Anti-inflammatory constituents from Perovskia atriplicifolia

Lignans as Pharmacological Agents in Disorders Related to Oxidative Stress and Inflammation: Chemical Synthesis Approaches and Biological Activities

Plant lignans exhibit a wide range of biological activities, which makes them the research objects of potential use as therapeutic agents. They provide diverse naturally-occurring pharmacophores and are available for production by chemical synthesis. A large amount of accumulated data indicates that lignans of different structural groups are apt to demonstrate both anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, in many cases, simultaneously. In this review, we summarize the comprehensive knowledge about lignan use as a bioactive agent in disorders associated with oxidative stress and inflammation, pharmacological effects in vitro and in vivo, molecular mechanisms underlying these effects, and chemical synthesis approaches. This article provides an up-to-date overview of the current data in this area, available in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases, screened from 2000 to 2022.

Does A Flavoured Extra Virgin Olive Oil Have Higher Antioxidant Properties?

Extra virgin olive oil is highly appreciated worldwide for its healthy and organoleptic properties. From the variety of compounds present in the oil, phenols stand out, not only for producing the bitter-pungent perception but also for their antioxidant properties, which contribute to human health protection. The addition of plants can change the phenolic profile due to a migration of plant antioxidants to the oil. The aim of this work was to study the evolution of the oxidative process of extra virgin olive oil under mild storage conditions for 8 months, monitoring the individual content of 15 phenols by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and the changes of the phenolic profile of the non-flavoured oil compared with the same flavoured (rosemary and basil) oil. The oxidative alteration was more marked in virgin than in flavoured oils, where it happened slowly. Throughout storage, the behaviour of the phenols varied, resulting in a decrease in their concentration, except in the case of tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol. The addition of plants had an antioxidant effect, slowing down the oxidative process, which prolongs the shelf life of the flavoured oil compared to the unflavoured oil. Furthermore, multivariate statistical analyses allowed the classification and differentiation of the different samples.

Metabolomics and DNA-Based Authentication of Two Traditional Asian Medicinal and Aromatic Species of Salvia subg. Perovskia

Subgenus Perovskia of the extended genus of Salvia comprises several Central Asian medicinal and aromatic species, of which S. yangii and S. abrotanoides are the most widespread. These plants are cultivated in Europe as robust ornamentals, and several cultivars are available. However, their medicinal potential remains underutilized because of limited information about their phytochemical and genetic diversity. Thus, we combined an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS) based metabolomics with DNA barcoding approach based on trnH-psbA and ITS2 barcodes to clarify the relationships between these two taxa. Metabolomic analysis demonstrated that aerial parts are more similar than roots and none of the major compounds stand out as distinct. Sugiol in S. yangii leaves and carnosic acid quinone in S. abrotanoides were mostly responsible for their chemical differentiation, whereas in roots the distinction was supported by the presence of five norditerpenoids in S. yangii and two flavonoids and one norditerpenoid in S. abrotanoides. To verify the metabolomics-based differentiation, we performed DNA authentication that revealed S. yangii and S. abrotanoides to be very closely related but separate species. We demonstrated that DNA barcoding coupled with parallel LC-MS profiling constitutes a powerful tool in identification of taxonomically close Salvia species.

In Silico Analysis of Compounds Derived from Perovskia Atriplicifolia for their Antidiabetic Potential

Background:

Diabetes is a chronic endocrine associated metabolic ailment. It is chiefly characterized by hyperglycemia, which results due to deficient insulin levels caused by either obliteration of pancreatic beta cells or the incompetent sensitivity of insulin at the target tissue.

Methods:

In the present study, selected compounds (Abrotandiol, Abrotanone, Lariciresinol, Pinoresinol, Syringaresinol and Taxiresinol) from Perovskia atriplicifolia were evaluated for antidiabetic potentials using molecular docking simulations and computational tools.

Results:

All selected compounds possess moderate to strong respective activities against aldose reductase, DPP-IV, PTPB, insulin receptor and PPAR-g. Selected compounds that include Abrotandiol, Lariciresinol, Pinoresinol, Syringaresinol, Abrotanone and Taxiresinol have shown highest binding energies of ΔG = -9.3 kcal/mol, -8.9 kcal/mol, -8.9 kcal/mol, -8.8 kcal/mol, -8.8 kcal/mol and -7.6 kcal/mol respectively against PPAR-g. However, out of six compounds, Abrotanone has shown strong potential binding energy against all selected targets, i.e. ΔG = -7.8 kcal/mol with aldose reductase, ΔG = -10.3 kcal/mol with DPP-IV, ΔG = -9.3 kcal/mol with PTPB and ΔG = -8.3 kcal/mol with insulin receptors.

Conclusion:

The present study proposed that all selected compounds possess antidiabetic activity. However, Abrotanone has a strong antidiabetic potential. This assumption provides better insight to evaluate further these compounds for in vitro and in vivo testing against diabetes in future.

Inhibition of Glycation-induced Cytotoxicity, Protein Glycation, and Activity of Proteolytic Enzymes by Extract from Perovskia atriplicifolia Roots

Background:

Protein glycation and glycotoxicity belong to the main oxidative-stress related complications in diabetes. Perovskia species are used in Asian folk medicine as antidiabetic herbs.

Objective:

The aim of this study was to verify the ability of the methanolic extract from Perovskia atriplicifolia Benth. roots to diminish glycation of albumin and to prevent cell damage in vitro. Furthermore, we tested the extract for in vitro antioxidant activity and inhibition of elastase and collagenase.

Material and Methods:

The aqueous methanol extract was analyzed by UHPLC-MS for the content of polyphenols and terpenoids. The prevention of glycated albumin-induced cell damage was tested in four mammalian cell lines (peripheral blood mononuclear cells, human embryonic kidney cells – HEK293, normal human fibroblasts, and Chinese hamster ovary cells) with the 5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4,5-dimethylthiazoly)-3-(4-sulfophenyl) tetrazolium assay.

Results:

Glycated albumin is significantly more toxic than native human serum albumin (LC₅₀ from 35.00 to 48.34 μg/mL vs. 5.47–9.10 μg/mL, respectively). The extract, rich in rosmarinic acid (344.27 mg/g dry mass), mitigated the glycated albumin toxicity, and increased glycated albumin-treated cell survival by more than 50%. The inhibition of advanced glycation endproduct formation was confirmed by monitoring conformational changes. The free radical scavenging activity was higher than Trolox and metal reducing power was one-third to half that of ascorbic acid. The activity of elastase and collagenase was inhibited by 54.75% ± 6.87% and 60.03% ± 7.22%, respectively.

Conclusions:

The results confirm antiglycative and antiglycotoxic potential of Perovskia root and its traditional antidiabetic use. The high activity can be attributed to rosmarinic acid abundance.

SUMMARY

Perovskia is a small genus of aromatic shrubby plants growing in arid regions of Central and South Asia. Different parts are used in folk medicine as antiparasitic, anti-infectious and antidiabetic remedy. Here, we have studied the extract from roots for inhibition of: glycation-induced cytotoxicity, human serum albumin glycation, inflammation-related enzymes, as well as for antioxidant activity. Result: the extract from P. atriplicifolia roots inhibited protein glycation and AGE-induced toxicity in cell cultures. The mechanism is likely to rely on the antioxidant activity of high content of rosmarinic acid.

Abbreviations used: AGE: advanced glycation end-products; DPPH: 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl; HSA: human serum albumin.

Syringaresinol-4-O-β-d-glucoside alters lipid and glucose metabolism in HepG2 cells and C2C12 myotubes

Syringaresinol-4-O-β-d-glucoside (SSG), a furofuran-type lignan, was found to modulate lipid and glucose metabolism through an activity screen of lipid accumulation and glucose consumption, and was therefore considered as a promising candidate for the prevention and treatment of metabolic disorder, especially in lipid and glucose metabolic homeostasis. In this study, the effects of SSG on lipogenesis and glucose consumption in HepG2 cells and C2C12 myotubes were further investigated. Treatment with SSG significantly inhibited lipid accumulation by oil red O staining and reduced the intracellular contents of total lipid, cholesterol and triglyceride in HepG2 cells. No effect was observed on cell viability in the MTT assay at concentrations of 0.1–10 μmol/L. SSG also increased glucose consumption by HepG2 cells and glucose uptake by C2C12 myotubes. Furthermore, real-time quantitative PCR revealed that the beneficial effects were associated with the down-regulation of sterol regulatory element-binding proteins-1c, -2 (SREBP-1c, -2), fatty acid synthase (FAS), acetyl CoA carboxylase (ACC) and hydroxyl methylglutaryl CoA reductase (HMGR), and up-regulation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors alpha and gamma (PPARα and PPARγ). SSG also significantly elevated transcription activity of PPARγ tested by luciferase assay. These results suggest that SSG is an effective regulator of lipogenesis and glucose consumption and might be a candidate for further research in the prevention and treatment of lipid and glucose metabolic diseases.

Four New Diterpene Glucosides from Perovskia atriplicifolia

Four new diterpene glucosides, namely perovskiaditerpenosides A - D (1 - 4), were isolated from the BuOH extract of Perovskia atriplicifolia. Their structures were well elucidated by chemical methods and comprehensive spectroscopic analyses including MS, IR, and NMR (1D and 2D). The newly isolated compounds were screened for their cytotoxic activity against HepG2, NB4, HeLa, K562, MCF7, PC3, and HL60. The obtained results indicated that the new compounds possessed considerable cytotoxic activity.

Lignans from the Twigs of Euonymus alatus (Thunb.) Siebold and Their Biological Evaluation

A new sesquilignan, euonymolin A (1), and six known lignans, (-)-de-O-methylmagnolin (2), (+)-de-O-methylepimagnolin A (3), (+)-syringaresinol (4), (+)-pinoresinol (5), (+)-medioresinol (6), and (+)-lariciresinol 4'-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (7), were isolated from the twigs of Euonymus alatus (Thunb.) Siebold (Celastraceae). The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated based on spectroscopic analyses, including extensive 1D- and 2D-NMR techniques, HR-MS analysis and circular dichroism (CD) data, and the literature data. All of the isolated compounds were evaluated for antiproliferative activity against A549, SK-OV-3, SK-MEL-2, and HCT-15 cell lines and inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) production in a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated BV2 cell line. All compounds showed cytotoxicity against the SK-MEL-2 cell line with IC₅₀ values of 23.24 - 48.14 μm and inhibited NO production in LPS-activated BV-2 cells with IC₅₀ values of 6.75 - 23.53 μm.

The phenylalanine ammonia-lyase gene family in Isatis indigotica Fort.: molecular cloning, characterization, and expression analysis

Phenolic compounds, metabolites of the phenylpropanoid pathway, play an important role in the growth and environmental adaptation of many plants. Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) is the first key enzyme of the phenylpropanoid pathway. The present study was designed to investigate whether there is a multi-gene family in I. Indigotic and, if so, to characterize their properties. We conducted a comprehensive survey on the transcription profiling database by using tBLASTn analysis. Several bioinformatics methods were employed to perform the prediction of composition and physicochemical characters. The expression levels of IiPAL genes in various tissues of I. indigotica with stress treatment were examined by quantitative real-time PCR. Protoplast transient transformation was used to observe the locations of IiPALs. IiPALs were functionally characterized by expression with pET-32a vector in Escherichia colis strain BL21 (DE3). Integration of transcripts and metabolite accumulations was used to reveal the relation between IiPALs and target compounds. An new gene (IiPAL2) was identified and both IiPALs had the conserved enzymatic active site Ala-Ser-Gly and were classified as members of dicotyledon. IiPAL1 and IiPAL2 were expressed in roots, stems, leaves, and flowers, with the highest expression levels of IiPAL1 and IiPAL2 being observed in stems and roots, respectively. The two genes responded to the exogenous elicitor in different manners. Subcellular localization experiment showed that both IiPALs were localized in the cytosol. The recombinant proteins were shown to catalyze the conversion of L-Phe to trans-cinnamic acid. Correlation analysis indicated that IiPAL1 was more close to the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites than IiPAL2. In conclusion, the present study provides a basis for the elucidation of the role of IiPALs genes in the biosynthesis of phenolic compounds, which will help further metabolic engineering to improve the accumulation of bioactive components in I. indigotica.