In vitro cultivation of tansy (Tanacetum vulgare L.): a tool for the production of potent pharmaceutical agents

In this study, tansy (Tanacetum vulgare L.) in vitro culture was established from seeds collected from natural populations. The multiplication of plantlets was conducted through shoot tips that exhibited potent apical growth and regeneration capacities on basal medium (BM), without the addition of any plant growth regulators (PGRs). PGRs were also omitted for the establishment and cultivation of tansy root cultures. Both abaxial and adaxial leaf surfaces of in vitro micropropagated plantlets were covered with glandular biseriate trichomes. Histochemical staining showed that glandular secretions were rich in lipid and terpene compounds, confirmed by GC-MS analysis of essential oil (EO). In the total EO, similar portions of oxygenated monoterpenes (38.5% m/m) and oxygenated sesquiterpenes (22.6% m/m) were detected. Chemical profiles of methanol extracts of in vitro cultured tansy shoots and roots varied in quantity and quality from those obtained from wild-growingtansy. HPLC analysis indicated that the methanol extracts of in vitro cultured roots were the richest in 3,5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid (3,5-O-DCQA), in which the concentration was 6 times higher (10.220 mg/g DW) than that in the extract obtained from roots of wild-growing tansy (1.684 mg/g DW). This result is noticeable in the manner of industrial production of biologically active 3,5-O-DCQA that has been shown to have antioxidant, hepatoprotective, antiviral, antimutagenic, and immunomodulatory activity. Biotechnological interventions on secondary metabolite production taking place in trichomes could further enhance the production of some important tansy metabolites and further investigation will be directed toward the elucidation of the pharmaceutical potential of tansy in vitro obtained metabolites, as mixtures or single moieties.

Antimicrobial Activity of Some Sudanese Medicinal Plants Against its Pollutant Isolated Bacteria

<b>Background and Objective:</b> Medicinal plants have been known to cure many diseases due to the presence of active bio constituents, the goal of this study to detect and evaluate the effectiveness of antimicrobial activity of some Sudanese medicinal plants. <b>Materials and Methods:</b> Methanolic extracts of the following types of local medicinal plants <i>Artemisia herba-alba</i>,<i> Cyperus rotundus</i>,<i> Cymbopogon schoenanthus </i>sb<i> </i>sp.<i> Proximus</i>,<i> Trigonella foenum-graecum</i>,<i> Nigella sativa</i>,<i> Hyphaene thebaica</i>,<i> Nauclea latifolia</i> and <i>Ziziphus spina-christi</i> were tested against eight types of bacteria that were isolated from the same plants as their pollutants. Cup-plate method was used and then the inhibition zone of each plant was measured and compared with the inhibitory zone of some antibiotics used for the same isolates. <b>Results:</b> Methanol extracts of some plant species showed antibacterial activity against most of the studied bacterial species. <i>Cymbopogon schoenanthus </i>ssp.<i> Proximus </i>showed antibacterial activity against most isolated bacterial species in comparison with commercial antibiotics used. <b>Conclusion:</b> According to the findings of this research, severalmedicinal plants have efficacy and effect on certain types of bacteria and are superior or comparable to certain types of antibiotics. When compared to the other medicinal plants used in this study<i>, Cymbopogon schoenanthus </i>sbsp. <i>proximus </i>has the highest activity on most types of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, as well as the superiority of some antibiotics.

Sesquiterpene lactones from the methanol extracts of twenty-eight Hieracium species from the Balkan Peninsula and their chemosystematic significance

Four sesquiterpene lactones (SLs), including three undescribed proline-SL conjugates, the guaianolides calophyllamine A and 8-epiixerisamine A, and the eudesmanolide calophyllamine B, were isolated from the methanol extract of Hieracium calophyllum R. Uechtr. (Compositae) flowering heads. Another known guaianolide, crepiside E, was detected in Hieracium L. species for the first time. Their structures were elucidated using extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy in combination with HRMS. The isolated SLs were used as external standards for qualitative and quantitative LC-MS analysis of the dry methanol extracts of the flowering aerial parts of 28 Hieracium species from the Balkan Peninsula. Guaianolides were the dominant SLs in 27 species studied. The chemosystematic significance of detected SLs was evaluated using multivariate statistics (PCA, nMDS and UPGMA). Differentiation between the main groups was well supported. All four compounds significantly and equally contributed to the differences between the species. In addition, the eudesmanolide calophyllamine B could be a significant chemosystematic marker for H. sect. Villosa (Griseb.) Gremli s.l. and Glauciformia (Freyn) Zahn-Italica (Fr.) Av. Touv.

Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of the Essential Oil and Methanol Extract of Hypericum aegypticum subsp. webbii (Spach) N. Robson

Hypericum aegypticum subsp. webbii is an evergreen shrub spread in Mediterranean part of central and southeastern Europe. The chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil and MeOH extract of H. aegypticum subsp. webbii were investigated. The monoterpenes α-pinene (63.4 - 68.5%) and β-pinene (16.9 - 17.0%) were main compounds in the volatile oil from aerial parts. In the cluster analysis, the essential oil of H. aegypticum subsp. webbii was separated and chemically different from the oil of other subspecies of H. aegypticum as well as other Hypericum species from Greece. SIMPER analysis revealed that α-pinene (24.79%) was the component that contributed the most to differences between all oils. Also, there was extremely high overall dissimilarity between three subspecies of H. aegypticum. MeOH extract of aerial parts of H. aegypticum subsp. webbii contained flavonoids rutin (56.4 ± 0.9 mg/g), hyperoside and quercetin, and phenolic acids chlorogenic and caffeic acid, while naphthodianthrones were not detected. The antimicrobial activity of essential oil was moderate (MIC from 100 to >200 μg/ml), while MeOH extract inhibited the growth of Gram-positive bacteria Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Micrococcus luteus (MIC 50 - 100 μg/ml), more pronounced than the extract of H. perforatum (MIC 200 - >200 μg/ml).

Biological screening of selected Pacific Northwest forest plants using the brine shrimp (Artemia salina) toxicity bioassay

The brine shrimp (Artemia salina) bioassay was used to screen 211 methanol extracts from 128 species of Pacific Northwest plants in search of general cytotoxic activity. Strong toxicity (LC50 < 100 µg/ml) was found for 17 extracts from 13 species, with highest activity observed for Angelica arguta roots at <10 µg/ml. Notably, four species of cedar trees and one of juniper in the family Cupressaceae dominated this group with LC50 for heartwood extracts ranging from 15 to 89 µg/ml. Moderate toxicity (LC50 100-500 µg/ml) was found in 38 extracts from 27 species, while weak toxicity (LC50 500-1000 µg/ml) was detected for 17 extracts in 16 species. There were 139 extracts from 99 species that were non-toxic (LC50 > 1000 µg/ml). Our subsequent studies of conifer heartwoods with strong activity confirm the assay's value for identifying new investigational leads for materials with insecticidal and fungicidal activity.

Free Radical Scavenging Activity and Total Phenolic Content of Methanolic Extracts from Male Inflorescence of Salix aegyptiaca Grown in Iran

This study was designed to examine the in vitro antioxidant activities and total phenolic contents of the methanolic extracts from male inflorescence of Salix aegyptiaca L. grown in Iran. The methanolic extract (ME) and its three fractions including water (WF), butanol (BF) and chloroform (CF) were prepared and then their antioxidant activities, as well as total phenolic contents, were evaluated by 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay and the Folin-Ciocalteu method, respectively. Among the different fractions of methanol extract, BF indicated the most antioxidant activity with an IC50 value of 27.7 μg/mL and total phenols of 313.8 ppm, which is comparable with the synthetic antioxidant BHT (IC50 = 26.5μg/mL). The antioxidant activities of the other fractions decreased in the order of ME >WF > CF. The potent antioxidant activity of S. aegyptiaca supported its possible use as a natural antioxidant in food industries and other pharmaceutical preparations.