Inhibition of tumor growth in CT-26 colorectal cancer-bearing mice with alcoholic extracts of Curcuma longa and Rosmarinus officinalis

Synergistic apoptotic effects of ethanolic extracts of ginger and Ganoderma lucidum in a colorectal cancer cell line

Current conventional therapy for colorectal cancer includes surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, all of which produce side effects. Herbal medicine can control the side effects of conventional treatments. We investigated the synergistic effect of a mixture of Zingiber officinale Roscoe (Ginger) and Ganoderma lucidum extracts on colorectal cancer cell apoptosis in vitro. We prepared ethanolic extracts of ginger (GEE) and G. lucidum (GLEE). Cytotoxicity was evaluated using MTT assay and the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of each extract was calculated. The effect of these extracts on apoptosis in cancer cells was assessed using flow cytometry; Bax, Bcl2 and caspase-3 gene expression was evaluated using real-time PCR. GEE and GLEE decreased CT-26 cell viability significantly in a dose-dependent manner; however, the combined application of GEE + GLEE was most effective. Bax:Bcl-2 gene expression ratio, caspase-3 gene expression and the number of apoptotic cells were increased significantly in CT-26 cells treated at the IC50 level of each compound, especially in the GEE + GLEE treatment group. Combined ginger and Ganoderma lucidum extracts exhibited synergistic antiproliferative and apoptotic effects on colorectal cancer cells.

Comparative Amino Acid Profile and Antioxidant Activity in Sixteen Plant Extracts from Transylvania, Romania

In addition to the naturopathic medicines based on the antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, or antioxidant properties of plant extracts that have been capitalized upon through the pharmaceutical industry, the increasing interest of the food industry in this area requires potent new materials capable of supporting this market. This study aimed to evaluate the in vitro amino acid contents and antioxidant activities of ethanolic extracts from sixteen plants. Our results show high accumulated amino acid contents, mainly of proline, glutamic, and aspartic acid. The most consistent values of essential amino acids were isolated from T. officinale, U. dioica, C. majus, A. annua, and M. spicata. The results of the 2,2-diphenyl-1-pycrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay indicate that R. officinalis was the most potent antioxidant, followed by four other extracts (in decreasing order): T. serpyllum, C. monogyna, S. officinalis, and M. koenigii. The network and principal component analyses found four natural groupings between samples based on DPPH free radical scavenging activity content. Each plant extracts' antioxidant action was discussed based on similar results found in the literature, and a lower capacity was observed for most species. An overall ranking of the analyzed plant species can be accomplished due to the range of experimental methods. The literature review revealed that these natural antioxidants represent the best side-effect-free alternatives to synthetic additives, especially in the food processing industry.

Effect of rosemary addition on the sensorial and physicochemical qualities of dry-cured ham slices. Measurement of camphor transfer

This study determined the effect of three concentrations (R1: high, R2: medium and R3: low) of rosemary added to dry-cured ham slices vacuum packaged. pH and the colour parameters were evaluated at 0, 7, 14, 28 and 60 days of storage; visual appearance, odour, flavour and camphor content were assessed at days 7, 14, 28 and 60. The rosemary concentration changed the colour parameters, significantly altering the visual appearance (p < 0.001 at 7 and 14 days; p < 0.5 at day 28), but did not affect the pH, neither odour nor flavour. Nevertheless, significant differences were found with the time on R1 and R2 in odour (p < 0.01 and p < 0.001, respectively) and in flavour (p < 0.001). Camphor content was similar in all samples but changed over the time in R1 (p < 0.001) and R2 (p < 0.01). In conclusion, despite the differences observed, it is evident that the addition of this spice was to the liking of the panellists, in any of the concentrations used.

Interactions between Natural Products-A Review

Plant-based natural products have been used as a source for therapeutics since the dawn of civilization. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 80% of the world's population relies on traditional medicine for their primary healthcare. Numerous natural extracts, widely known in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Indian Ayurveda medicine and other practices, have led to the modern discovery and development of new drugs. Plants continuously interact with their environment, producing new compounds and ever-changing combinations of existing ones. Interestingly, some of the compounds have shown lower therapeutic activity in comparison to the extract they were isolated from. These findings suggest that the higher therapeutic activity of the source extract was due to the synergistic effect of several compounds. In other words, the total therapeutic potential of the extract cannot be explained only by the sum of its parts alone. In traditional medicine, most herbal remedies are based on a mixture of plants, and it is the interaction between different constituents that amplifies their therapeutic potential. Considering the significant influence traditional medicine has on human healthcare, knowing and studying the synergistic effect of compounds is paramount in designing smart therapeutic agents.

Conventional and Enzyme-Assisted Extraction of Rosemary Leaves (Rosmarinus officinalis L.): Toward a Greener Approach to High Added-Value Extracts

The effect of different extraction methods of rosemary leaves on the total phenolic content (TPC), and the antioxidant activity of the extracts was herein investigated. Firstly, the solid-liquid conventional extraction (CEM) and microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) were implemented in an effort to identify the effect of the solvent and of microwave irradiation on the extract quality. The extract obtained from CEM at room temperature, using ethanol/water 95:5 v/v, showed the highest antioxidant activity (IC50 = 12.1 μg/mL). MAE using ethanol/water 50:50 v/v provided an extract with TPC and DPPH radical scavenging ability in a significantly shorter extraction time (1 h for MAE and 24 h for CEM). Enzyme-assisted extraction (EAE) using five commercial enzyme formulations was implemented, and the kinetic equation was calculated. Finally, the effect of EAE as a pretreatment method to CEM was examined. Pretreatment of the plant material with pectinolytic enzymes for 1 h prior to a 24 h CEM with 50% hydroethanolic solvent was found to be the optimum conditions for the extraction of rosemary leaves, providing an extract with higher DPPH radical scavenging ability (IC50 14.3 ± 0.8 μg/mL) and TPC (15.2 ± 0.3 mgGAE/grosemary) than the corresponding extract without the enzyme pretreatment.