Free Radical Scavenging Principles of Salvia reuterana Boiss. Aerial Parts

Edible Herbal Medicines as an Alternative to Common Medication for Sleep Disorders: A Review Article

Insomnia is repeated difficulty in falling asleep, maintaining sleep, or experiencing lowquality sleep, resulting in some form of daytime disturbance. Sleeping disorders cause daytime fatigue, mental confusion, and over-sensitivity due to insufficient recovery from a sound sleep. There are some drugs, such as benzodiazepines and anti-histaminic agents, which help to sleep induction and insomnia cure. However, the prolonged administration is unsuitable because of tolerance and dependence. Therefore, the researchers attempt to find new medicines with lesser adverse effects. Natural products have always been good sources for developing new therapeutics for managing diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, insomnia, and liver and renal problems. Ample research has justified the acceptable reason and relevance of the use of these herbs in the treatment of insomnia. It is worth noting that in this study, we looked into various Persian herbs in a clinical trial and in vivo to treat insomnia, such as Artemisia annua, Salvia reuterana, Viola tricolor, Passiflora incarnata, lettuce, and Capparis spinose. According to research, herb extracts and fractions, particularly n-butanol fractions with non-polar agents, impact the benzodiazepine receptors and have hypnotic properties. Also, alkaloids, glycosides, flavonoids, saponins, and tannins in practically every plant are mentioned making them the popular natural compounds to help with sleep disorders and promote calmness.

The Difference of Volatile Compounds in Female and Male Buds of Trichosanthes anguina L. Based on HS-SPME-GC-MS and Multivariate Statistical Analysis

Trichosanthes anguina L. (family Cucurbitaceae) is a monoecious and diclinous plant that can be consumed as a vegetable and has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. The chemical composition and content of volatile compounds in female and male buds of T. anguina were explored by headspace solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) technology combined with multivariate statistical analysis. The results showed that the content of the volatile compounds was different between female and male buds. 2,2,6-trimethyl-6-vinyltetrahydro-2H-pyran-3-ol and 2,2,6-trimethyl-6-vinyldihydro-2H-pyran-3(4H)-one were the main volatile compounds in both female and male buds. Based on the multivariate statistical analysis of orthogonal projections to latent structures discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) and t-test, the content of seven compounds was significantly different between female and male buds. The content of three compounds in male buds was higher than that in female, i.e., (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene, 1,5,9,9-tetramethyl-1,4,7-cycloundecatriene, and (E)-caryophyllene. Conversely, the content of (Z)-4-hexen-1-ol, (Z)-3-hexenyl benzoate, (Z)-3-hexenyl salicylate, and 2-hexen-1-ol in female buds was higher than that in male buds. This is the first report on the difference in the volatile compounds between female and male buds of T. anguina, which enriches the basic research on the monoecious and diclinous plant and provides a reference for the study of plant sex differentiation.

A Study of Karabaghian Skullcap (Scutellaria platystegia Juz.): Antioxidant and Antibacterial Activity Assays, Essential Oil Analysis, and Isolation of Its Phenolic Compounds

Background: Scutellaria platystegia Juz. is an herbaceous perennial, distributed in the northwest of Iran and southern Caucasian countries? Objectives: This study aimed to examine the antioxidant and antibacterial activities of the aerial part of S. platystegia and to determine the phytochemical constituents of its extract and essential oil. Methods: The ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) methods were used to examine the antioxidant effects of fractions obtained from the hydroalcoholic extract of the aerial part of S. platystegia. The antibacterial activity screening was also performed using the disk diffusion and microdilution methods. The phytochemical constituents of the most active fractions were investigated using column chromatography. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging and UV-Vis spectral analysis were used to determine the chemical structure of the isolated compounds. The GC-MS technique was also employed to identify the essential oil composition of the plant. Results: In the antioxidant activity assay, the n-butanol fraction was the most potent fraction, with a half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 16.14 ± 0.8 µg/mL on the DPPH assay and 736.4 ± 4.6 mmol FeSO4.7H2O equivalent per gram of sample on the FRAP assay. The n-butanol fraction exhibited very strong antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Shigella dysenteriae (inhibition zone diameter: 20 - 25 mm, MIC: 125 - 250 µg/mL). The phytochemical analysis of the most active fractions resulted in the isolation of the following components from the chloroform fraction: 5,7,2'-trihydroxy-8,6'-dimethoxyflavone; 5-hydroxy-6,7,8,2',6'-pentamethoxyflavone; 5,2',6'-trihydroxy-7,8-dimethoxyflavone; 5,2',6'-trihydroxy-6,7,8-trimethoxyflavone; and 5,4'-dihydroxy-7-methoxyflavone. Besides, the following components were extracted from the n-butanol fraction: luteolin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside; verbascoside; apigenin; kaempferol; caffeic acid; rosmarinic acid; apigenin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside; apigenin-7-O-β-D-(-6''-(E)-caffeoyl)-glucopyranoside; and luteolin. Fourteen compounds were also identified in the plant essential oil; terpinen-4-ol (44.41%), α-terpineol (10.75%), caryophyllene oxide (9.61%), and thymol (8.73%) were the main compounds. Conclusions: This study introduced S. platystegia as a plant rich in bioactive phenolic compounds, with considerable antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Therefore, it can be suggested as a potential candidate to be evaluated in future biological studies.

In vitro biological potential of the essential oil of some aromatic species used in Iranian traditional medicine

The goal of this study is to evaluate the chemical compounds, the anti-bacterial/fungal activity, and the cytotoxicity of the essential oil of three species of lamiaceae in Iran. After the extraction of the essential oil implementing the hydrodistillation method, the analysis and identification of the compounds were carried out with a chromatograph coupled with a mass spectrometer. For the evaluation of the anti-bacterial/fungal activity of the essential oils, the measurement of the diameter of inhibition halo, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), bactericidal and fungicidal concentrations (MBC/MFC) were utilized; and for the evaluation of the cytotoxic activity of the essential oils, the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) method was used. The results show that the dominant compounds in the Perovskia abrotanoides Kar essential oil were camphor (21.68%), 1,8-cineole (14.26%), and α-pinene (7.23%); moreover, the dominant compounds in the Salvia reuteriana Boiss. Essential oil were benzyl benzoate (27.10%), linalool (13.27%), and sclareol (7.75%); in addition, the dominant compounds in the Ziziphora clinopodioides subsp. rigida (Boiss.) Rech.f. were cyclofenchene (25.29%), pulegone (14.14%), and menthol (7.70%). The largest halo diameter of inhibition halo (~ 22 mm) was against Streptococcus pyogenes and the strongest inhibiting and killing activity was against Candida albicans (MIC and MFC = 125 μg/mL) shown by the S. reuteriana essential oil which, respectively, matched the control antibiotics rifampin and nystatin. The analysis of the MTT test results showed that the Z. clinopodioides subsp. rigida essential oil (with IC50 value of ~ 144.2500) had the strongest cytotoxic activity against human ovarian cancer cells (OVCAR-3). On the whole, the results show that the essential oil of the Lamiaceae family plants is a source for various compounds with potential biological activities which can serve as a possible alternative to produce herbal medicine which are effective on some microorganisms and cancer cell lines.