Antiproliferative activity, antioxidant capacity and chemical composition of extracts from the leaves and stem of Chresta sphaerocephala

Variation in the Main Health-Promoting Compounds and Antioxidant Capacity of Three Leafy Vegetables in Southwest China

Malabar spinach (Basella alba), amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor), and sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) are leafy vegetables found in Southwest China. The variation of chlorophyll, carotenoids, ascorbic acid, total flavonoids, phenolic compounds, and antioxidant capacity was studied in the leaves and stems of the three vegetables. The content of main health-promoting compounds and the antioxidant capacity in the leaves were higher than that in the stems, indicating that the leaves of the three vegetables possess greater nutritional value. The trend of total flavonoids in all three vegetables was similar to the trend of antioxidant capacity, suggesting that the total flavonoids may be the major antioxidants wihin these vegetables. Eight individual phenolic compounds were detected in three different vegetables. The most abundant levels of individual phenolic compounds in the leaves and stems of malabar spinach, amaranth, and sweet potato were 6'-O-feruloyl-d-sucrose (9.04 and 2.03 mg g^-1 DW), hydroxyferulic acid (10.14 and 0.73 mg g^-1 DW), and isorhamnetin-7-O-glucoside (34.93 and 6.76 mg g^-1 DW), respectively. Sweet potato exhibited a higher total and individual phenolic compound content compared to malabar spinach and amaranth. Overall, the results demonstrate that the three leafy vegetables possess high nutritional value, and could be used not only for consumption but also in various other fields, including medicine and chemistry.

Phenolic compositions and antioxidant properties of leaves of eight persimmon varieties harvested in different periods

The compositions and contents of antioxidant components and antioxidant attributes (scavenging DPPH radicals, TEAC, ferric reducing power and inhibiting Cu²⁺-induced human LDL oxidation) for the leaves of eight persimmon varieties harvested from Sep. to Nov. were determined. Harvest time and variety were important factors affecting the compositions and contents of phenolic compounds in persimmon leaves; moreover, phenolic contents (polyphenol, flavonoid, condensed tannin and phenolic acid) of the leaves were significantly correlated with their antioxidant activities. For each variety, the leaves harvested in months with higher temperature, solar radiation and sunshine duration had higher phenolic contents contributing to better antioxidant properties (ranking: Sep. > Oct. > Nov.). In addition, the compositions and contents of phenolic components and antioxidant capacities for the leaves from various persimmon varieties were also different. The leaves of persimmon varieties belonging to pollination constant and astringent (PCA) had higher phenolic contents and also presented better antioxidant effects.

NF-κB and Angiogenesis Inhibitors from the Aerial Parts of Chresta martii

The ethyl acetate extract of the aerial parts of Chresta martii showed significant in vitro NF-κB inhibition. Bioactivity-guided isolation was undertaken using HPLC microfractionation to localize the active compounds. Different zones of the HPLC chromatogram were linked to NF-κB inhibition. In parallel to this HPLC-based activity profiling, HPLC-PDA-ESI-MS and UHPLC-TOF-HRMS were used for the early identification of some of the compounds present in the extract and to get a complete phytochemical overview. The isolation of the compounds was performed by high-speed counter-current chromatography and further semipreparative HPLC. Using this approach, 14 compounds were isolated, two of them being new sesquiterpene lactones. The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic methods including UV, ECD, NMR, and HRMS. All isolated compounds were evaluated for their inhibitory activity of NF-κB and angiogenesis, and compound 2 showed promising NF-κB inhibition activity with an IC₅₀ of 0.7 μM. The isolated compounds 1, 2, 5, 7, and 8 caused a significant reduction in angiogenesis when evaluated by an original 3D in vitro angiogenesis assay.

Lead Phytochemicals for Anticancer Drug Development

Cancer is a serious concern at present. A large number of patients die each year due to cancer illnesses in spite of several interventions available. Development of an effective and side effects lacking anticancer therapy is the trending research direction in healthcare pharmacy. Chemical entities present in plants proved to be very potential in this regard. Bioactive phytochemicals are preferential as they pretend differentially on cancer cells only, without altering normal cells. Carcinogenesis is a complex process and includes multiple signaling events. Phytochemicals are pleiotropic in their function and target these events in multiple manners; hence they are most suitable candidate for anticancer drug development. Efforts are in progress to develop lead candidates from phytochemicals those can block or retard the growth of cancer without any side effect. Several phytochemicals manifest anticancer function in vitro and in vivo. This article deals with these lead phytomolecules with their action mechanisms on nuclear and cellular factors involved in carcinogenesis. Additionally, druggability parameters and clinical development of anticancer phytomolecules have also been discussed.