Polyphenolic contents and antioxidant activities of two medicinal plant species, Mentha piperita and Stevia rebaudiana, cultivated in Iran

Recent Progress in the Hesperetin Delivery Regimes: Significance of Pleiotropic Actions and Synergistic Anticancer Efficacy

BACKGROUND

In the plant kingdom, flavonoids are widely distributed with multifunctional immunomodulatory actions. Hesperetin (HST) remains one of the well-studied compounds in this domain, initially perceived in citrus plants as an aglycone derivative of hesperidin (HDN).

OBSERVATIONS

Natural origin, low in vivo toxicity, and pleiotropic functional essence are the foremost fascinations for HST use as an anticancer drug. However, low aqueous solubility accompanied with a prompt degradation by intestinal and hepatocellular enzymes impairs HST physiological absorption.

MOTIVATION

Remedies attempted herein comprise the synthesis of derivatives and nanocarrier (NC)-mediated delivery. As the derivative synthesis aggravates the structural complexity, NC-driven HST delivery has emerged as a sustainable approach for its sustained release. Recent interest in HST has been due to its significant anticancer potential, characterized via inhibited cell division (proliferation), new blood vessel formation (angiogenesis), forceful occupation of neighboring cell's space (invasion), migration to erstwhile physiological locations (metastasis) and apoptotic induction. The sensitization of chemotherapeutic drugs (CDs) by HST is driven via stoichiometrically regulated synergistic actions. Purpose and Conclusion: This article sheds light on HST structure-function correlation and pleiotropic anticancer mechanisms, in unaided and NC-administered delivery in singular and with CDs synergy. The discussion could streamline the HST usefulness and long-term anticancer efficacy.

A mechanistic review of the anticancer potential of hesperidin, a natural flavonoid from citrus fruits

Hesperidin, a phytoactive compound, is an abundant and economical dietary bioflavonoid possessing numerous biological and medicinal benefits. Several studies have strongly proven the significant chemotherapeutic potential of hesperidin. Therefore, this review aims to bring together the existing studies demonstrating hesperidin as a potential anticancer agent with its mode of action reported in the therapeutic strategies for numerous cancer types. Hesperidin acts via modulating multiple pathways involving cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, antiangiogenic, antimetastatic and DNA repair in various cancer cells. Hesperidin has been reported to alter several molecular targets related to carcinogenesis, such as reactive nitrogen species, cellular kinases, transcription factors, reactive oxygen species, drug transporters, cell cycle mediators and inflammatory cytokines. Collectively, this review provides significant insights for the potential of hesperidin to be a strong and promising candidate for pharmaceuticals, functional foods, dietary supplements, nutraceuticals and geared toward the better management of carcinoma.

Polyphenolic contents and antioxidant activities of aerial parts of Salvia multicaulis from the Iran flora

Folk medicine sometimes involves the use of salvia species for therapeutic purposes. Polyphenols with the highest amounts included rosmarinic acid (7.358mg/g), catechin (1.5 mg/g), vanillin (1.00 mg/g), chlorogenic acid (0.53 mg/g), quercetin (0.16 mg/g), and p-coumaric acid (0.015). Furthermore, the results showed that S. multicaulis has a high content of total phenol (4.39 mg/g) and DPPH activity (8.44 mg/g). Salvia multicaulis could be potentially used as a medicinal plant because of its antioxidant activity and polyphenol content.

Analysis of Polyphenolic Composition of a Herbal Medicinal Product-Peppermint Tincture

The pharmacological activity of peppermint leaf (Menthae piperitae folium) for medical use is mainly attributed to the presence of essential oil, which, according to the European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.), should constitute not less than 12 mL/kg of raw material. The content of polyphenols in peppermint-based preparations, except peppermint leaf dry extract, has not yet been considered as an essential parameter in the pharmacopeial assessment of peppermint quality. This study concerns the evaluation of the presence of representatives of polyphenolic compounds in 23 commercial peppermint tinctures (ethanolic extracts) purchased in pharmacies in Poland. The non-volatile polyphenolic fraction was investigated, and the presence of flavonoids and phenolic acids was quantified. High performance liquid chromatography coupled with a diode-array detector (HPLC-DAD) and an electrospray ionization mass spectrometer (U(H)PLC-ESI-MS) were used in the experiment. The study showed that eriocitrin, luteolin-7-O-rutinoside, and rosmarinic acid were the main polyphenolic components of the peppermint tinctures, as previously reported for peppermint leaf. Despite this, the research shows the extremely diverse content of the mentioned compounds in analyzed commercial medicinal products. In light of these results, it seems that the pharmacopeial assessment for the peppermint leaf (Ph. Eur.) and peppermint tincture (Polish Pharmacopoeia (FP)) requires correction and supplementation.

Antioxidant activity, polyphenolic contents and essential oil composition of Pimpinella anisum L. as affected by zinc fertilizer

BACKGROUND

The antioxidant activity and essential oil content of plants may vary considerably with respect to environmental conditions, especially nutrient availability. Among micronutrients, zinc (Zn) is needed by plants in only small amounts but is crucial to plant development. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Zn fertilization on the antioxidant activity, polyphenolic contents and essential oil composition of Pimpinella anisum fruit.

RESULTS

Foliar application of Zn fertilizer considerably increased the number of detected essential oil components from 27 to 45. Zinc application at a rate of 0.2% (w/v) significantly enhanced the levels of β-bisabolene, germacrene D, n-decane and α-zingiberene, whereas the opposite trend was observed for (E)-anethole and geijerene. Application of 0.2% Zn considerably increased the levels of phenolic compounds, with chlorogenic acid showing the highest content among eight phenolic compounds detected in treated plants. The maximum antioxidant activity was achieved through application of 0.2% Zn fertilizer.

CONCLUSION

These findings indicated that the quality and quantity of anise fruit essential oil components were significantly altered by application of low levels of Zn. After foliar application of Zn, polyphenolic contents as well as antioxidant activity of anise fruit increased. Using Zn fertilizer is an efficient method to improve the pharmaceutical and food properties of anise fruit. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Biochemical, hematological, and pathological related healing effects of Elaeagnus angustifolia hydroalcoholic extract in 5-fluorouracil-induced oral mucositis in male golden hamster

Oral mucositis (OM) is one of the cancer chemotherapy-related side effects which can affect the quality of life of affected patients. This study was designed to investigate the healing effect of Elaeagnus angustifolia in 5-flurouracil (5-FU)-induced OM in golden hamster. Fifty-six adult male golden hamsters received three intraperitoneal injections of 5-FU at a dose of 60 mg/kg on days 0, 5, and 10. The cheek pouch mucosa was scratched superficially under local anesthesia. Then, two horizontal scratches were made across the everted cheek pouch on days 3 and 4. All treatments were started on day 12 for equal number of animals in control group with no treatments, gel base group that was treated with carboxy methyl cellulose as gel base which used in preparation of the topical gel, topical gel group that used gel containing 10% hydroalcoholic extract of E. angustifolia (HEEA) topically, and dietary group which was treated with 300 mg/kg HEEA. At 2 and 5 days after treatment, blood and pouch tissue sampling were done and analyzed for blood composition, tissue malondialdehyde (MDA) level, and myeloperoxidase (MPO) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities plus histopathological evaluations. Both topically and orally HEEA-treated groups showed a significant relief in OM compared to the control and base gel groups. However, the systemic form had higher efficiency in some parts especially decreasing the MPO (0.27 ± 0.17 vs. 0.56 ± 0.17 IU/L) and increasing SOD (6.46 ± 0.15 vs. 5.36 ± 0.18 IU/L) activities in pouch tissue in comparison to topical form mostly at 5 days after treatment. It seems that hydroalcoholic extract of E. angustifolia can be used as an appropriate drug choice for the treatment of oral mucositis based on its healing stimulatory and anti-inflammatory properties.