Chemical composition and antioxidant activities of the essential oil of Hypericum gaitii Haines - an endemic species of Eastern India

The present study reports the chemical composition and antioxidant activities of the essential oil extracted from the leaves and tender branches of Hypericum gaitii Haines (Hypericaceae) - an endemic plant of Eastern India. On hydrodistillation, the fresh leaves and tender parts of H. gaitii yielded 0.43% (v/w) of pale yellowish essential oil. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry analysis revealed the presence of 40 compounds, which represent 96.9% of the total oil. Monoterpene hydrocarbons (79.3%) predominated followed by sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (12.6%). Of these, α-pinene (69.5%), β-caryophyllene (10.5%), sabinene (5.6%), myrcene (3.0%) and geranyl acetate (2.0%) were the main constituents. Antioxidant activities of oil were evaluated by three different systems namely 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) and reducing power assay. Essential oil exhibited moderate antioxidant activities compared to butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and ascorbic acid.

Salvia misella Kunth (Lamiaceae) - a new record for Eastern Ghats of India

Salvia misella Kunth (Lamiaceae) is reported here as an addition to the flora of Eastern Ghats of India from the Koraput district of Odisha. The nomenclature, botanical description, phenology, ecology and distribution of the species have been provided in this paper along with colour photographs of the plant and plant parts for easy identification of the species.

Gynochthodes cochinchinensis (DC.) Razafim. & B. Bremer (Morindeae: Rubioideae: Rubiaceae): an addition to the woody climbers of India

Gynochthodes cochinchinensis (Rubiaceae), a woody climber, is reported here as a new addition to Indian flora from Similipal Biosphere Reserve, Odisha.  The species resembles its closely allied taxon Gynochthodes umbellata, but can be distinguished from it by a number of distinct morphological characters. A detailed description, notes on habitat, ecology and distribution are provided in this paper with color photographs for easy identification.  

Anti-proliferative Activity of Piper trioicum Leaf Essential Oil Based on Phytoconstituent Analysis, Molecular Docking and in silico ADMET Approaches

BACKGROUND

The essential oils isolated from several medicinal plants have been reported to possess anticancer activities. Both the essential oil and extracts of many Piper species (Piperaceae) possess potential cytotoxic effects against cancer cell lines and are being used in traditional systems of medicine for the treatment of cancer. There is a need to evaluate and validate the anticancer properties of essential oils extracted from other wild species of Piper.

OBJECTIVE

The current research was undertaken to determine the chemical composition and investigate the anti-proliferative activity of wild-growing Piper trioicum leaf essential oil. The selected five major constituents were subjected to molecular docking to identify possible modes of binding against serine/threonine-protein kinase (MST3) protein.

METHODS

The essential oil of leaf of P. trioicum was extracted by hydrodistillation method, and its chemical composition was evaluated by GC-FID and GC-MS. The anti-proliferative activity of the essential oil was evaluated by the MTT assay against normal (3T3-L1) and various cancer (HCT 116, HT-29, PC-3 and HepG2) cell lines. Molecular docking analysis was performed using the AutoDock 4.2 software. The pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of the major constituents were determined using absorption, distribution, metabolization, excretion and toxicity (ADMET) analysis.

RESULTS

The GC-MS analysis revealed the identification of 45 constituents with δ-cadinene (19.57%), germacrene-D (8.54%), β-caryophyllene (6.84%), 1-epi-cubenol (4.83%) and α-pinene (4.52%) being predominant constituents in the leaf essential oil of P. trioicum. The highest cytotoxicity of essential oil was observed against HT-29 cells (IC₅₀ value of 33.14 μg/ml). 1-epi-cubenol and δ-cadinene exhibited low binding energy values of -6.25 and -5.92 kcal/mol, respectively. For prediction of in silico pharmacokinetic and drug-like properties of the major compounds, the ADMET prediction tool was used, the results of which were observed to be within the ideal range.

CONCLUSION

The present findings demonstrate that P. trioicum essential oil possesses significant anti-proliferative activity and could be effective against cancer treatment.