RESUMO
Total phenolic content, antioxidant activity and phenolic profiles of six herbal infusions - namely rosemary, Cretan dittany, St. John's Wort, sage, marjoram and thyme were assayed. Additionally, the infusion anticarcinogenic effect as to their ability to (a) scavenge free radicals, (b) inhibit cell growth, (c) decrease IL-8 levels and (d) regulate p65 subunit in epithelial colon cancer (HT29) and prostate (PC3) cancer cells was investigated. LC-DAD-MS and GC-MS analyses showed major qualitative and quantitative differences in phenolic profiles of the infusions. All herbal infusions exhibited antiradical activity which correlated strongly with their total phenolic content. Infusions exhibited the potential to inhibit cell growth and to reduce IL-8 levels in HT29 colon and PC3 prostate cancer cells. The regulation reported in p65 subunit in HT29 treated with St John's Wort and in PC3 treated with thyme might point to the NF-κB as the molecular target underlying the effect of these infusions.
Assuntos
Antineoplásicos Fitogênicos/farmacologia , Antioxidantes/farmacologia , Neoplasias/prevenção & controle , Fenóis/farmacologia , Extratos Vegetais/farmacologia , Plantas Medicinais/química , Animais , Antineoplásicos Fitogênicos/química , Antioxidantes/química , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Proliferação de Células/efeitos dos fármacos , Quimioprevenção , Medicina Herbária , Humanos , Interleucina-8/genética , Interleucina-8/metabolismo , NF-kappa B/genética , NF-kappa B/metabolismo , Neoplasias/genética , Neoplasias/metabolismo , Fenóis/química , Extratos Vegetais/químicaRESUMO
Complex formation is among the mechanisms affecting metals' bioaccessibility. Evaluating the extent of interactions between trace elements and several constituents of food items is of great interest. This paper examines the release of copper-complexing ligands in herbal infusions of 13 aromatic plants commonly used in Greece. The concentration of ligands (LT) and the copper-binding strength (logKapp) of herbal infusions were determined with Differential Pulse Anodic Stripping Voltammetry (DPASV). All herbal infusions were found to release Cu complexing ligands, at concentrations ranging from 8.8 to 112.5 µM in rosemary and marjoram, respectively. In all infusions the total copper concentrations were lower than the corresponding LT values, indicating that Cu is fully complexed. Aiming to partially characterise the physico-chemical properties of the released organic material, the surface active substances (SAS), reduced sulphur species (RS) and catalytically active compounds (CAC) were measured, for the first time, in herbal infusions by sensitive electrochemical techniques.
Assuntos
Cobre/química , Compostos Orgânicos/análise , Extratos Vegetais/análise , Técnicas Eletroquímicas , Grécia , Compostos Orgânicos/químicaRESUMO
In this survey, we analyzed the phenolic profile of six herbal infusions namely Cretan marjoram, pink savory, oregano, mountain tea, pennyroyal and chamomile by LCDAD-MS and by GC-MS. Further, we investigated their anticarcinogenic effect as to their ability to (a) scavenge free radicals (b) inhibit proliferation (c) decrease IL-8 levels and (d) regulate nuclear factor-kappa B in epithelial colon cancer (HT29) and prostate (PC3) cancer cells. All herbal infusions exhibited antiradical activity correlated positevely with total phenolic content. Further, infusions exhibited the potential to inhibit cell proliferation and to reduce IL-8 levels in HT29 colon and PC3 prostate cancer cells. The molecular target for chamomile in HT29 seemed to be the NF-κB, while for the other herbal infusions needs to be identified. This study is the first to show the potential chemopreventive activity of infusions prepared from the examined herbs.