Biological effects and phytochemical study of the underground part of Iris scariosa Willd. ex Link extract: A new source of bioactive constituents.

The expected toxicity and resistance of chemotherapeutic agents necessitate and encourage for the use of natural chemotherapeutic sources of plant origin in the clinical stage of cancer therapy. Plants of the genus Iris (Iridaceae) used by local populations for the treatment of cancer, bacterial and viral infections. In this study, an ethanol extract of rhizomes of I. scariosa was prepared and tested for the cytotoxicity using the MTT assay. The extract exhibited the most potent cytotoxicity against the breast cancer cell line MCF7 (IC50 = 9.28 ± 0.49 µg/ml, selectively index ˃5), and induced apoptosis in MCF7 lines. Notably, the extract significantly inhibited the colony formation of MCF7 and HepG2 cancer cells at a concentration range from 10.6 to 85.0 µg/ml, including non-toxic concentrations for HepG2 cells. The ethanol extract was analyzed by HPLC, revealed the identification of 5 secondary metabolites (quercetin, rutin, myricetin, apigenin, artemisetin), the content of which was shown to reach around 15% of the extract. The petroleum ether (PE) part of the extract (yield 2.62%) was analyzed by GC-MS. The composition of tert-butyl methyl ether (TBME) part of the extract (yield 23.72%) was studied. Total of 15 individual compounds: two benzophenones, eight isoflavones, four flavones and a (2R)-flavanone were isolated. The pentamethoxyflavone artemisetin and flavanone pinocembrin were isolated for the first from Iris sp. The readily available isoflavones from the TBME part of extract (irilone, iriflogenin, irigenin and tectorigenin) may serve as new leads for the discovery of anticancer drugs.

Regulation of Cell Signaling Pathways and Non-Coding RNAs by Baicalein in Different Cancers.

Landmark discoveries in molecular oncology have provided a wide-angle overview of the heterogenous and therapeutically challenging nature of cancer. The power of modern 'omics' technologies has enabled researchers to deeply and comprehensively characterize molecular mechanisms underlying cellular functions. Interestingly, high-throughput technologies have opened new horizons for the design and scientific fool-proof evaluation of the pharmacological properties of targeted chemical compounds to tactfully control the activities of the oncogenic protein networks. Groundbreaking discoveries have galvanized the expansion of the repertoire of available pharmacopoeia to therapeutically target a myriad of deregulated oncogenic pathways. Natural product research has undergone substantial broadening, and many of the drugs which constitute the backbone of modern pharmaceuticals have been derived from the natural cornucopia. Baicalein has gradually gained attention because of its unique ability to target different oncogenic signal transduction cascades in various cancers. We have partitioned this review into different sub-sections to provide a broader snapshot of the oncogenic pathways regulated by baicalein. In this review, we summarize baicalein-mediated targeting of WNT/ß-catenin, AKT/mTOR, JAK/STAT, MAPK, and NOTCH pathways. We also critically analyze how baicalein regulates non-coding RNAs (microRNAs and long non-coding RNAs) in different cancers. Finally, we conceptually interpret baicalein-mediated inhibition of primary and secondary growths in xenografted mice.

Investigation of CO2 Extract of Portulaca oleracea for Antioxidant Activity from Raw Material Cultivated in Kazakhstan.

Medicinal plants remain as an important resource in the fight against many diseases, especially in developing countries. Antioxidants are substances capable of delaying, retarding, and preventing the oxidation of lipids or substances that delay or prevent free radical reactions during lipid oxidation. Natural antioxidants such as ascorbic acid, tocopherol, phenolic compounds, and flavonoids are a safe alternative to chemical antioxidants. In present work, results of antioxidant activity of raw materials from the cultivated plant Portulaca oleracea are presented. The extraction time was optimized to 780 minutes; the yield of extractive substances was 1.25% in the production of CO2 extract under subcritical conditions. For the first time, the antioxidant activity of Portulaca oleracea CO2 extract was determined by the amperometric method. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) chemical analysis of Portulaca oleracea CO2 extract dissolved in hexane revealed 37 components, including a complex mixture of aldehydes, alkanes, alkenes, esters, diterpenes, steroids, vitamin E, and carbohydrates. The investigation results showed that the Portulaca oleracea CO2 extract was promising for pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food industries and had great potential for the prevention and treatment of diseases caused by oxidative stress.

Study of Cold-Pressed Tobacco Seed Oil Properties by Gas Chromatography Method.

A special place among vegetable oils was occupied by natural tobacco oil. Natural tobacco oil in folk medicine is used as an antiseptic and antibacterial agent. To determine the possible alternative use of tobacco, the seeds representing Kazakhstan tobacco cultivars, extracted from ground Nicotiana tabacum seeds, were investigated by using the cold press. The quality of the oil was assessed in terms of free fatty acid content. The percentage oil yield was 36.75 ± 0.50%. Tobacco seed oil is highly unsaturated, nonacidic, and would require little purification. The oil can be used for the production of soap, antiwrinkle cream for the face, hair shampoo, shoe cream, and as a high-resolution base oil for perfumes and light industry and can be commercialized due to its high oil yield, for use as anti-inflammatory drugs.