracts viz. Lantana camara L. and Ageratum conyzoides L., respectively. Petroleum ether (PE) and methanolic weed extracts were used to treat wood blocks (5 cm × 2.5 cm × 2.5 cm) at varying concentrations ranging from 0.25 to 2.00%. The PE extract of A. conyzoides resulted in maximum swelling (tangential plane, 6.30%) at 2.00%, volumetric swelling coefficient (13.17%) at 1.50%, and volumetric shrinkage coefficient (7.71%) at 1.00% concentration, while maximum shrinkage (tangential plane, 4.10%) in methanol (M) extract was observed. In L. camara methanolic extract (1.00%), maximum anti-shrink efficiency (37.01%) was recorded. In vitro mycelial growth of the wood-rotting fungus was completely inhibited by PE extract from both weeds. However, the methanolic extract of A. conyzoides resulted in maximal inhibition (75.93%) at a concentration of 2.00%. Also, PE extract (2.00%) of A. conyzoides reduced the fungal colonization to 50%, as compared with control. The lowest weight loss (decay test, 12 weeks) was observed at a 2.00% concentration of L. camara PE extract. The present research highlighted that both A. conyzoides and L. camara could be used as an environmentally sustainable wood preservative substitute that will encourage the utilization of L. coromandelica in wood-based industries.

Ageratum conyzoides L. and Its Secondary Metabolites in the Management of Different Fungal Pathogens

Ageratum conyzoides L. (Family—Asteraceae) is an annual aromatic invasive herb, mainly distributed over the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. It owns a reputed history of indigenous remedial uses, including as a wound dressing, an antimicrobial, and mouthwash as well as in treatment of dysentery, diarrhea, skin diseases, etc. In this review, the core idea is to present the antifungal potential of the selected medicinal plant and its secondary metabolites against different fungal pathogens. Additionally, toxicological studies (safety profile) conducted on the amazing plant A. conyzoides L. are discussed for the possible clinical development of this medicinal herb. Articles available from 2000 to 2020 were reviewed in detail to exhibit recent appraisals of the antifungal properties of A. conyzoides. Efforts were aimed at delivering evidences for the medicinal application of A. conyzoides by using globally recognized scientific search engines and databases so that an efficient approach for filling the lacunae in the research and development of antifungal drugs can be adopted. After analyzing the literature, it can be reported that the selected medicinal plant effectively suppressed the growth of numerous fungal species, such as Aspergillus, Alternaria, Candida, Fusarium, Phytophthora, and Pythium, owing to the presence of various secondary metabolites, particularly chromenes, terpenoids, flavonoids and coumarins. The possible mechanism of action of different secondary metabolites of the plant against fungal pathogens is also discussed briefly. However, it was found that only a few studies have been performed to demonstrate the plant’s dosage and safety profile in humans. Considered all together, A. conyzoides extract and its constituents may act as a promising biosource for the development of effective antifungal formulations for clinical use. However, in order to establish safety and efficacy, additional scientific research is required to explore chronic toxicological effects of ageratum, to determine the probability of interactions when used with different herbs, and to identify safe dosage. The particulars presented here not only bridge this gap but also furnish future research strategies for the investigators in microbiology, ethno-pharmacology, and drug discovery.

Flavonoids in Ageratum conyzoides L. Exert Potent Antitumor Effects on Human Cervical Adenocarcinoma HeLa Cells In Vitro and In Vivo

The Ageratum conyzoides L. (A. conyzoides) is commonly used as a traditional medicine, and its antitumor effects have also been studied. However, the functional roles of flavonoids in A. conyzoides in antitumor activities have not been clarified. The present study is aimed at investigating the biological effects of flavonoids in A. conyzoides on human cervical adenocarcinoma. Firstly, we detected that flavonoids in A. conyzoides significantly inhibited the proliferation, invasion, migration, and clonality of human cervical adenocarcinoma HeLa cells in vitro. Furthermore, we found that flavonoids in A. conyzoides induced significant S phase arrest and apoptosis and obviously decreased the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) level in HeLa cells. Finally, we found that flavonoids in A. conyzoides significantly inhibited the HeLa xenograft tumor growth and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in vivo. In conclusion, our results demonstrated the obvious antitumor effects of flavonoids in A. conyzoides on HeLa cells, suggesting that flavonoids in A. conyzoides could be provided as a novel therapeutic compound for human cervical adenocarcinoma.

Systematic analysis of bacteriostatic mechanism of flavonoids using transcriptome and its therapeutic effect on vaginitis

The flavonoids in Ageratum conyzoides L. have been used in traditional medicine due to its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. However, the specific mechanism of its antibacterial effect, and the potential therapeutic effect on vaginitis have not been well explained. The growth curves of E. coli, S. aurues, and P. aeruginosa after treatment with flavonoids were measured. The influences of flavonoids on the conductivity of bacterial culture medium and exudation of bacterial nucleic acid were also detected. Transcriptomics analysis was applied to analyze the potential mechanism of flavonoids. Flavonoids significantly suppressed the growth curves of E. coli, S. aurues, and P. aeruginosa, and increased the conductivity of bacteria and nucleic acid exudation. Transcriptomics analysis indicated that flavonoids could suppress bacteria by affecting the transcription and metabolism pathways. The obvious therapeutic effect of flavonoids on bacterial vaginitis was also observed. This study systematically analyzed the bacteriostatic mechanism of flavonoids, which should be helpful to develop new drugs based on the bacteriostatic effect of flavonoids.

Medicinal Effect, In Silico Bioactivity Prediction, and Pharmaceutical Formulation of Ageratum conyzoides L.: A Review

Goat weed (Ageratum conyzoides L.), or bandotan in Indonesia, is an herbaceous plant that broadly grows up in both subtropical as well as tropical areas. This herb contains many phytoconstituents which have many benefits in different aspects. The essential oil contains phytochemicals such as phenol, phenolic ester, and coumarin, whereas many compounds can been identified in the whole part such as terpenoid, steroid, chromene, pyrrolizidine alkaloid, and flavonoid. Empirically, this herb has been used as an antihemorrhagic, antiseptic, antileprosy, and wound-healing agent. This article reviews the potency of the herb in medication according to the chemical substances being deposited, which are collected from numerous studies, followed by its in silico bioactivity prediction as well as its pharmaceutical dosage form formulation.