Phytochemical analysis and differential in vitro cytotoxicity assessment of root extracts of Inula racemosa

The potential efficacy of sesquiterpenes and their derivatives in treating rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic review

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disorder primarily targeting peripheral joints. The global prevalence of RA is increasing, posing a significant challenge in patient care management. Despite therapeutic advancements, their inherent limitations highlight the need for further research on safer treatment interventions. Among potential candidates, sesquiterpenes, a subclass of plant secondary metabolites composed of three isoprene units, have exhibited remarkable efficacy in treating various inflammatory disorders, including RA. In this systematic review, we summarized the treatment evidence of sesquiterpenes and their derivatives on RA. Specific major sesquiterpenoids have been discussed in detail, as well as the possible mechanisms by which cells and chemical messengers are involved in treating RA. Our review indicated that sesquiterpenes are potential novel, bioactive compounds for RA prevention and treatment strategies.

Identification of plant based potential antifungal compounds against BMK-1 protein of Bipolaris oryzae using molecular docking approach

Rice brown spot is an important disease of rice worldwide that inflicts substantial yield losses. The antimicrobial potential of methanol, acetone and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) extracts of different medicinal plants, viz., Syzygium aromaticum, Saussurea costus, Acorus calamus, Bergenia ciliate, Geranium pratense, Mentha longifolia, Inula racemosa, Podophyllum hexandrum, Heracleum candicans and Picrorhiza kurroa, against the brown spot pathogen Bipolaris oryzae in vitro was evaluated via mycelial growth inhibition and spore germination inhibition assays. Among the plant extracts tested, 100% mycelial inhibition was observed for the methanol extract of Syzygium aromaticum at all three concentrations (2000 ppm, 3000 ppm and 4000 ppm), followed by the methanol extract of Inula racemosa (90.33%) at 4000 ppm. A maximum conidial germination inhibition of 83.54% was exhibited by the Heracleum candicans leaf extract. Phytochemical profiling of Syzygium aromaticum and Inula racemosa through liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (HR-LCMS) revealed the presence of several compounds, such as eugenol, ursolic acid, quercetin, chlorogenic acid, and noscapine. A molecular docking approach was used to identify key inhibitory molecules against B. oryzae. Among the compounds detected in S. aromaticum and Inula racemosa, ursolic acid and noscapine were found to have the greatest binding affinity for the Big Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase (BMK-1) enzyme present in B. oryzae. In conclusion, S. aromaticum and Inula racemosa are potent compounds that could serve as lead compounds for drug discovery in the future.

Modulation of Inula racemosa Hook Extract on Cardioprotection by Ischemic Preconditioning in Hyperlipidaemic Rats

Objectives

Hyperlipidemia (HL) is a major cause of ischemic heart diseases. The size-limiting effect of ischemic preconditioning (IPC), a cardioprotective phenomenon, is reduced in HL, possibly because of the opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP). The objective of this study is to see what effect pretreatment with Inula racemosa Hook root extract (IrA) had on IPC-mediated cardioprotection on HL Wistar rat hearts. An isolated rat heart was mounted on the Langendorff heart array, and then ischemia reperfusion (I/R) and IPC cycles were performed. Atractyloside (Atr) is an MPTP opener.

Methods

The animals were divided into ten groups, each consisting of six rats (n = 6), to investigate the modulation of I. racemosa Hook extract on cardioprotection by IPC in HL hearts Sham control, I/R Control, IPC control, I/R + HL, I/R + IrA + HL, IPC + HL, IPC + NS + HL, IPC + IrA+ HL, IPC + Atr + oxidative stress, mitochondrial function, integrity, and hemodynamic parameters are evaluated for each group.

Results

The present experimental data show that pretreatment with IrA reduced the LDH, CK-MB, size of myocardial infarction, content of cardiac collagen, and ventricular fibrillation in all groups of HL rat hearts. This pretreatment also reduced the oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction. Inhibition of MPTP opening by Atr diminished the effect of IrA on IPC-mediated cardioprotection in HL rats.

Conclusion

The study findings indicate that pretreatment with IrA e restores IPC-mediated cardioprotection in HL rats by inhibiting the MPTP opening.

Appraisal of the Antioxidant Activity, Polyphenolic Content, and Characterization of Selected Himalayan Herbs: Anti-Proliferative Potential in HepG2 Cells

Natural antioxidants derived from plants have played a vital role in preventing a wide range of human chronic conditions and provide novel bioactive leads for investigators in pharmacotherapy discovery. This work was designed to examine the ethnopharmacological role of Urtica dioica (UD), Capsella bursa-pastoris (CBP), and Inula racemosa (IR). The total phenolic and flavonoid contents (TPC and TFC) were illustrated through colorimetric assays, while the antioxidant activity was investigated through DPPH and ABTS assays. The evaluation of phytochemicals by FT-IR of UD and CBP revealed high contents of aliphatic amines, while IR showed a major peak for ketones. The antioxidant activity, TPC and TFC were highest in the ethanol extract of UD, followed by CBP, and IR showed the lowest activity. All of the extracts revealed significant antioxidant capacities along a dosage gradient. Through a HPLC analysis at a wavelength of 280 nm, UD leaves demonstrated an intense peak of quercetin, and the peak for rutin was less intense. CBP (whole plant), instead, demonstrated a major yield of rutin, and a peak for quercetin was not observed in CBP. IR (rhizomes) showed both quercetin and rutin. All of the extracts were significantly cytotoxic to HepG2 cells after 48 h with the trend IR > UD > CBP. The outcomes of this study may be effective in the selection of specific plants as realistic sources of the bioactive components that might be useful in the nutraceutical progression and other biomedical efficacies.

Phytochemical Diversity in Relation to Cytogenetic Variability in Inula racemosa Hook.f., an Endangered Medicinal Plant of Himalayas

Inula racemosa, a resourceful critically endangered medicinal herb in the Himalayas is traditionally utilized to cure various human disorders. The species is a wealthy source of sesquiterpene lactones has many pharmacological properties. To quantify and identify the best genetic stocks for a maximum build-up of desired metabolites (isoalantolactone and alantolactone) among existent cytotypes in the species, LC-MS/MS analysis was made. The other comprehensive experiments carried out at present included detailed meiotic examinations of different populations collected from different areas of Kashmir Himalayas. The results presented the occurrence of variable chromosome numbers as n=10 and n=20 in different populations, but the tetraploid cytotype (n=20) is new for the species. The LC-MS/MS investigation revealed significant variability in the content of sesquiterpene lactones in different plant tissues (stem, leaf, and root). An upsurge in the quantity of isoalantolactone and alantolactone was noticed with increasing ploidy levels along the increasing altitudes. Therefore, a habit to accumulate abundant quantities of secondary metabolites and increased adaptability by species/cytotypes thriving at higher altitudes is seen among tetraploid cytotypes during the present investigation. Also, the chromosomal variations seem to enhance the flexibility of polyploid species primarily at upper elevations. Thus, the present study strongly provides quantification of elite cytotypes/chemotypes with optimum concentration of secondary metabolites.

An Integrative Transcriptional Network Revealed Spatial Molecular Interplay Underlying Alantolactone and Inulin Biosynthesis in Inula racemosa Hook f

Inula racemosa Hook. f. (Pushkarmula), a perennial Himalayan herb known for its aromatic and phytopharmaceutical attributes, is not yet explored at genomic/transcriptomic scale. In this study, efforts were made to unveil the global transcriptional atlas underlying organ-specific specialized metabolite biosynthesis by integrating RNA-Seq analysis of 433 million sequenced reads with the phytochemical analysis of leaf, stem, and root tissues. Overall, 7242 of 83,772 assembled nonredundant unigenes were identified exhibiting spatial expression in leaf (3761), root (2748), and stem (733). Subsequently, integration of the predicted transcriptional interactome network of 2541 unigenes (71,841 edges) with gene ontology and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed isoprenoid, terpenoid, diterpenoid, and gibberellin biosynthesis with antimicrobial activities in root tissue. Interestingly, the root-specific expression of germacrene-mediated alantolactone biosynthesis (GAS, GAO, G8H, IPP, DMAP, and KAO) and antimicrobial activities (BZR1, DEFL, LTP) well-supported with both quantitative expression profiling and phytochemical accumulation of alantolactones (726.08 μg/10 mg) and isoalantolactones (988.59 μg/10 mg), which suggests “roots” as the site of alantolactone biosynthesis. A significant interaction of leaf-specific carbohydrate metabolism with root-specific inulin biosynthesis indicates source (leaf) to sink (root) regulation of inulin. Our findings comprehensively demonstrate the source-sink transcriptional regulation of alantolactone and inulin biosynthesis, which can be further extended for upscaling the targeted specialized metabolites. Nevertheless, the genomic resource created in this study can also be utilized for development of genome-wide functionally relevant molecular markers to expedite the breeding strategies for genetic improvement of I. racemosa.

Ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, agrotechnology, and conservation of Inula racemosa Hook f. - A critically endangered medicinal plant of the western Himalaya

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Inula racemosa Hook. f., is a critically endangered perennial herb distributed throughout the Himalaya; commercially useful in pharmaceutical products mainly because of its expectorant, antispasmodic, hypotensive, anti-inflammatory, carminative, thermogenic, digestive, cardiotonic, acrid, alexipharmic, anodyne, aphrodisiac, febrifuge, and antiseptic properties. The roots including rhizomes of the plant were used in the treatment of various ailments like chest pain, liver dysfunction, dyspnoea, and cardiovascular diseases by the ethenic Himalayan residents.

AIM OF THE REVIEW

Even though there are plentiful studies involving I. racemosa for pharmacological properties, but there is gap or few records available on production technologies and patents. The purpose of review is to provide large unmanageable information in systematic form for researchers, health care contributors, and policy makers so that they efficiently integrate the existing information and provide balanced decision making.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Relevant data search was completed through systematic searches using various scientific databases including e-resources viz., Scopus, Google Scholar, Science Direct, ACS, Springer Link, Taylor and Francis, Scifinder, PubMed, PubChem, Web of Science, LibGen, Wiley, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). The list of literature cited in this review are dated from 1959 to 2021.

RESULTS

Till date variety of ethnobotanical and pharmacological properties of essential oil including crude extract of I. racemosa have been documented. The shortlisted records revealed that the herb has a potential to treat stomach ulcer, respiratory tract infections including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Alantolactone and isoalloalantolactone were reported as the major bioactive constituents along with few fatty acids, phytosterols, and glycosides characterized by GC, GC/MS, HPLC, HPTLC and qNMR techniques.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on a detailed literature survey on the plant, evidences were found fascinating for biological, traditional, and pharmacological effects, whilst there are no genomic resources available for this medicinal herb. Thus, molecular studies are critical for unravelling the production process of bioactive metabolites inside herb, which will underlay a path for improving these metabolites at commercial scale. Moreover, the association and role of particular phytoconstituent in its biological properties still needs to be validated. In addition, there are no reports on measures on its conservation and mechanism of toxicity research, which also needs more attention. We hope this review can provide a basis for further studies concerning the protected and efficient utilization of I. racemosa.

Isoalantolactone Enhances the Antitumor Activity of Doxorubicin by Inducing Reactive Oxygen Species and DNA Damage

Colon cancer is one of the most common cancer in the world. Doxorubicin (DOX) is a classical anti-tumor drug which widely used in treatment of cancers, however, high toxicity limited its further clinical application. Thus, it is urgent to find new drugs with low toxicity and high efficiency to treat colon cancer. Isoalantolactone (IATL), an isomeric sesquiterpene lactone isolated from the plant of inula helenium, has been reported to have anti-cancer activity against a variety of cancer cells. However, the function of IATL in colon cancer remains unclear. Here, we demonstrated that IATL inhibited colon cancer cell growth by increasing cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Further study showed that ROS accumulation contributed to DNA damage and JNK signaling pathway activation. In addition, we found that IATL markedly enhanced DOX-induced cell cytotoxicity in colon cancer cells. IATL in combination with DOX significantly increased the ROS production, induced DNA damage and activated JNK signaling pathway. Taken together, our data suggested that combined treatment with IATL and DOX may serve as a potential therapeutics for colon cancer.

Alantolactone: A sesquiterpene lactone with diverse pharmacological effects

Alantolactone (Ala) is a sesquiterpene lactone that can be isolated from many herbal plants belonging to Asteraceae. Besides the antimicrobial activities against bacteria, fungi and viruses, Ala has also demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory effects in various models by inhibiting NF-κB and MAPKs to decrease the pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α. The antitumor effects of Ala have been demonstrated in vitro and in vivo via inducing intrinsic apoptosis, oxidative stress, ER stress, cell cycle arrest and inhibiting autophagy and STAT3 phosphorylation, which are also involved in its combination or synergy with other antitumor drugs. Ala also has neuroprotective activity through attenuating oxidative stress and inflammation, besides its modulation of glucose and lipid metabolism. This review summarizes the recent advances of the pharmacological effects of Ala, including anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antimicrobial, neuroprotective activities, as well as the underlying mechanisms. Ala might be employed as a potential lead to develop drugs for multiple diseases.

Medicinal Inula Species: Phytochemistry, Biosynthesis, and Bioactivities

As a genus of the Asteraceae, Inula is widely distributed all over the world, and several of them are being used in traditional medicines. A number of metabolites were isolated from Inula species, and some of these have shown to possess ranges of pharmacological activities. The genus Inula contains abundant sesquiterpenoids, such as eudesmanes, xanthanes, and sesquiterpenoid dimers and trimers. In addition, other types of terpenoids, flavonoids, and lignins also exist in the genus Inula. Since 2010, more than 300 new secondary metabolites, including several known natural products that were isolated for the first time from the genus Inula. Most of them exhibited potential bioactivities in various diseases. The review aimed to summarize the advance of recent researches (2010-2020) on phytochemical constituents, biosynthesis, and pharmacological properties of the genus Inula for providing a scientific basis and supporting its application and exploitation for new drug development.

Cytotoxic and apoptotic inducing activity of Amoora rohituka leaf extracts in human breast cancer cells

BACKGROUND

Amoora rohituka is described in Ayurveda, an Indian traditional system of medicine for management of disorders of blood, diseases of eye, helminthiasis disease, ulcer, liver disorders and splenomegaly. However, the leaves were not reported to have anticancer properties till date.

OBJECTIVE

This study was carried out to evaluate the cytotoxic potential of leaf extracts of Amoora rohituka.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The leaves powder was macerated in petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and methanol and evaluated their anticancer activities in vitro. The phytochemical constituents of the active (ethyl acetate) extract were screened by FTIR analysis and phytochemical screening methods.

RESULTS

The ethyl acetate extract (RLEA) showed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, steroids, tannins, saponins and terpenoids. The RLEA exhibited high cytotoxic effect against human breast cancer cells, MCF-7 (IC50 = 9.81 μg/mL) and induced apoptosis by altering nuclear morphology and DNA laddering. Wound healing assays explained the potency of extract to decrease the cell migration.

CONCLUSION

The extract of Amoora rohituka leaves exhibited anticancer activity with less toxicity and it could be used for development of alternative drugs in the treatment of human breast cancer.

Identification and determination of ascorbic acid, free organic acids and tannic substances in the grass of Inula L. genus species

The level of studying of Inula L. genus species, growing on the territory of Ukraine, is insufficient today. The study of chemical composition, accumulation of biologically active substances, pharmacological action of investigated grass species’ extracts of Inula L. genus of Ukrainian flora are of current interest. The aim of the work is making qualitative and comparative analysis of ascorbic, organic acids and tannic substances content in the raw material of investigated species of Inula L. genus (Inula britannica L. and Inula helenium L.). Quantitative determination was carried out by volume titration method. The presence of ascorbic acid, organic acids and tannic substances in the raw material of Inula L. genus investigated species was established with the help of paper chromatography and thin-layer chromatography methods. The quantitative determination of total organic acids was carried out according to XI edition of State Pharmacopoeia methods in terms of malic acid. Water extracts were studied for the tannins presence in raw material of Inula L. genus investigated species. Compounds identification was carried out through chemical reactions in accordance with Ukrainian State Pharmacopeia. The results obtained showed the perspective of further study of the biological activity of Inula britannica L. and Inula helenium L.

In vivo therapeutic potential of Inula racemosa in hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury following orthotopic liver transplantation in male albino rats

Hepatic ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury mainly occurs following hepatic resection and liver transplantation and cause severe liver damage, organ injuries, and dysfunction. Pro-inflammatory cytokines that promote injury are released when kupffer cell activates after getting induced by I/R. Repercussions of oxidative stress and cardiac function against isoproterenol based myocardial infarction are caused by flavonol glycosides which are found in high concentrations in Inula racemosa (Ir).The root was deemed to have analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects, and no report has been published about the liver-protective activity against hepatic I/R. Therefore, the present study was aimed to understand the therapeutic impact of Ir in hepatic I/R injury. Male albino, Wistar strain rats were used and were grouped into four total phenolic content, free radical scavenging activity and serum enzymes were determined. Histopathological and immunohistochemical analysis were also carried out. Inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin (IL-6) and protein expression of p53, bax, and bcl-2 were determined. The administration of extracts of Ir significantly increased total phenolic and free radical scavenging activity. Altered cellular morphology, cytokines and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were returned to near normal level. IL-6 and TNF-α levels were reduced more than 25% following treatment. Also, the protein expression of p53, bax, and bcl-2 were also returned to near normal level. Taking all these data together, it is suggested that the extracts of Ir may be a potential therapeutic agent for providing several beneficial effects in hepatic I/R injury.