Two major flavonoids from Ballota nigra

Ballota nigra L. – an overview of pharmacological effects and traditional uses

Ballota nigra, also known as black horehound is a common medical herb used in folk medicine around the world. First reported mentions of its medical properties and use goes as far as the 13th century. The use of black horehound depends on regions and countries. It is used mostly to treat e.g. mild sleep disorders, nervousness, upset stomach, wound healing. It can be used as an anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiprotozoal, antifungal drug. Moreover, it has been reported as a potential cancer drug. This extensive usage is particularly interesting for us. The aim of this review is to present available data on B. nigra pharmacological effects and known traditional uses gathered from a wide range of scientific articles published in 1997–2020.

Members of the family <i>Lamiaceae</i> Lindl. as sources of medicinal plant raw materials to obtain neurotropic drugs

The aim of this work is to review and analyze the data published in the modern scientific literature obtained in pharmacological, pharmacognostic and pharmacotechnological studies of various types of raw materials obtained from members of the family Lamiaceae L., which were sources of biologically active substances, pharmaceutical substances, total extracts and the drugs – with a neurotropic activity.

Materials and methods. For the review, we used the information of scientific literature from open and accessible sources of the last twenty years, located in the scientific and technical libraries of institutions, as well as in electronic databases: Elibrary, PubMed, Scopus, Cyberleninka, GoogleAcademy, J-Stage. The search inquiries were: the species of the family Lamiaceae (Russian and Latin), the samples of medicinal plant materials based on them as well as the names of the drugs and biologically active substances obtained from these raw materials.

Results. When working with the sources of scientific information, the main attention was paid to pharmacologic tests performed during the studies on laboratory animals and proving the presence of neurotropic activity in the studied objects – essential oils and extracts from plant raw materials: aqueous, aqueous alcoholic, and methanol ones. It has been established that the potential of the therapeutic and preventive application of pharmaceutical substances and drugs based on the medicinal plant materials obtained from 30 genera members of the Lamiaceae family, remains unrealized despite the close attention of various researchers.

Conclusion. This review comprised 71 species from 30 genera. Despite the significant level of the previous study presented in the analysis of this publication, an enormous potential of this family’s species remains unexplored. In the future, they can be of both – pharmacognostic and practical interest, in particular, in creation of new medicinal preparations of the neurotropic action based on them.

A review on traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacological activities of the genus Ballota

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

The genus Ballota L. (Lamiaceae) comprises 33 to 35 species distributed mainly in temperate and subtropical regions of the world. Some species have been used in folk medicine as antiemetic, antispasmodic, sedative agents, vermifuge, antihemorrhoid and also in treatment of cough, etc. AIM OF THIS REVIEW: This review article aims to provide organized information on the available traditional uses, phytochemical and pharmacological studies of the genus Ballota, and to obtain new insights for further researches.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Electronic databases, including Web of Science, Science Direct, Google Scholar, Scopus, PubMed, and Springer Link were used as information sources. General web searches were carried out using Google and Yahoo search engines by applying related search terms. Additional information was derived from books and journals in English, Latin and Persian, and also Ph.D. theses and M.Sc. dissertations.

RESULTS

Terpenoids (particularly furanolabdane diterpenoids) and flavonoids were the main phytochemical classes identified in the extracts of Ballota species. Furanolabdane diterpenoids, e.g. ballonigrin, dehydrohispanolone, and hispanolone were reported in many species of Ballota. β-Caryophyllene, caryophyllene oxide, and germacrene D were found as the most common major compounds isolated from the essential oils of the genus Ballota. Sixty-four pharmacological studies conducted on cell lines, microorganisms, and animals were included in this review. Some species of Ballota exhibited various pharmacological activities, including promising antidepressant, anxiolytic, sedative-hypnotic, and antitussive activities in animal models. The pharmacological activities can be attributed to bioactive phytochemicals.

CONCLUSION

The genus Ballota is a valuable source of bioactive compounds with therapeutic potential in different diseases. Some pharmacological studies showed incomplete methodologies and ambiguous findings. Thus, the research designs of pharmacological studies based on traditional uses of Ballota species are strongly needed in cell lines and animal models. More in vitro and in vivo animal studies are required to confirm the safety, clarification of the effective doses, bioactive compounds, and the mechanisms of actions before future clinical studies.

Essential Oil Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of Ballota nigra L. ssp Foetida

The chemical composition of the essential oil of Ballota nigra L. ssp foetida obtained from the flowering aerial parts was analyzed by GC/MS. From the 37 identified constituents of the oil, β-caryophyllene (20.0%), germacrene D (18.0%) and caryophyllene oxide (15.0%) were the major components. The oil was active against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria as well as against three Candida species.

Effects of extracts from Italian medicinal plants on planktonic growth, biofilm formation and adherence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

AIM OF STUDY

One-third of botanical remedies from southern Italy are used to treat skin and soft tissue infection (SSTI). Staphylococcus aureus, a common cause of SSTI, has generated increasing concern due to drug resistance. Many plants possess antimicrobial agents and provide effective remedies for SSTI. Our aim was to investigate plants from different ethnobotanical usage groups for inhibition of growth and biofilms in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Three groups were assessed: plant remedies for SSTI, plant remedies not involving the skin, and plants with no ethnomedical application. We screened 168 extracts, representing 104 botanical species, for activity against MRSA (ATCC 33593). We employed broth dilution methods to determine the MIC after 18 h growth using an optical density (OD 600 nm) reading. Anti-biofilm effects were assessed by growing biofilms for 40 h, then fixing and staining with crystal violet. After washing, 10% Tween 80 was added and OD 570 nm readings were taken.

RESULTS

Extracts from 10 plants exhibited an IC50<or=32 microg/ml for biofilm inhibition: Lonicera alpigena, Castanea sativa, Juglans regia, Ballota nigra, Rosmarinus officinalis, Leopoldia comosa, Malva sylvestris, Cyclamen hederifolium, Rosa canina, and Rubus ulmifolius. Limited bacteriostatic activity was evident.

CONCLUSION

This study has demonstrated that the anti-biofilm activity of medicinal plants used for SSTI is significantly greater than plants without any ethnomedical applications.

Antioxidant properties of Ballota species growing in Turkey

In the present study, the antioxidant properties of ethanol extracts of 16 Ballota species belonging to the Lamiaceae family and growing in Turkey on superoxide anion formation and lipid peroxidation were investigated. All extracts inhibited superoxide anion formation but to different extents. The extracts of Ballota antalyense, Ballota macrodonta, Ballota glandulosissima, Ballota larendana, Ballota pseudodictamnus, Ballota nigra subsp. anatolica, Ballota saxatilis subsp. saxatilis, Ballota rotundifolia, and Ballota saxatilis subsp. brachyodonta exhibited remarkable anti-superoxide anion formation with IC(50) values from 0.50 to 0.87 mg/ml. The extracts of Ballota antalyense, Ballota macrodonta and Ballota glandulosissima have the lowest IC(50) values (0.50, 0.51 and 0.51 mg/ml, respectively) which were rather close to the well-known superoxide anion scavenger alpha-tocopherol (IC(50): 0.22 mg/ml). The extracts of Ballota inaequidens, Ballota glandulosissima, Ballota saxatilis subsp. saxatilis, Ballota macrodonta and Ballota antalyense inhibited lipid peroxidation with IC(50) values from 12 to 20 mg/ml. The extracts of Ballota inaequidens (IC(50): 12 mg/ml) and Ballota glandulosissima (IC(50): 15 mg/ml) exhibited the strongest inhibitory effects on lipid peroxidation compared with alpha-tocopherol (IC(50): 3 mg/ml). The results show that Ballota glandulosissima is the best antioxidant source among these 16 Ballota species.

Isolation and pharmacological activity of phenylpropanoid esters from Marrubium vulgare

The isolation and identification of major phenylpropanoid esters from Marrubium vulgare: (+) (E)-caffeoyl-L-malic acid 1, acteoside 2, forsythoside B 3, arenarioside 4, ballotetroside 5, as well as their anti-inflammatory activity are reported for the first time. We evaluated the inhibitory effects of these five compounds on cyclooxygenase (Cox) catalysed prostaglandin biosynthesis activity. Only the glycosidic phenylpropanoid esters showed an inhibitory activity towards the Cox-2 enzyme and three of them: acteoside 2, forsythoside B 3, arenarioside 4, exhibited higher inhibitory potencies on Cox-2 than on Cox-1. These results are of interest, as Cox-2 is mainly associated with inflammation and the Cox-1 inhibition with adverse side effects often observed with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The occurrence of these phenylpropanoid esters could also explain some other pharmacological properties of M. vulgare.