Application of linear multivariate calibration techniques to identify the peaks responsible for the antioxidant activity of Satureja hortensis L. and Oliveria decumbens Vent. essential oils by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

The Essential Oil from Oliveria decumbens Vent. (Apiaceae) as Inhibitor of Breast Cancer Cell (MCF-7) Growth

Oliveria decumbens Vent. is an aromatic and medicinal plant traditionally used in Iran for the treatment of infections, gastrointestinal diseases, cancer, and inflammation. This research was aimed at investigating the pharmacological potential of O. decumbens essential oil (OEO) and its main compounds, focusing on OEO's cytotoxic effects on MCF-7 breast cancer cells. OEO was obtained by hydro-distillation, and the chemical constituents were identified using GC-MS. Thymol, carvacrol, γ-terpinene, and p-cymene were the main OEO constituents. When MCF-7 cells were treated with OEO, the expressions of genes related to apoptosis (BIM and Bcl-2), tumor suppression (PTEN), and cell growth inhibition (AURKA), were evaluated using real-time PCR. Moreover, molecular docking was used for studying in silico the interaction of OEO principal compounds with PTEN and AURKA. The expression of AURKA was significantly reduced since the OEO treatment enhanced the expression of PTEN. Through in silico molecular docking, it was revealed that thymol, carvacrol, p-cymene, and γ-terpinene can activate PTEN and thus inhibit AURKA. Additionally, the DNA fragmentation assay, acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EB) double-staining assay, and real-time PCR highlighted the fact that the OEO treatment could activate apoptosis and inhibit cell proliferation. Therefore, OEO is a viable candidate to be employed in the pharmaceutical industry, specifically as a possible agent for cancer therapy.

Establishment of actinobacteria-Satureja hortensis interactions under future climate CO2-enhanced crop productivity in drought environments of Saudi Arabia

Drought is a significant global constraint on agricultural production and food security. As a promising approach to improve plant growth and yield under challenging conditions, plant growth-promoting actinobacteria has attracted much interest. Further, elevated levels of atmospheric CO2 (eCO2) may promote the plant-actinobacteria interactions which could be effective to improve the plant growth for food production. Herein, we have investigated the impact of actinobacteria and/or CO2 on biomass production, photosynthesis, macronutrients, levels of organic acids, amino acids, and essential oils as well as antioxidant activities of Satureja hortensis under water-deficit conditions. Among different actinobacterial isolates evaluated for development of secondary metabolites and biological activities, Ac9 was highly capable of producing flavonoids, and it also showed high antioxidant and microbial activities. It markedly induced the plant growth, photosynthesis, and global metabolic improvement, under water-deficit conditions. Interestingly, treatment with Ac9 in combination with eCO2 substantially minimized drought stress-induced biomass and photosynthesis reductions in Satureja hortensis. Improved photosynthesis by Ac9 and/or eCO2 induced the primary and secondary metabolisms in drought-stressed plants. The levels of the majority of the detected organic acids, essential oil, and amino acids were further improved as a result of the synergistic action of Ac9 and eCO2, as compared to the individual treatments. Furthermore, Ac9 or eCO2 significantly improved the antioxidant activities in stressed plants; however, much more positive impact was obtained by their synchronous application. Thus, the current study suggests that actinobacterial treatment induces global metabolic changes in water-stressed Satureja hortensis, the effects that have been much more strengthened under eCO2.

A Review of Research Progress on Agathis dammara and its Application Prospects for Cardiovascular Diseases and Fatty Liver Disease

Cardiovascular diseases and fatty liver disease have become the leading causes of death in modern society. However, the currently existing drugs do not solve all issues related to these diseases; thus, it is expected that more potential drugs for clinical use will be developed. Undeniably, natural products have attracted increasing attention. It is of great significance to identify effective active monomer components for drug discovery and disease prevention. As a pure natural product, Agathis dammara (AD) has antioxidant, hypolipidemic, hypoglycemic, antitumor, and anti-inflammatory activities. However, at present, there are few reports regarding the effects of AD on chronic inflammatory cardiovascular diseases, such as aneurysm, atherosclerosis, myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury, and cardiac hypertrophy and liver diseases such as fatty liver disease. AD and products derived from it have a very broad application prospect for cardiovascular diseases and fatty liver disease.

Phytochemical Profile and Biological Activities of Satureja hortensis L.: A Review of the Last Decade

Satureja hortensis L. (summer savory) is an annual herbaceous crop, native to Europe and in our days spread and used all over the world. Although its use as spice and medicinal plant is known since ancient times, peer-reviewed studies presenting the scientific data are scarce. The natural products obtained from summer savory (extracts and essential oil) are dominated by polyphenols and flavonoids, responsible for their antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiparasitic, pesticidal, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, hepatoprotective and anticancer properties, among others. The current study presents the progress made in the last decade regarding the potential applications of summer savory, being the first review study focused on S. hortensis, in the same time suggesting future research opportunities, as they appear from the properties of other Satureja species. The available data presenting the properties of summer savory represents a scientific support for application in industry, for developing “clean label” food products.

Characterization of Aroma-Active Components and Antioxidant Activity Analysis of E-jiao (Colla Corii Asini) from Different Geographical Origins

E-jiao (Colla Corii Asini, CCA) has been widely used as a healthy food and Chinese medicine. Although authentic CCA is characterized by its typical sweet and neutral fragrance, its aroma components have been rarely investigated. This work investigated the aroma-active components and antioxidant activity of 19 CCAs from different geographical origins. CCA extracts obtained by simultaneous distillation and extraction were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O) and sensory analysis. The antioxidant activity of CCAs was determined by ABTS and DPPH assays. A total of 65 volatile compounds were identified and quantified by GC-MS and 23 aroma-active compounds were identified by GC-O and aroma extract dilution analysis. The most powerful aroma-active compounds were identified based on the flavor dilution factor and their contents were compared among the 19 CCAs. Principal component analysis of the 23 aroma-active components showed 3 significant clusters. Canonical correlation analysis between antioxidant assays and the 23 aroma-active compounds indicates strong correlation (r = 0.9776, p = 0.0281). Analysis of aroma-active components shows potential for quality evaluation and discrimination of CCAs from different geographical origins.

GC-MS Fingerprinting Combined with Chemometric Methods Reveals Key Bioactive Components in Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma

This present study aims to identify the key bioactive components in acorus tatarinowii rhizoma (ATR), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with various bioactivities. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) was employed to describe the relationship between the radical scavenging activity and the volatile components. The PLSR model was improved by outlier elimination and variable selection and was evaluated by 10-fold cross-validation and external validation in this study. Based on the PLSR model, eleven chemical components were identified as the key bioactive components by variable importance in projection. The final PLS regression model with these components has good predictive ability. The Q² was 0.8284, and the root mean square error for prediction was 2.9641. The results indicated that the eleven components could be a pattern to predict the radical scavenging activity of ATR. In addition, we did not find any specific relationship between the radical scavenging ability and the habitat of the ATRs. This study proposed an efficient strategy to predict bioactive components using the combination of quantitative chromatography fingerprints and PLS regression, and has potential perspective for screening bioactive components in complex analytical systems, such as TCM.

Evaluating the Effects of Microwave-Assisted Hydrodistillation on Antifungal and Radical Scavenging Activities of Oliveria decumbens and Chaerophyllum macropodum Essential Oils

In this study, radical scavenging and antifungal activities of Chaerophyllum macropodum and Oliveria decumbens essential oils (EOs) extracted with microwave-assisted hydrodistillation (MAHD) were evaluated in comparison with the same EOs extracted by conventional hydrodistillation (HD). The final EO yields that were obtained using HD (after 150 min) and MAHD (after 45 min) were 1.72 and 1.67% for C. macropodum and 8.10 and 7.91% for O. decumbens, respectively. There were no significant differences between the final EO yields extracted with HD and MAHD, but MAHD could significantly reduce the duration of the extraction operation. Average rates of EO accumulation (grams per minute) with MAHD were at least three times higher than with HD. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of EOs indicated that there were no significant differences between the composition of EOs extracted by HD and MAHD. Both plants showed high radical scavenging activity, with 50% inhibitory concentration values of 0.430 to 0.431 mg/mL for C. macropodum and 0.142 to 0.146 mg/mL for O. decumbens. Antifungal activity was performed against six fungal species, including Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus oryzae, Penicillium chrysogenum, Trichoderma harzianum, Byssochlamys spectabilis, and Paecilomyces variotii. A. niger and A. oryzae were the most resistant fungi, and T. harzianum was the most susceptible. Evaluation of MIC and minimum fungicidal concentration values showed that the O. decumbens EOs were very active against all the tested fungi, which can be attributed to the high amounts of oxygenated terpenes in the EO content. Therefore, MAHD as a fast extraction technique did not have any adverse effects on chemical composition, radical scavenging activity, and antifungal activity of C. macropodum and O. decumbens EOs.

An ultrasensitive and selective method for the determination of Ceftriaxone using cysteine capped cadmium sulfide fluorescence quenched quantum dots as fluorescence probes

In this paper, l-cysteine (Cys) coated CdS quantum dots (QDs) have been prepared, which have excellent water-solubility and are highly stable in aqueous solution. These QDs is proposed as sensitizers for the determination of Ceftriaxone. The quantum dot nanoparticles were structurally and optically characterized by Ultra Violet-Visible absorption Spectroscopy (UV-vis absorption spectroscopy), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR spectra) and photoluminescence (PL) emission spectroscopy. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) confirms that the Cys-CdS QDs have a spherical structure with good crystallinity. Therefore, a new simple and selective PL analysis system was developed for the determination of Ceftriaxone (CFX). Under the optimum conditions, The response of l-Cys capped CdS QDs as the probe was linearly proportional to the concentration of Ceftriaxone ions in the range of 1.6×10(-9)-1.1×10(-3)M with a correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.9902. The limit of detection of this system was found to be 1.3nM. This method is simple, sensitive and low cost.