Chemical constituents and their pharmacological activities of plants from Cichorium genus

Phytochemistry, pharmacological applications, and therapeutic effects of green synthesized nanomaterials using Cichorium species-a comprehensive review

Cichorium is a genus of potential medicinal herbs that finds widespread cultivation in regions spanning Asia and Europe. Belonging to the Asteraceae family, these plants are typically biennial or perennial in nature. Among the various explored varieties of chicory plants, the most commonly studied ones include Cichorium intybus, Cichorium endivia, and Cichorium pumilum. In Ayurveda, chicory has long been used as a remedy for many health problems. This versatile plant is renowned for its efficacy in managing conditions such as gallstones, gastroenteritis, sinus ailments, and the treatment of skin abrasions and wounds. Numerous bioactives, including polysaccharides, caffeic acid, flavonoids, coumarins, steroids, alkaloids, organic acids, triterpenoids, sesquiterpenoids, and essential oils, are present, according to a thorough phytochemical examination. The phytochemicals isolated from chicory have displayed significant therapeutic activities, including antidiabetic effects, hepatoprotective benefits, anti-obesity properties, and anti-cancer potential, as extensively documented by numerous researchers. The incorporation of these bioactive compounds into one's diet as part of a healthy lifestyle has demonstrated considerable advantages for human well-being. Green synthesis is a recent technology in which plant extracts or phytochemicals are used for synthesizing nanoparticles since plant extracts are generally less toxic and contain capping and reducing agents. This review summarizes current developments in green synthesis employing phytoconstituents from Cichorium species and extracts from various plant parts and their application to scientific problems. In order to preserve lifestyles and cure human diseases, the investigation emphasizes the therapeutic effects of the chemical components and nanoparticles obtained from the extract of Cichorium species.

Screening of the Leaf Extracts of Culinary Herbs (Apium graveolens, Petroselinum crispum, Cichorium endivia, and Anethum graveolens) for Their Antibacterial Activity Against Escherichia coli

INTRODUCTION

In the current era, infectious diseases pose a significant global challenge, primarily attributed to the widespread and prolonged use of antibiotics, which develop antimicrobial resistance. A significant proportion of pharmaceutical agents utilized globally can be traced back to plant origins, constituting approximately 25%. Medicinal applications harness a wide spectrum of plant-derived components, including flowers, leaves, stems, fruits, roots, waxes, oils, bioactive compounds, phytochemicals, and various other constituents.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Our experiment evaluated the antibacterial activity of four different culinary plant leaf extracts. These extracts were prepared using four different solvents and were investigated against the gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli DH5α using agar well diffusion and agar disc diffusion methods by measuring the zone of inhibition.

RESULTS

The aqueous extract of all leaves did not show any antibacterial activity, likely due to poor diffusion due to the formation of a precipitate. Conversely, Cichorium endivia has shown the highest antibacterial activity in isopropanol as compared to other herbs. Among the herbs examined, organic extracts from endives and soybeans have demonstrated notably strong antibacterial activity compared to the other herbs.

CONCLUSION

Conducting a systematic screening of leaf extracts from various culinary herbs to assess their antibacterial effectiveness against E. coli has produced encouraging and noteworthy results. In the investigation of various herbs, organic extracts derived from endives and soybeans have exhibited particularly robust antibacterial efficacy when compared to other herbal extracts.

Potential Gonado-Protective Effect of Cichorium endivia and Its Major Phenolic Acids against Methotrexate-Induced Testicular Injury in Mice

Cichorium endivia L. (Asteraceae) is a wide edible plant that grows in the Mediterranean region. In this study, a phytochemical investigation of C. endivia L. ethanolic extract led to the isolation of stigmasterol (1), ursolic acid (2), β-amyrin (3), azelaic acid (4), vanillic acid (5), (6S, 7E)-6-hydroxy-4,7-megastigmadien-3,9-dione (S(+)-dehydrovomifoliol) (6), 4-hydroxy phenyl acetic acid (7), vomifoliol (8), ferulic acid (9), protocatechuic acid (10), kaempferol (11), p. coumaric acid (12), and luteolin (13). In addition, the total phenolic content as well as the in vitro antioxidant activity of C. endivia L. extract were estimated. Moreover, we inspected the potential gonado-protective effect of C. endivia crude extract, its phenolic fraction, and the isolated coumaric, vanillic, and ferulic acids against methotrexate (MTX)-induced testicular injury in mice. There were seven groups: normal control, MTX control, MTX + C. endivia crude extract, MTX + C. endivia phenolic fraction, MTX + isolated coumaric acid, MTX + isolated vanillic acid, and MTX + isolated ferulic acid. MTX was given by i.p. injection of a 20 mg/kg single dose. The crude extract and phenolic fraction were given with a dose of 100 mg/kg/day, whereas the compounds were given at a dose of 10 mg/kg/day. A histopathological examination was done. The testosterone level was detected in serum together with the testicular content of malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), interleukin 1β (IL-1β), IL-6, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2 associated x protein (Bax), p53, and miR-29a. C. endivia crude extract, the phenolic fraction, and the isolated compounds showed significant elevation in their levels of testosterone, CAT, SOD, Bcl-2 with a significant decrease in their levels of MDA, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, NF-κB, Bax, P53, and miR-29a compared to those of the MTX control group. In conclusion, C. endivia mitigated MTX-induced germ cell toxicity via anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antiapoptotic effects.

The Polyphenolic Profile and Antioxidant Activity of Five Vegetal Extracts with Hepatoprotective Potential

Oxidative stress is among the major triggers for many important human functional disorders, which often lead to various metabolic or tissue diseases. The aim of the study is to obtain five standardized vegetal extracts (Cynarae extractum—CE, Rosmarini extractum—RE, Taraxaci extractum—TE, Cichorii extractum—CHE, and Agrimoniae extractum—AE) that contain active principles with an essential role in protecting liver cells against free radicals and quantify their antioxidant actions. The compounds of therapeutic interest from the analyzed extracts were identified and quantified using the UHPLC–HRMS/MS technique. Thus, the resulting identified compounds were 28 compounds in CE, 48 compounds in RE, 39 compounds in TE, 43 compounds in CHE, and 31 compounds in AE. These compounds belong to the class of flavonoids, isoflavones, phenolic acids and dicarboxylic acids, depsides, diterpenes, triterpenes, sesquiterpenes, proanthocyanidins, or coumarin derivatives. From the major polyphenolic compounds quantified in all the extracts analyzed by UHPLC–HRMS/MS, considerable amounts have been found for chlorogenic acid (619.8 µg/g extract for TE–2032.4 µg/g extract for AE), rutoside (105.1 µg/g extract for RE–1724.7 µg/g extract for AE), kaempferol (243 µg/g extract for CHE–2028.4 µg/g extract for CE), and for naringenin (383 µg/g extract for CHE–1375.8 µg/g extract for AE). The quantitative chemical analysis showed the highest content of total phenolic acids for AE (24.1528 ± 1.1936 g chlorogenic acid/100 g dry extract), the highest concentration of flavones for RE (6.0847 ± 0.3025 g rutoside/100 g dry extract), and the richest extract in total polyphenols with 31.7017 ± 1.2211 g tannic acid equivalent/100 g dry extract for AE. Several methods (DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP) have been used to determine the in vitro total antioxidant activity of the extracts to evaluate their free radical scavenging ability, influenced by the identified compounds. As a result, the correlation between the content of the polyphenolic compounds and the antioxidant effect of the extracts has been demonstrated. Statistically significant differences were found when comparing the antiradical capacity within the study groups. Although all the analyzed extracts showed good IC50 values, which may explain their antihepatotoxic effects, the highest antioxidant activity was obtained for Agrimoniae extractum (IC50_ABTS = 0.0147 mg/mL) and the lowest antioxidant activity was obtained for Cynarae extractum (IC50_ABTS = 0.1588 mg/mL). Furthermore, the hepatoprotective potential was evaluated in silico by predicting the interactions between the determined phytochemicals and key molecular targets relevant to liver disease pathophysiology. Finally, the evaluation of the pharmacognostic and phytochemical properties of the studied extracts validates their use as adjuvants in phytotherapy, as they reduce oxidative stress and toxin accumulation and thus exert a hepatoprotective effect at the cellular level.

Safety Profile of Nutraceuticals Rich in Coumarins: An Update

Coumarins are a family of benzopyrones largely distributed in the natural kingdom, being present in the seeds, fruits, flowers, or roots of various plant species. Natural coumarin compounds are found in significant concentrations in some herbs or spices used as nutraceuticals, but they are also present in cosmetics or household products, due to their pleasant odor. Therefore, an accidental exposure to high doses of coumarins, could lead to the development of harmful effects in some patients. This review summarizes the latest published data from preclinical and clinical studies with natural coumarins, focused on the investigation of general and specific toxicity, with the aim of a better understanding of the safety profile of these valuable compounds. Regulatory aspects concerning the use of natural coumarins in several world regions are also reviewed.

Morphometric and biochemical properties of Cichorium intybus L. var. foliosum as affected by duration of growing period

Cichorium intybus is a valuable crop due to its high nutritional and pharmaceutical value. In this work, the study of the effect of harvesting time on the biometric and biochemical properties of Cichorium intybus L. var. foliosum (chicory salad witloof) was carried out on five varieties. The period of vegetation affects rosette diameter, number of leaves and root weight. A strong correlation between the weight of roots before laying for forcing and the weight of forcing heads (r = 0.79) was revealed. The roots of variety Conus, managed to accumulate a sufficient amount of nutrients for the formation of heads in a 98 days. The accumulation of sugars in forcing heads depended on their initial content in roots with a 75% reliability (r = 0.75). The results showed that in the northern latitudes the forcing can be carried out in winter in any room without light at a temperature of 10 to 17°C. In addition, subsurface heating of the substrate or maintaining water in the containers with roots provided a larger yield of heads obtained in a shorter time.

Evaluation of effectiveness aqueous extract for some leaves of wild edible plants in Egypt as anti-fungal and anti-toxigenic

Plants are one of a prefect source of natural effective compounds that have antimicrobial, and other activities. This study investigated the activity of the aqueous extract for three wild edible plants (Sonchus oleraceus, Cichorium pumilum, and Portulaca oleracea) at three concentrations (1.5, 2.5 and 5 mg/ml) as antifungal and antitoxigenic. Many functional groups such as alcohols, phenols, alkanes and alkenes, etc were appeared in aqueous extracts by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. Where an extract of Portulaca oleracea gave a greater total phenolic and flavonoids were 210.4 ± 1.15 and 36.7 ± 0.79 mg/mL, respectively, followed by Sonchus oleraceus (192.3 ± 2.11 mg/mL) and Cichorium pumilum (186.4 ± 2.18 mg/mL). The results indicated that increasing the concentration of the extract, the area of inhibition zone increased with all treatments, where the highest inhibition zone was observed using 5 mg/ml for Portulaca oleracea extract was 17.1 ± 1.7, 26.5 ± 1.5 and 22.8.±2.3 mm against Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus ochraceus and Aspergillus parasiticus, respectively, while the lowest antifungal activity was marked with Cichorium pumilum extract with all tested fungi. The results have also indicated that the aqueous extract has inhibited formed of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and ochratoxin A (OTA), where the percentages of inhibition AFB1 were 78.03, 68.8 and 81.7% after treated yeast extract sucrose (YES) media by 5 mg crude extract for extract Sonchus oleraceus, Cichorium pumilum and Portulaca oleracea, respectively. In contrast, the inhibitory effect against OTA at the same concentration was 77.5, 72.3, and 85.2% in the same order for plants. Finally, these plants provide an aqueous extract that contains many effective compounds that enable to play the role of antifungal and antitoxigenic.

Phytochemical Profile, Antioxidant, Cardioprotective and Nephroprotective Activity of Romanian Chicory Extract

The present study analyzed the methanol extract and tincture obtained from the spontaneous Romanian Cichorium intybus species, in order to evaluate polyphenols content and some biological properties. Chromatographic and spectrophotometric methods were used for the analysis of polyphenols and the antioxidant capacity was assessed in vitro with DPPH● (2,2-diphenyl-picrylhydrazil) and FRAP (ferric-reducing antioxidant power) tests. The cardio-protective effects of Cichorii herba tincture on myocardial ischemia induced by isoprenaline and nephroprotection on renal failure induced by gentamicin were evaluated on rats. Also, aspartate aminotrasferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) and creatinine clearance (CrCl) were measured. The antioxidant effect was evaluated by determining total oxidative stress (TOS), oxidative stress index (OSI, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), malondyaldehide (MDA), total thiols (SH) and total nitrites and nitrates (NOx). Cichoric acid was the main polyphenolic compound. The extracts had moderate in vitro antioxidant activity but the in vivo antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects were significant and associated with myocardial and renal dysfunction improvement. The results were attributed to the content of polyphenols in the extracts, for which reason C. intybus may be considered an important raw material for pharmaceuticals formulations recommended in the prevention or treatment of heart or kidney diseases.

Cichorium intybus attenuates Streptozotocin-induced pancreatic β-cell damage by inhibiting NF-κB activation and oxidative stress

The aqueous extract of Cichorium intybus (CIE) leaves have shown the properties of protecting against pancreatic β-cell damage by streptozotocin (STZ), but the molecular mechanisms of its protection are not completely elucidated yet. Our current study focuses on elucidating the mechanisms of these preventive effects of CIE in MIN6 cells and an in-vivo model of Wistar rats. CIE offers protection against STZ in MIN6 cells by reducing the pro-oxidants and increasing the activity of the antioxidant enzymes. In vitro results also indicated that CIE inhibited cytotoxicity, reduced Reactive oxygen species (ROS), maintained glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and reduced NF-κB p65 translocation into the nucleus. The group administered with a 250 mg/kg dose of CIE in vivo has shown an ability to maintain blood glucose level and also to preserve the number and morphology of pancreatic islets when compared to the diabetic group treated with STZ. Probably, active compounds like quercetin, rutin, and catechin present in CIE, preserve the integrity of pancreatic islets thereby protecting β-cells from the adverse effects of STZ.