Constituents, Oxidant-Antioxidant Profile, and Antimicrobial Capacity of the Essential Oil Obtained from Ferulago Sandrasica Peşmen and Quézel

A new ferulol derivative isolated from the aerial parts of Ferulago nodosa (L.) Boiss. growing in Sicily (Italy)

Ferulago nodosa (L.) Boiss. (Apiaceae) is a species occurring in the Balkan-Tyrrhenian area being present in Crete, Greece, Albania, and probably in Macedonia. Although the western disjointed population of Sicily has been classified as an endemic sub-species, F. nodosa subsp. geniculata (Guss.) Troia & Raimondo, it is not officially accepted. From the aerial parts of the Sicilian accession of this species four known metabolites (1-4), and a new ferulol derivative (5), were isolated and characterized. The structure of the new compounds was determined by mean of extensive NMR spectroscopic experiments.

Optimization of extraction conditions and evaluation of Manilkara zapota (L.) P. Royen fruit peel extract for in vitro α-glucosidase enzyme inhibition and free radical scavenging potential

Background

Most of the edible portions like peel and skin of some fruits is discarded while consuming it, though they are rich in several health beneficial phytochemicals or nutrients. Many reports from literature are about fruit pulp of (Sapota) Manilkara zapota (L) P. Royen having high radical scavenging and antioxidant potential, but the studies relating to peel extracts are scanty. Regardless of its commendable phytoconstituents which could have free radical scavenging potential, this fruit peel is as yet still needed to be assessed for in vitro antidiabetic prospects. Hence, the present study aims at evaluating in vitro free radical scavenging and α-glucosidase enzyme hindrance abilities of this fruit peel.

Results

With a maximum considerable % extractive yield (18.90%) in 70% ethanol, this study has demonstrated that 70% ethanolic extract of Manilkara Zapota (L.) P. Royen Fruit Peel (MZFP) has the highest in vitro free radical scavenging potential as compared to extracts of other solvents viz. n-hexane, chloroform, acetone, absolute ethanol, and water by DPPH and H2O2 assays. In order to optimize the extraction condition parameters, MZFP sample evaluated with three different concentrations of ethanol (40%, 70%, 100%), extraction times (6 h, 9 h, 12 h), and temperatures (40 °C, 50 °C, 60 °C) to get the highest radical scavenging potential. The MZFP when extracted with 70% ethanol, at 50 °C for 12 h, showed higher DPPH (IC50 = 0.34 and 88.42% inhibition at 1 mg/ml) and H2O2 (IC50 = 32.69 and 65.78% inhibition at 50 μg/ml) radical scavenging potential than absolute and 40% ethanolic extracts, when ascorbic acid was used as a reference standard. While further evaluation for in vitro α-glucosidase enzyme inhibition, 70% ethanolic MZFP extract demonstrated high inhibition activity (IC50 = 104.23 ± 1.75 μg/ml) than absolute ethanolic extract (IC50 = 111.65 ± 1.57 μg/ml) with a significant difference (p < 0.05), when acarbose was taken as reference inhibitor (IC50 = 86.93 ± 0.74 μg/ml).

Conclusions

Overall results indicated that MZFP 70% ethanolic extract exhibited promising in vitro radical scavenging and α-glucosidase enzyme inhibition potential. Thus, suggesting further studies with isolated phytochemicals from peel to explore its potentials for antidiabetic activity through in vitro α-glucosidase enzyme inhibition.

The ethnobotany, phytochemistry and biological properties of genus Ferulago - A review

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

The genus Ferulago, belonging to the Apiaceae family, is found mainly in the Mediterranean area, Southwest and Middle Asia, the Caucasus and North Africa. Since ancient times, species of this genus have been largely employed in traditional medicine for their biological properties such as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, insecticidal, and anti-malaria, cholinesterase inhibition effects, etc. AIMS: The scope of this paper is to present a comprehensive respect review of this interesting genus including traditional uses, chemical composition of volatile and non-volatile metabolites, and in vitro and in vivo biological properties either utilizing the crude extracts or essential oils, or the single isolated compounds. Furthermore, critical considerations of the published data have been highlighted by comparing them with the results obtained from species of other genus belonging to the Apiaceae family.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The available information on these genera was collected from scientific databases and cover from 1967 up to 2020. The following electronic databases were used: PubMed, SciFinder, Science Direct, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar. The search terms used for this review included Ferulago, all the botanical names of the species, both accepted names or synonyms, essential oils, volatile components, traditional uses, activity, pharmacology, and toxicity. No limitations were set for languages. A total of 230 articles were included in the present review.

RESULTS

Researches performed on either crude extracts, solvent fractions or isolated pure compounds from species of genus Ferulago showed several biological properties such as antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, antidiabetic, enzymatic, cytotoxic, anticancer, hepatoprotective, nephroprotective, antileishmanial, antimalarial, anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory, insecticidal, etc. Activities. Phytochemical investigations of Ferulago species have revealed that coumarins are the main constituents of the genera. A large number of flavonoids, terpenoids and other metabolites were also identified. Furthermore, a complete review on the essential oil composition of all the taxa studied so far has been also included.

CONCLUSION

In the present study, we have provided scientific information and research developments on traditional uses, phytochemical profiles, biological activities and industrial practices on the Ferulago genus. The commercial use and the applications in agri-food sector of some of these species have been also considered. In fact, the various extracts and essential oils have been used as antioxidants and/or as antimicrobial agents, for the stabilization of sunflower and soybean oil, for food packagings, as antioxidants of mayonnaise and yogurt during their storage and, also, as economically valid source for obtaining single compounds, more expensive at a synthetic level.

In Vitro α-Amylase and α-Glucosidase Inhibitory and Antioxidant Activities of the Crude Extract and Solvent Fractions of Hagenia abyssinica Leaves

BACKGROUND

The leaves of Hagenia abyssinica have been used in the management of diabetes mellitus in Ethiopian folk medicine. Thus, this study is aimed at investigating the in vitro α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory and antioxidant activities of the crude extract and solvent fractions of H. abyssinica leaves.

METHODS

The in vitro α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory and antioxidant activities of the plant extract were assessed using 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid (DNSA), p-nitro-phenyl-a-D glucopyranoside (p-NPG), and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assays, respectively. Each value of percent inhibition of α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and DPPH scavenging effect was presented as means ± SEM (n = 3).

RESULTS

The α-amylase inhibitory activity of the crude extract and solvent fractions was found to be concentration-dependent. The strongest activity was exhibited by the crude extract at the highest concentration with a percentage inhibition of 74.52% (IC50, 14.52 μg/ml) followed by water fraction 68.24% (IC50, 16.31 μg/ml), ethyl acetate fraction 61.57% (IC50, 18.73 μg/ml), and chloroform fraction 56.87% (IC50, 21.57 μg/ml) of H. abyssinica leaves. In the α-glucosidase inhibition assay, the maximum activity was exhibited by the aqueous fraction 62.54% (IC50, 11.67 μg/ml) followed by ethyl acetate fraction 54.97% (IC50, 15.89 μg/ml), crude extract 46.79% (IC50, >16.5 μg/ml), and chloroform fraction 36.44% (IC50, >16.5 μg/ml). In the antioxidant assay, the crude extract exhibited the highest antioxidant activity 86.36% (IC50, 10.25 μg/ml) followed by water fraction 78.59% (IC50, 13.86 μg/ml), ethyl acetate fraction 71.58% (IC50, 16.34 μg/ml), and chloroform fraction 63.65% (IC50, 18.83 μg/ml).

CONCLUSION

This study has revealed that H. abyssinica leaves possess noticeable in vitro α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory and antioxidant activities.

The phytochemistry and biological diversity of Ferulago genus (Apiaceae): a systematic review

OBJECTIVES

The genus Ferulago belonging to the family Apiaceae is a flora widely distributed in Central Asia and the Mediterranean and used in folk medicine. It is administered as a sedative, tonic, digestive, aphrodisiac, also as a treatment for intestinal worms and haemorrhoids. Herein, we reported a review on phytochemistry and its biological activities reported from 1990 up to early 2020. All the information and reported studies concerning Ferulago plants were summarized from the library and digital databases (e.g. Scopus, Medline, Scielo, ScienceDirect, SciFinder and Google Scholar).

KEY FINDINGS

The phytochemical investigations of Ferulago species revealed the presence of coumarins as the main bioactive compounds, including daucane derivatives, sesquiterpenes aryl esters, phenol derivatives, flavonoids and essential oils. Moreover, the therapeutic potentials of the pure compounds isolated from the genus Ferulago possess promising properties namely anticholinesterase, antimicrobial, anticoagulant, antileishmanial, antioxidant, antibacterial and antiproliferative.

SUMMARY

Today, significant advances in phytochemical and biological activity studies of different Ferulago species have been revealed. The traditional uses and reported biological results could be correlated via the chemical characterization of these plants. All these data will support the biologists in the elucidation of the biological mechanisms of these plants.

Ferulago nodosa Subsp. geniculata (Guss.) Troia & Raimondo from Sicily (Italy): Isolation of Essential Oil and Evaluation of Its Bioactivity

Ferulago nodosa (L.) Boiss. (Apiaceae) is a species occurring in the Balkan-Tyrrhenian area. The object of the present study is Sicilian F. nodosa subsp. geniculata (Guss.) Troia & Raimondo, classified as an endemic F. nodosa subspecies. Aerial parts of this plant species were subjected to hydrodistillation to obtain an essential oil. A total of 93 compounds were identified with 2,3,6-trimethyl benzaldehyde (19.0%), spathulenol (9.0%), (E)-caryophyllene (5.4%), and caryophyllene oxide (5.4%) as the main components. The biological activities of F. nodosa essential oil were also investigated. This oil showed an interesting antioxidant potential in a 2,2'-Azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) test (IC₅₀ of 14.05 μg/mL). Additionally, hypoglycemic and antilipidemic effects were evaluated. Lipase enzyme was inhibited with an IC₅₀ value of 41.99 μg/mL. Obtained data demonstrated that F. nodosa could be considered a promising source of bioactive compounds useful for the treatment and management of obesity.

The α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities of the dichloromethane extracts and constituents of Ferulago bracteata roots

CONTEXT

Ferulago (Apiaceae) species have been used since ancient times for the treatment of intestinal worms, hemorrhoids, and as a tonic, digestive, aphrodisiac, or sedative, as well as in salads or as a spice due to their special odors.

OBJECTIVES

This study reports the α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities of dichloromethane extract and bioactive compounds isolated from Ferulago bracteata Boiss. & Hausskn. roots.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The isolated compounds obtained from dichloromethane extract of Ferulago bracteata roots through bioassay-guided fractionation and isolation process were evaluated for their in vitro α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities at 5000-400 µg/mL concentrations. Compound structures were elucidated by detailed analyses (NMR and MS).

RESULTS

A new coumarin, peucedanol-2'-benzoate (1), along with nine known ones, osthole (2), imperatorin (3), bergapten (4), prantschimgin (5), grandivitinol (6), suberosin (7), xanthotoxin (8), felamidin (9), umbelliferone (10), and a sterol mixture consisted of stigmasterol (11), β-sitosterol (12) was isolated from the roots of F. bracteata. Felamidin and suberosin showed significant α-glucosidase inhibitory activity (IC₅₀ 0.42 and 0.89 mg/mL, respectively) when compared to the reference standard acarbose (IC₅₀ 4.95 mg/mL). However, none of the tested extracts were found to be active on α-amylase inhibition.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

The present study demonstrated that among the compounds isolated from CH₂Cl₂ fraction of F. bracteata roots, coumarins were determined as the main chemical constituents of this fraction. This is the first report on isolation and characterization of the bioactive compounds from root extracts of F. bracteata and on their α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities.

Grandivittin as a natural minor groove binder extracted from Ferulago macrocarpa to ct-DNA, experimental and in silico analysis

Ferulago macrocarpa (Fenzl) Boiss., is an endemic medicinal herb of Iran. In this study a dihydrofuranocoumarin called grandivittin (GRA) was separate and purified from Ferulago macrocarpa (Fenzl) Boiss, and characterized by (1)H NMR and Mass spectroscopic methods. The electrochemical behavior of GRA was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV). The interaction of GRA with calf thymus double strand deoxyribonucleic acid (ct-DNA), was evaluated by CV, differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), fluorescence, UV-Vis, FT-IR and molecular modeling methods. The thermodynamic parameters of GRA-DNA complex were measured and reported as: ΔH = 15.04 kJ mol(-1), ΔS = 105.54 J mol(-1) and ΔG = -15.62 kJ mol(-1). Docking simulation was performed to investigate the probable binding mode of GRA to various DNA, too. The polymerase extension study was performed using real-time PCR to confirm the inhibitory effect of GRA on polymerase extension activity as a mirror of binding to ct-DNA. However, all data showed that the grooves binding especially minor groove between GRA and ct-DNA is more predominant rather than other binding modes.