Novel zinc oxide nanoparticles of Teucrium polium suppress the malignant progression of gastric cancer cells through modulating apoptotic signaling pathways and epithelial to mesenchymal transition.

Management of gastric cancer is still challenging due to resistance to current chemotherapeutics and recurrent disease. Moreover, green- synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) using natural resources are one of the most promising therapeutic agents for anticancer therapy. Here we report the facile green synthesis and characterization of ZnO-NPs from Teucrium polium (TP-ZnO-NP) herb extract and the anticancer activities of these nanoparticles on gastric cancer cells. Facile green synthesis of TP-ZnO-NP was achieved using zinc acetate dihydrate. For the characterization of TP-ZnO-NP, UV-vis spectroscopy, FTIR, SEM, XRD and EDX analyses were performed. Antiproliferative and anticancer activities of TP-ZnO-NP were explored using the HGC-27 gastric cancer cell line model. MTT cell viability and colony formation assays were used for the analysis of cell proliferation and migration. Wound healing assay was used to analyze the migration capacities of cells. Annexin V/PI double staining, DNA ladder assay, and Acridine orange/Ethidium bromide staining were performed to analyze the induction of apoptosis. qPCR was used to determine gene expression levels of apoptotic and epithelial to mesenchymal transition marker genes. The aqueous extract of TP served as both a reducing and capping agent for the successful biosynthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles. Remarkably, synthesized TP-ZnO-NPs were found to have significant antiproliferative and anticancer activities on HGC-27 gastric cancer cells. Collectively, current data suggest that TP-ZnO-NP is a novel and promising anticancer agent for future therapeutic interventions in gastric cancer.

Bioassay-guided isolation and identification of antioxidant flavonoids from Cyclotrichium origanifolium (Labill.) Manden and Scheng.

BACKGROUND: Medicinal and aromatic plants play a significant role in drug discovery and development process. Flavonoids, revealing a wide spectrum of biological activities, extensively found in plants are important secondary metabolites. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Aerial parts of Cyclotrichium origanifolium were collected, dried, and boiled in water then extracted with hexane, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol. Total phenolic content, DPPH• scavenging activity, reducing power (FRAP) activity, and ABTS•+ scavenging activity assays were applied for all extracts. The ethyl acetate extract revealing the most antioxidant activity as well as including the highest phenolic contents was subjected to chromatographic techniques (column chromatography, sephadex LH-20, semipreparative HPLC) to isolate the active compounds. The structure of isolated compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic methods (1D NMR, 2D NMR, and LC-TOF/MS). RESULTS: Isosakuranetin (1), eriodictyol (2), luteolin (3), naringenin (4), and apigenin (5) were isolated and identified. All isolated flavonoids displayed the excellent antioxidant activity. CONCLUSION: The isolated flavonoids and also plant extract have potency to be a natural antioxidant. SUMMARY: Five flavonoids were isolated from Cyclotrichium origanifoliumIsolated compounds revealed the good antioxidant activityC. origanifolium has a potency to be used in food industries Abbreviations used: DPPH•: 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl free radical, ABTS•+: 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid), UV:Ultraviolet, DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid, BHT: Butylated hydroxytoluene, BHA: Butylated hydroxyanisole, HPLC: High performance liquid chromatography.

Bioassay-guided isolation, identification of compounds from Origanum rotundifolium and investigation of their antiproliferative and antioxidant activities.

CONTEXT: Origanum (Lamiaceae) has been used in food and pharmaceutical industries. OBJECTIVE: Isolation and identification of bioactive compounds from Origanum rotundifolium Boiss. and investigation of their antiproliferative and antioxidant activities. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The aerial part of O. rotundifolium was dried and powdered (1.0 kg ±2.0 g) then extracted with hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol and water. Solvent (3 × 1 L) was used for each extraction for a week at room temperature. The aqueous extract was partitioned with ethyl acetate (3 × 1 L) to yield the water/EtOAc extract subjected to chromatography to isolate the active compounds. The structures of isolated compounds were elucidated by 1 D, 2 D NMR and LC-TOF/MS. RESULTS: Apigenin (1), ferulic acid (2), vitexin (3), caprolactam (4), rosmarinic acid (5), and globoidnan A (6) were isolated and identified. Globoidnan A (6), vitexin (3), and rosmarinic acid (5) revealed the excellent DPPH• scavenging effect with IC50 values of 22.4, 31.4, 47.2 µM, respectively. Vitexin (3) (IC50 3.6), globoidnan A (6) (IC50 4.6), apigenin (1) (IC50 8.9) and ferulic acid (2) exhibited more ABTS•+ activity than standard Trolox (IC50 13.8 µg/mL). Vitexin (3) revealed the most antiproliferative activity against HeLa, HT29, C6 and Vero cells lines with IC50 values of 35.6, 32.5, 41.6, 46.7 (µM), respectively. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Globoidnan A (6) has the most antioxidant effects on all assays. This has to do with the chemical structure of the compound bearing the acidic protons. Vitexin (3) could be a promising anticancer agent.

Erythrocyte Membrane Fatty Acid Composition in Premenopausal Patients with Iron Deficiency Anemia.

Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is one of the most common nutritional disorders in the world. In the present study, we evaluated erythrocyte membrane fatty acid composition in premenopausal patients with IDA. Blood samples of 102 premenopausal women and 88 healthy control subjects were collected. After the erythrocytes were separated from the blood samples, the membrane lipids were carefully extracted, and the various membrane fatty acids were measured by gas chromatography (GC). Statistical analyses were performed with the SPSS software program. We used blood ferritin concentration <15 ng/mL as cut-off for the diagnosis of IDA. The five most abundant individual fatty acids obtained were palmitic acid (16:0), oleic acid (18:1, n-9c), linoleic acid (18:2, n-6c), stearic acid (18:0), and erucic acid (C22:1, n-9c). These compounds constituted about 87% of the total membrane fatty acids in patients with IDA, and 79% of the total membrane fatty acids in the control group. Compared with control subjects, case patients had higher percentages of palmitic acid (29.9% case versus 25.3% control), oleic acid (16.8% case versus 15.1% control), and stearic acid (13.5% case versus 10.5% control), and lower percentages of erucic acid (11.5% case versus 13.6% control) and linoleic acid (15.2% case versus 15.4% control) in their erythrocyte membranes. In conclusion, the total-erythrocyte-membrane saturated fatty acid (SFA) composition in premenopausal women with IDA was found to be higher than that in the control group; however, the total-erythrocyte-membrane unsaturated fatty acid (UFA) composition in premenopausal women with IDA was found to be lower than that in the control group. The differences in these values were statistically significant.

Isolation and identification of chemical constituents from Origanum majorana and investigation of antiproliferative and antioxidant activities.

BACKGROUND: Origanum majorana L., belonging to the Lamiaceae family, has great potential and has been used as a folk medicine against asthma, indigestion, headache and rheumatism; in addition, the essential oils of this plant have been used widely in the food industry. Plant materials have been harvested from the Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Field of Gaziosmanpasa University. Air-dried plant materials were boiled in water, filtered, and the solvent part subsequently extracted with hexane and ethyl acetate. The chromatographic method was applied to the ethyl acetate extract to isolate bioactive secondary metabolites, the structures of which were elucidated by spectroscopic techniques: basically one-dimensional and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance and quadrupole time-of-flight liquid chromatography. Antiproliferative and antioxidant activities of isolated secondary metabolites were determined. RESULTS: 5,6,3'-Trihydroxy-7,8,4'-trimethoxyflavone, hesperetin, hydroquinone, arbutin and rosmarinic acid were isolated from the water-soluble ethyl acetate extract of aerial parts of O. majorana. Antioxidant activities of isolated compounds and water-soluble ethyl acetate extract were investigated using assays of DPPH(•), ABTS(•+), reducing power and total phenolic content. Antiproliferative activities of the isolated compounds and plant extracts were investigated against C6 and HeLa cell lines using BrdU cell proliferation enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and xCELLigence assay, respectively. Both hesperetin and hydroquinone were determined to have stronger antiproliferative activities against C6 and HeLa cells than the other isolated compounds and 5-fluorouracil. CONCLUSION: The results showed that the extract and isolated compounds exhibited significant antioxidant activities. Hence this plant has the potential to be a natural antioxidant in the food industry and an anticancer drug.

Studies on the antioxidant potential of flavones of Allium vineale isolated from its water-soluble fraction.

The aim of this work was to examine the chemical constituents and antioxidant potential of water-soluble fractions from the commonly consumed vegetable, Allium vineale. The water-soluble fraction, containing phenolic compounds, was extracted with ethyl acetate to obtain flavonoids which were separated and purified by repeated column chromatography over Sephadex LH-20, RP C18 and silica gel. The isolated compounds were identified according to their physicochemical properties and spectral data (UV, HPLC-TOF/MS, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR and 2D NMR). Three flavonoids were isolated and identified as chrysoeriol-7-O-[2″-O-E-feruloyl]-ß-d-glucoside (1), chrysoeriol (2), and isorhamnetin-3-ß-d-glucoside (3). Antioxidant studies of the aqueous extract and three isolated compounds, 1, 2, 3, were undertaken and they were found to have significant antioxidant activity. Antioxidant activities were evaluated for total antioxidant activity by the ferric thiocyanate method, ferric ion (Fe(3+)) reducing antioxidant power assay (FRAP), ferrous ion (Fe(2+)) metal chelating activity, and DPPH free radical-scavenging activity. The water-soluble ethyl acetate and methanol extraction methods were also compared using HPLC-TOF/MS.

Determination of antioxidant and radical scavenging activity of Basil (Ocimum basilicum L. Family Lamiaceae) assayed by different methodologies.

The antioxidant properties of plants have been investigated, in the light of recent scientific developments, throughout the world due to their potent pharmacological activities and food viability. Basil (Ocimum basilicum L. Family Lamiaceae) is used as a kitchen herb and as an ornamental plant in house gardens. In the present study, the possible radical scavenging and antioxidant activity of the water (WEB) and ethanol extracts (EEB) of basil was investigated using different antioxidant methodologies: 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging, scavenging of superoxide anion radical-generated non-enzymatic system, ferric thiocyanate method, reducing power, hydrogen peroxide scavenging and metal chelating activities. Experiments revealed that WEB and EEB have an antioxidant effects which are concentration-dependent. The total antioxidant activity was performed according to the ferric thiocyanate method. At the 50 microg/mL concentration, the inhibition effects of WEB and EEB on peroxidation of linoleic acid emulsion were found to be 94.8% and 97.5%, respectively. On the other hand, the percentage inhibition of a 50 microg/mL concentration of BHA, BHT and alpha-tocopherol was found to be 97.1%, 98.5% and 70.4% inhibition of peroxidation of linoleic acid emulsion, respectively. In addition, WEB and EEB had effective DPPH radical scavenging, superoxide anion radical scavenging, hydrogen peroxide scavenging, reducing power and metal chelating activities. Additionally, these various antioxidant activities were compared with BHA, BHT and alpha-tocopherol as reference antioxidants. The additional total phenolic content of these basil extracts was determined as the gallic acid equivalent and were found to be equivalent.

Antioxidant activity of two wild edible mushrooms (Morchella vulgaris and Morchella esculanta) from North Turkey.

The ethanol extracts of Morchella vulgaris (EEMV) and Morchella esculanta (EEME) were analysed for their antioxidant activities in different systems including reducing power, free radical scavenging, superoxide anion radical scavenging, total antioxidant activity, and metal chelating activity. EEMV and EEME had similar reducing power, free radical scavenging, superoxide anion radical scavenging, hydrogen peroxide scavenging, and metal chelating activity at concentrations of 50, 100, and 150 microg/mL. These various antioxidant activities were compared to standard antioxidants such as butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), and alpha-tocopherol. The percent inhibition of different concentrations of EEMV on peroxidation in the linoleic acid system was 85 and 87 % respectively, which was greater than that of 100 and 250 microg/mL of alpha-tocopherol (50 and 77%, respectively) and similar to 250 microg/mL of BHA (85, 87%, respectively). The percent inhibition of different concentrations of EEME on peroxidation in the linoleic acid system was 80 and 87 % respectively, which was greater than that of 100 and 250 microg/mL of alpha-tocopherol (50, 77%) and similar to 250 microg/mL BHA (87%). On the other hand, the percent inhibition of 100 and 250 microg/mL of BHT was 97 and 99%, respectively. In addition, the total phenolic compounds in EEMV and EEME were determined as gallic acid equivalents.

Effect of melatonin on lipid peroxidation, glutathione and glutathione-dependent enzyme activities in experimental otitis media with effusion in guinea pigs.

Melatonin plays a role in the prevention of oxidative damage. In the present study, we investigated whether the increased oxidative stress in experimental otitis media with effusion (OME) induced by histamine is reflected in erythrocytes and middle ear effusion fluid. Lipid peroxidation in effusion fluid was measured to determine the effects of melatonin on oxidative stress. Erythrocyte and middle ear effusion malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, erythrocyte glutathione (GSH) levels and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GRd) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activities were measured in three groups of six guinea pigs each at 3 hr after the injection of 0.1 mL of histamine (or saline) into the middle ear. In erythrocyte and middle ear effusion samples, MDA levels showed a significant increase in guinea pigs with experimental OME group when compared with the control animals. Erythrocyte GPx, GST, GRd activities and GSH levels significantly reduced in experimental OME guinea pigs when compared with the control and melatonin-treated animals. Erythrocyte GPx activity also significantly increased after melatonin treatment when compared with the control group. These findings suggest that reactive oxygen species play a role in histamine-induced OME. Pretreatment with melatonin increases antioxidant enzyme activities and reduced formation of MDA, an indicator of lipid peroxidation, in histamine-induced OME.