Beyond Traditional Use of Alchemilla vulgaris: Genoprotective and Antitumor Activity In Vitro

Alchemilla vulgaris L. (lady's mantle) was used for centuries in Europe and Balkan countries for treatments of numerous conditions and diseases of the reproductive system, yet some of the biological activities of lady's mantle have been poorly studied and neglected. The present study aimed to estimate the potential of A. vulgaris ethanolic extract from Southeast Serbia to prevent and suppress tumor development in vitro, validated by antioxidant, genoprotective, and cytotoxic properties. A total of 45 compounds were detected by UHPLC-HRMS analysis in A. vulgaris ethanolic extract. Measurement of antioxidant activity revealed the significant potential of the tested extract to scavenge free radicals. In addition, the analysis of micronuclei showed an in vitro protective effect on chromosome aberrations in peripheral human lymphocytes. A. vulgaris extract strongly suppressed the growth of human cell lines derived from different types of tumors (MCF-7, A375, A549, and HCT116). The observed antitumor effect is realized through the blockade of cell division, caspase-dependent apoptosis, and autophagic cell death. Our study has shown that Alchemilla vulgaris L. is a valuable source of bioactive compounds able to protect the subcellular structure from damage, thus preventing tumorigenesis as well as suppressing tumor cell growth.

Phenolic Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Alchemilla Species

The genus Alchemilla, belonging to the Rosaceae family, is a rich source of interesting secondary metabolites, including mainly flavonoids, tannins, and phenolic acids, which display a variety of biological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antioxidant. Alchemilla species are used in traditional medicine for treatment of acute diarrhea, wounds, dysmenorrhea, and menorrhagia. In this review, we focus on the phenolic compound composition and antioxidative activity of Alchemilla species. We can assume that phytomedicine and natural products chemistry are of significant importance due to the fact that extract combinations with various bioactive compounds possess the activity to protect the human body rather than disturb damaging factors.

Natural products against cisplatin-induced male reproductive toxicity: A comprehensive review

Cisplatin is widely used as one of the most effective anticancer agents in the treatment of some neoplasms. Reproductive toxicity is the most common outcome associated with cisplatin testicular damage. Alternative natural medicines for treating male testicular disorders and infertility have received extensive attention in research. Natural products, medicinal herbs, and their secondary metabolites have been shown as promising agents in the management of testicular damage induced by chemotherapy drugs. This study aimed to review the research related to natural substances that are promising in mitigation of the cisplatin-induced toxicity in the reproductive system. PubMed and Scopus were searched for studies on various natural products for their potential protective property against reproductive toxicity induced by cisplatin from 2000 to 2020. Eligibility was checked based on selection criteria. Fifty-nine articles were included in this review. Mainly in animal studies, several natural agents have positively affected cisplatin-reproductive-toxicity factors, including reactive oxygen species, inflammatory mediators, DNA damage, and activation of the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. Most of the natural agents were investigated in short-term duration and high doses of cisplatin exposure, considering their antioxidant activity against oxidative stress. Considering antioxidant properties, various natural products might be effective for the management of cisplatin reproductive toxicity. However, long-term recovery of spermatogenesis and management of low-dose-cisplatin toxicity should be considered as well as the bioavailability of these agents before and after treatment with cisplatin without affecting its anticancer activity.

Traditional Uses, Chemical Constituents, Biological Properties, Clinical Settings, and Toxicities of Abelmoschus manihot L.: A Comprehensive Review

Abelmoschus manihot, an annual herbal flowering plant, is widely distributed throughout eastern Europe and in temperate and subtropical regions of Asia. Its flowers have been traditionally used for the treatment of chronic kidney disease in China. Currently, more than 128 phytochemical ingredients have been obtained and identified from the flowers, seeds, stems, and leaves of A. manihot. The primary components are flavonoids, amino acids, nucleosides, polysaccharides, organic acids, steroids, and volatile oils. A. manihot and its bioactive constituents possess a plethora of biological properties, including antidiabetic nephropathy, antioxidant, antiadipogenic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anticonvulsant, antidepressant, antiviral, antitumor, cardioprotective, antiplatelet, neuroprotective, immunomodulatory, and hepatoprotective activities, and have effects on cerebral infarction, bone loss, etc. However, insufficient utilization and excessive waste have already led to a rapid reduction of resources, meaning that a study on the sustainable use of A. manihot is urgent and necessary. Moreover, the major biologically active constituents and the mechanisms of action of the flowers have yet to be elucidated. The present paper provides an early and comprehensive review of the traditional uses, chemical constituents, pharmacological activities, and pharmaceutical, quality control, toxicological, and clinical settings to emphasize the benefits of this plant and lays a solid foundation for further development of A. manihot.

A Review on the Dietary Flavonoid Tiliroside

Among flavonoid derivatives, tiliroside is a flavonoid contained in several edible plants or specific plant parts (fruits, leaves, or roots). These parts are often widely used as both food and medicines, in the treatment of various ailments and, in some cases, as food supplements. Considering the easy access to many publications concerning tiliroside and the lack of a review that summarizes the current progress in studies on its safety, efficacy, and presence in the plant kingdom, we present here a review paper on tiliroside and its principal derivatives. The paper also highlights the basic knowledge regarding this molecule, its derivatives, and the analytical approaches used for extraction and quantification, as well as reports on the biological activities against different key enzymes linked to various human diseases. The reported information is also devoted to highlighting the concept "learn from nature to discover new products," particularly in the development of new drugs, food supplements, and nutraceuticals, starting from a natural lead compound such as tiliroside and improving its biological activities (and selectivities) against a specific target for therapeutic purposes.

Secondary Metabolites of Alchemilla persica Growing in Iran (East Azarbaijan)

Phytochemical investigations of Alchemilla persica Rothm. growing in Iran were performed taking into account both the volatile and polar constituents. The hydrodistilled essential oil was analysed by GC-MS that revealed the presence of alkanes (27.8%), diterpenoids (19.6 %) and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (17.1%) as the major constituents, while tannins and flavonol glycosides were identified as the most abundant constituents of the methanol extract by HPLC-MS. A. persica can be a valuable source of ellagitannins and polyphenols.

Anti-Helicobacter Pylori Activity of Four Alchemilla Species (Rosaceae)

The present study evaluated the anti- Helicobacter pylori activity of Alchemilla glabra Neygenf. ( A. sect. Alchemilla), A. monticola Opiz ( A. sect. Plicatae S.E. Fröhner), A. fissa Günther & Schummel ( A. sect. Calycinae (Buser) Buser) and A. viridiflora Rothm. ( A. sect. Calycinae), and identified ellagic acid and quercetin-3- O-β-D-glucoside. Anti- H. pylori activity was tested against ten clinical isolates and one reference strain (ATCC 43504). The methanol extracts were more active than the dichloromethane and cyclohexane extracts. The ranges of concentrations were between 4 μg/mL for methanol extracts of A. viridiflora, A. glabra and A. monticola, and 256 μg/mL for cyclohexane extracts of A. viridiflora, A. glabra and A. fissa. The best overall activity was obtained with A. monticola extracts. No significant difference was found in the ellagic acid contents of the methanol extracts of the tested Alchemilla species (0.2–0.3 mg/mL), and anti- H. pylori activity was similar (4–32 μg/mL). Ellagic acid exhibited strong activity at very low concentrations (0.125–0.5 μg/mL), while the second identified compound, quercetin-3- O-β-D-glucoside, was also very active in concentration of 2–16 μg/mL.

Huangkui capsule, an extract from Abelmoschus manihot (L.) medic, ameliorates adriamycin-induced renal inflammation and glomerular injury via inhibiting p38MAPK signaling pathway activity in rats

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Abelmoschus manihot (L.) medic (AM) is a natural medicinal plant used for the treatment of inflammatory diseases in China. Huangkui capsule (HKC), an extract from AM, has been proved clinically effective in improving renal inflammation and glomerular injury in chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, the dose-effects and the mechanisms involved in vivo are still unclear.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This study was performed to examine the dose-effects of HKC on renal inflammation and glomerular lesion in adriamycin-induced nephropathy (ADRN), then to clarify the mechanisms in vivo of HKC by investigating its actions on modulating the activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK) signaling pathway.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The rats with chronic ADRN, created by the unilateral nephrectomy and twice adriamycin injections (ADR, 4 mg/kg and 2mg/kg) within 4 weeks, were divided into four groups, a Sham group, a Vehicle group, a high-dose HKC group, and a low-dose HKC group, and that, sacrificed at the end of the 4th week after the administration. The rat's general status, renal morphological appearance, proteinuria, blood biochemical parameters, glomerular morphological changes, podocyte shape, and macrophage (ED1(+) and ED3(+) cells) infiltration in glomeruli were examined, respectively. The protein expressions of inflammatory cytokines including tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-2, as well as p38MAPK signaling molecules such as transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, p38MAPK, and phosphorylated-p38MAPK (p-p38MAPK), were also evaluated individually.

RESULTS

HKC at high dose of 2g/kg/d not only significantly ameliorated the rat's general status, renal morphological appearance, proteinuria, albumin, and glomerulosclerosis, but also obviously reduced the infiltrated ED1(+) and ED3(+) macrophages in glomeruli and TNF-α protein expression in the kidney, in addition to these, evidently down-regulated TGF-β1 and p-p38MAPK protein expressions in ADRN rats, but had no influence on podocyte shape and renal function.

CONCLUSION

HKC could dose-dependently ameliorate renal inflammation and glomerular injury in ADRN rats, by way of reducing the infiltration and the activation of macrophages in glomeruli, and TNF-α protein expression in the kidney, as well as inhibiting p38MAPK signaling pathway activity via the down-regulation of p-p38MAPK and TGF-β1 protein expressions in vivo.

Chemical and Biological Investigation of Some Secondary Metabolites in Atriplex Halimus Growing in Egypt

The n-BuOH-soluble fraction of the MeOH-CH2Cl2 (1:1) extract of the aerial parts of Egyptian Atriplex halimus L. yielded two new flavonol glycosides, designated as atriplexoside A (1) [3′- O-methylquercetin-4′- O-β-apiofuranoside-3- O-(6″- O-α-rhamnopyranosyl-β-glucopyranoside)] and atriplexoside B (2) [3′- O-methylquercetin-4′- O-(5″″- O-β-xylopyranosyl-β-apiofuranoside)-3- O-(6″- O-α-rhamnopyranosyl-β-glucopyranoside)], together with six known compounds: two phenolic glucosides (3, 4), one ecdysteroid (5), one megastigmane (6) and two methoxylated flavonoid glycosides (7, 8). The structures of the compounds were elucidated by detailed spectroscopic analysis, including HR-ESI-MS and 2D-NMR spectroscopic data. DPPH radical scavenging, antileishmanial and anti-multidrug resistance activities were investigated using the n-BuOH-soluble fraction as well as the isolated compounds. Compound 8 (5- O-methylquercetin-3- O-(6″- O-α-rhamnopyranosyl-β-glucopyranoside) presented marked DPPH radical scavenging, weak antileishmanial and anti-multidrug resistance activity while the other tested compounds showed weaker activities.

Influence of Nutrient Medium Composition on in vitro Growth, Polyphenolic Content and Antioxidant Activity of Alchemilla mollis

Alchemilla mollis (Buser) Rothm. (Rosaceae) is a high-mountain medicinal plant growing in the Balkan Peninsula, with only one population in Bulgaria. Alchemilla plants (Lady's mantle) are commonly used in traditional medicine for treatment of many gynecological diseases. The commercial drugs “Herba Alchemillae” induce a rapid regeneration of skin epithelium and have styptic and anti-inflammatory actions. Because of the high content of phenolic compounds (tannins and flavonoids) and the ecological plasticity of the species, field cultivation or in vitro biomass production of A. mollis are possible alternatives to its collection from nature. Four MS based nutrient media differing in the concentration of the minerals and supplemented with α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and benzylaminopurine (BAP) were tested in order to examine their influence on the shoot multiplication effectiveness and the antioxidant activity of A. mollis, and also the possible relation between these parameters under the conditions of in vitro culture. The cultures grown for two months on these media differed significantly in their multiplication rates ( p<0.001), as well as in their morphological features – height, leaf color and root development. Methanol extracts of in vitro cultivated and ex vitro adapted and acclimated on Vitosha Mt. (1500 m a. s. l.) plants were analyzed for tannin and flavonoid content and for free radical scavenging activity. The contents of flavonoids and tannins in the in vitro cultures of A. mollis cultivated on the four tested media differed significantly ( p<0.05). The highest flavonoid content was found in the shoots cultivated on the control MS medium, as well as in the ex vitro adapted plants. The antioxidant activity of the in vitro cultures correlated positively with the concentrations of the PGRs in the respective media, and the ex vitro adapted plants had the highest antioxidant activity (IC50 13.1±1.9 μg/mL) commensurable with that of the commercial antioxidant butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) used as a positive control, with an IC50 of 12.65 μg/mL.