Chemical Profiling and Evaluation of Antioxidant and Anticancer Potential of Tuber Crop Amorphophallus commutatus var. wayanadensis

Cancer and cancer-related diseases are a global health concern in the present scenario. Functional food and nutraceuticals are considered as a boon towards cancer management. Amorphophallus commutatus var. wayanadensis (ACW) is an herbaceous plant used by the local communities of Wayanad, India, for food and primary healthcare. Various radical scavenging and reducing power assays were undertaken to evaluate the antioxidant activity of methanolic extract of ACW (MEAC). In vitro anticancer activity was evaluated against HT-29 cell line by MTT assay, morphological analysis, DNA fragmentation assay and cell cycle analysis. Caspase and COX-2 enzyme assays were conducted to examine the underlying mechanism. Studies on Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma (EAC) transplanted mice models was carried out to evaluate the in-vivo antioxidant and anticancer potential of MEAC. The major bioactive nutraceutical compound present in MEAC was isolated by bioactivity-guided fractionation. MEAC showed significant in vitro antioxidant activity. Further, MEAC promoted cytotoxicity against HT-29 cells by activating caspase-3 dependent apoptotic pathway with a cell cycle arrest at the G1/S phase and subsequent down regulation of COX-2 pathway. The potential antitumor activity of MEAC was further confirmed in EAC tumor bearing mice models in which treatment with MEAC increased the levels of antioxidant enzymes, improved the hematological profile towards normal and also augmented the life span of tumor bearing mice. β-sitosterol isolated from ACW induces anticancer activity via caspase-dependent pathway. Our study confirmed the antioxidant and anticancer activities of ACW, which proposes the medicinal importance of this plant as a preventive and supportive therapy for arising tumors.

Bioactive properties of faveleira (Cnidoscolus quercifolius) seeds, oil and press cake obtained during oilseed processing

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in the literature concerning the bioactive properties of faveleira products. This work focuses on the physicochemical evaluation of faveleira oil, as well as it investigates the bioactive properties of faveleira seeds, faveleira oil and the press cake obtained during the oilseed processing. The seeds were cold pressed and the following tests were performed: physicochemical characteristics (acidity, peroxide values, moisture and volatile matter, density and viscosity) and fatty acid profile of faveleira oil; total phenolic and flavonoid content of faveleira seed and press cake; antibacterial activity of seed, oil and press cake; and antioxidant activity (DPPH radical scavenging activity, reducing power assay, total antioxidant capacity, superoxide radical scavenging assay and oxygen radical absorbance capacity) of seed, oil and press cake. Our work demonstrated that the faveleira seed oil has low acidity (0.78 ± 0.03% oleic acid) and peroxide value (1.13 ± 0.12 mEq/1000g), associated with the relevant concentration of linoleic acid (53.56%). It was observed that important phenolics (398.89 ± 6.34 mg EAG/100 g), especially flavonoids (29.81 ± 0.71 mg RE/g) remain in the press cake, which indicates that the by-product of the faveleira oilseed production constitutes a rich residual source of bioactive compounds. No bacterial growth inhibition was detected, but all samples including faveleira seeds, press cake, oil and its fractions have potent antioxidant activities, mainly the press cake, with oxygen radical absorbance capacity of 28.39 ± 4.36 μM TE/g. Our results also show that faveleira oil has potential to be used as edible oil and the press cake should be used to contain the most antioxidants from seed.

Phytochemistry and pharmacology of ornamental gingers, Hedychium coronarium and Alpinia purpurata: a review

In this review, the phytochemistry and pharmacology of two ornamental gingers, Hedychium coronarium (butterfly ginger) and Alpinia purpurata (red ginger), are updated, and their botany and uses are described. Flowers of H. coronarium are large, showy, white, yellow or white with a yellow centre and highly fragrant. Inflorescences of A. purpurata are erect spikes with attractive red or pink bracts. Phytochemical investigations on the rhizomes of H. coronarium generated research interest globally. This resulted in the isolation of 53 labdane-type diterpenes, with little work done on the leaves and flowers. Pharmacological properties of H. coronarium included antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, cytotoxic, chemopreventive, anti-allergic, larvicidal, anthelminthic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anti-urolithiatic, anti-angiogenic, neuro-pharmacological, fibrinogenolytic, coagulant and hepatoprotective activities. On the contrary, little is known on the phytochemistry of A. purpurata with pharmacological properties of antioxidant, antibacterial, larvicidal, cytotoxic and vasodilator activities reported in the leaves and rhizomes. There is much disparity in terms of research effort within and between these two ornamental gingers.