In vivo anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective activities of Orobanche crenata (Forssk.) aerial parts in relation to its phytomolecules.

A total methanolic extract and its sub-extracts of Orobanche crenata (Forssk.) aerial parts were subjected to acute toxicity, anti-inflammatory, and hepatoprotective investigations. The methanolic extract was safe upto 3 g/kg on mice. The EtOAc fraction reduced the carrageenan-induced rat paw edema better than indomethacin. It also demonstrated a drop in the elevated ALT, AST, and TB at 300 mg/kg, better than silymarin. Histopathological examination of liver cells of rats given the EtOAc fraction showed a complete absence of the CCl4-induced cloudy swelling. A phytochemical investigation of the n-hexane and EtOAc fractions yielded 11 compounds [indole-3-carboxylic acid (1), n-butyl palmitate (2), tyrosol (3), L-rhamnonic acid-1,4-lactone (4), ß-sitosterol/stigmasterol mixture (5/5'), ß-sitosterol/stigmasterol glycosides mixture (6/6'), chrysoeriol (7), luteolin (8), apigenin (9), crenatoside (10), and verbascoside (11)] as identified by UV, 1D & 2D NMR and ESIMS techniques. Their reported biological actions were in relation to and supported our herein detected pharmacological findings.

Ent-trachylobane-3ß-hydroperoxide, a new diterpene from the root bark of Chrozophora oblongifolia (Fam.; Euphorbiaceae).

New ent-trachylobane-3ß-hydroperoxide (5) together with four known compounds, ricinine (1), trimethoxy ellagic acid (2), dimethoxy ellagic acid (3) and aleurotolic acid (4) were isolated from the methylene chloride fraction of the root bark of Chrozophora oblongifolia. The structures of these secondary metabolites were elucidated by using different spectroscopic techniques, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, HSQC, HMBC, 1H-1H COSY, NOESY, HR-ESI-MS, EI-MS and comparison with published data. Ent-trachylobane-3ß-hydroperoxide showed moderate cytotoxic activity by MTT assay method against human breast cancer cells (MCF-7) and human hepatocyte-derived carcinoma cells (Huh-7) with IC50 values of 24.53 and 34.13 µM, in comparison with IC50 values of 23.47 µM and 15.82 µM for 5-fluorouracil respectively.