Chemical constituents and their biological activities from the roots of diospyros filipendula

Passifetilactones A-E, Fatty Acid Lactones from the Fruit and Flowers of Passiflora foetida with Cytotoxic Activity

Phytochemical investigation of the fruit and flowers of Passiflora foetida led to the isolation of 14 compounds, of which five are previously undescribed fatty acid lactones. Four 2-pyrones, passifetilactones A-D (1-4), and one furanone, passifetilactone E (5), were identified by analysis of spectroscopic and spectrometric data. The previously undescribed lactones were tested for cytotoxic activities against the cancer cell lines HeLa, A549, PC-3, KKU-055, and KKU-213A and two normal cell lines, Vero and MMNK-1. Passifetilactones B (2) and C (3) displayed good to mild cytotoxic activity, at IC50 3.7-25.9 μM and 12.2-19.8 μM, respectively, against six cell lines, but were weakly active against the MMNK-1 cell line. Passifetilactones B and C (2 and 3) showed cell apoptosis induction on the KKU-055 cell line in a flow cytometry experiment. Passifetilactone D (4) is an isolation artifact produced by purification over silica gel, but we demonstrated that it can also be slowly formed within the crude EtOAc extract. This is the first investigation of the flowers and the fruit of this plant.

In vitro evaluation of the antibacterial and cytotoxic activities of the Euclea natalensis crude extract and fractions against oral infection agents

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed (i) to evaluate the antibacterial and cytotoxic activities of the crude extract and fractions obtained from Euclea natalensis A.D.C. roots against bacteria that cause periodontal disease and caries and (ii) to identify the isolated compounds.

DESIGN

The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the extract and fractions were determined by the microplate dilution assay. The cytotoxicity of the extract and fractions was evaluated by using the XTT colorimetric assay and normal human fibroblast cells (GM07492A, lung fibroblasts). The compounds present in the most promising fraction were determined by qualitative analysis through liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS-ESI).

RESULTS

The MIC results ranged from 25 to > 400 μg/mL for the extract and from 1.56 to > 400 μg/mL for the fractions. To evaluate cytotoxicity, the tested concentrations of the extract and fractions ranged from 19.5 to 2500 μg/mL; IC₅₀ values between 625 and 1250 μg/mL were obtained. Analysis of the main bioactive fraction by HPLC-MS-ESI identified phenolic acids, coumarins, naphthoquinones, lignans, and fatty acids.

CONCLUSIONS

The E. natalensis root extract and fractions displayed good antibacterial activity against periodontal pathogenic and cariogenic bacteria. The antibacterial activity may be due to compounds present in the extract and fractions, which also showed low cytotoxicity to normal human cells. These data are relevant and encourage further research into this plant species, which may contribute to the discovery of new herbal medicines that will help to mitigate the problems caused by oral pathogenic bacteria.

Diospyros anisandra phytochemical analysis and anti-hemagglutinin-neuraminidase activity on influenza AH1N1pdm09 virus

Influenza viral proteins Haemagglutinin (HA) and Neuraminidase (NA) are important targets for antiviral design. We analyzed for the first time the anti-HA activity and the NA inhibitory activity of extracts and their fractions from Diospyros anisandra on the influenza AH1N1pdm09 virus. The n-hexane fruit extract exhibited HA inhibitory (HAI) activity, and fraction F3 inhibited the hemagglutination from 12.5 up to 100 μg/ml. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis (GC-MS) on fraction F3, and the n-hexane fruit extract, identified six compounds that were individually evaluated. Only vitamin E and lupeol showed a slight inhibitory activity on HA at 100 μg/ml. Regarding the NA assays, the presence of fluorescent (coumarin) and antioxidant (α-tocopherol) compounds in the root extract, masked the NA assays when using fluorescence techniques. We concluded that D. anisandra is a promising source of bioactive compounds with diverse properties including anti-HA activity on the influenza AH1N1pdm09 virus.