Ultrasonic-assisted extraction to enhance the recovery of bioactive phenolic compounds from Commiphora gileadensis leaves

The "ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE)" method was utilized in this work to assess how different process parameters affected the yield and recovery of phenolic compounds from the leaf of Commiphora gileadensis, which is one of the medicinal plants with a variety of biological functions. Its leaf is used for a various of therapeutic applications, such as the treatment of bacterial infections, inflammation, and wound healing. The "One-Factor-At-a-Time (OFAT)" approach was employed to examine the impacts of various UAE process parameters on the process of extraction, which include time of extraction, sample/solvent ratio, ultrasonic frequency, and solvent (ethanol) concentration. The extracts were then investigated for the presence of several phytochemicals using analytical techniques such as "Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS)" and "Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR)" studies. The findings showed that the maximum extraction yield, the total phenolic content (TPC), and the total flavonoids content (TFC) of the ethanolic extract of the leaves of C. gileadensis using the UAE method were at 31.80 ± 0.41 %, 96.55 ± 2.81 mg GAE/g d.w. and 31.66 ± 2.01 mg QE/g d.w. accordingly under a procedure duration of 15 min, ultrasonic frequency of 20 kHz, solvent/sample ratio of 1:20 g/mL, and solvent concentration of 40 % v/v. The leaves extract of C. gileadensis included 25 phenolic compounds that were previously unreported, and GC-MS analysis confirmed their presence. Hence, it follows that the UAE technique can successfully extract the phytochemicals from C. gileadensis for a variety of therapeutic uses.

Compositional characterization of Pyrus ussuriensis Maxim and their antioxidant activities and induction of apoptosis in Bel-7402 cell

In this work, a comparison study on active sites (the total phenolic, total flavonoids, and total triterpenes contents) and antioxidant activities (DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP assays) of different fractions from Pyrus ussuriensis Maxim was evaluated. Moreover, the inhibition capability on human hepatocarcinoma cells Bel-7402 cells and the mechanism was also discussed. Results showed that the ethyl acetate fraction significantly scavenged DPPH and ABTS⁺ radicals, exhibited ferric ion reducing antioxidant, and inhibited Bel-7402 cells proliferation. In addition, oleanolic acid was the dominant compound act on the Bel-7402 cells in the extract and it induced apoptosis by the caspase pathway and induced cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase by inhibiting the cyclin D1/CDK4 pathway. The extracts of P. ussuriensis Maxim were confirmed to have anti-oxidative and antiproliferative effects against Bel-7402 cell in vitro. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Fruits and vegetables which contain high levels of antioxidants can help to reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as cancer. Pyrus ussuriensis Maxim is a kind of edible and medical fruit with multiple bioactivities, whereas the capability to anti-lung cancer activity has not been investigated. The extracts of P. ussuriensis Maxim were revealed to have anti-oxidative and antiproliferative effects against Bel-7402 cell in vitro. Accordingly, it is the first time to verify that oleanolic acid was the main chemical components of P. ussuriensis with antitumor potential.

Phenolic variation among Chamaecrista nictitans subspecies and varieties revealed through UPLC-ESI(-)-MS/MS chemical fingerprinting

INTRODUCTION

Comparative analysis of metabolic features of plants has a high potential for determination of quality control of active ingredients, ecological or chemotaxonomic purposes. Specifically, the development of efficient and rapid analytical tools that allow the differentiation among species, subspecies and varieties of plants is a relevant issue. Here we describe a multivariate model based on LC-MS/MS fingerprinting capable of discriminating between subspecies and varieties of the medicinal plant Chamaecrista nictitans, a rare distributed species in Costa Rica.

METHODS

Determination of the chemical fingerprint was carried out on a LC-MS (ESI-QTOF) in negative ionization mode, main detected and putatively identified compounds included proanthocyanidin oligomers, several flavonoid C- and O-glycosides, and flavonoid acetates. Principal component analysis (PCA), partial least square-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and cluster analysis of chemical profiles were performed.

RESULTS

Our method showed a clear discrimination between the subspecies and varieties of Chamaecrista nictitans, separating the samples into four fair differentiated groups: M1 = C. nictitans ssp. patellaria; M2 = C. nictitans ssp. disadena; M3 = C. nictitans ssp. nictitans var. jaliscensis and M4 = C. nictitans ssp. disadena var. pilosa. LC-MS/MS fingerprint data was validated using both morphological characters and DNA barcoding with ITS2 region. The comparison of the morphological characters against the chemical profiles and DNA barcoding shows a 63% coincidence, evidencing the morphological similarity in C. nictitans. On the other hand, genetic data and chemical profiles grouped all samples in a similar pattern, validating the functionality of our metabolomic approach.

CONCLUSION

The metabolomic method described in this study allows a reliably differentiation between subspecies and varieties of C. nictitans using a straightforward protocol that lacks extensive purification steps.

Microwave assisted extraction of phenolic compounds from four economic brown macroalgae species and evaluation of their antioxidant activities and inhibitory effects on α-amylase, α-glucosidase, pancreatic lipase and tyrosinase

Four economically important brown algae species (Ascophyllum nodosum, Laminaria japonica, Lessonia trabeculate and Lessonia nigrecens) were investigated for phenolic compound extraction and evaluated for their antioxidant, anti-hyperglycemic, and pancreatic lipase and tyrosinase inhibition activities. Microwave assisted extraction (MAE) at 110 °C for 15 min resulted in both higher crude yield and higher total phenolic content (TPC) for all algae species compared with those obtained by conventional extraction at room temperature for 4 h, and Ascophyllum nodosum yielded the highest TPC. Antioxidant tests indicated that extracts acquired by MAE from four species all exhibited higher DPPH, ABTS free radical scavenging ability and reducing power than the conventional method. The extract of Lessonia trabeculate exhibited good α-amylase, α-glucosidase, pancreatic lipase, and tyrosinase inhibition activities, and the MAE extract showed even better α-glucosidase inhibitory activity than acarbose.

Antioxidant phenolic compounds isolated from wild Pyrus ussuriensis Maxim. fruit peels and leaves

Thirteen phenolic compounds were isolated from pear (Pyrus ussuriensis Maxim.) peels and leaves extracts by using various column chromatography techniques with a guided DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical-scavenging assay, the result of antioxidant activity of phenolic compounds is then verified by measurement of ROS (reactive oxygen species). The isolated compounds were identified as rutin (1), (-)-catechin (2), orobol (3), daidzein (4), tricin 4'-O-[threo-β-guaiacyl-(7″-O-methyl)-glyceryl] ether (5), tricin 4'-O-[threo-β-guaiacyl-(7″-O-methyl-9″-O-acetyl)-glyceryl] ether (6), 5,7,3',5'-tetrahydroxyflavanone (7), artselaeroside A (8), trilobatin (9), 3-(2,4,6-trihydroxyphenyl)-1-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-propan-1-one (10), quercetin-3-O-(3″-O-galloyl)-α-l-rhamnopyranoside (11), apigenin (12) and quercetin (13) on the basis of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy along with comparison with literature data. Among these compounds, quercetin and quercetin-3-O-(3″-O-galloyl)-α-l-rhamnopyranoside exhibited potent DPPH radical-scavenging activity with IC₅₀ (Half Maximal Inhibitory Concentration) value of 6.06 and 9.60μg/mL, respectively. The results revealed that P. ussuriensis could be used in the fields of food and medicine to prevent human aging diseases.