Study on constituents of Scutellaria nepetifolia as a potent source of phytochemicals with NO inhibitory effect.

Based on the long history of Scutellaria plants in east traditional medicines, several species of Scutellaria showed promising antioxidant, anti-inflammation and neuroprotection effects in pharmacological researches. Using bioassay-guided fractionation of various extract of Scutellaria nepetifolia, an endemic species that grows widely in Iran, based on on nitric oxide (NO) inhibitory activity against H2O2 induced NO production in PC12 pheochromocytoma cells led to the isolation of two iridoid compounds namely, as 6ß-hydroxy 8-epiboshnaloside (1) and 1,5,9-epideoxy loganic acid (2) and Verbascoside (3). Finally, the interaction of isolated compounds with inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) protein was simulated by molecular docking study. It is the first report of these two iridoid glycosides from Scutellaria spp. All three isolated compounds showed strong interaction with iNOS enzyme in molecular docking simulations. So, they possibly contributed in the NO inhibitory effect of S. nepetifolia.

In vitro evaluation of ferutinin on proliferation and osteogenesis differentiation in human unrestricted Somatic stem cells.

Osteoporosis is a common disease in post-menopausal women. The increased risk of breast cancer and malignancy with hormone replacement, hampers its wide-usage. Phytoestrogens are known to have selective estrogen receptor modulator activity. The present study aims to determine how ferutinin affects unrestricted human Somatic Stem Cells (USSCs) osteogenic differentiation. The effect of ferutinin on USSCs proliferation was assessed by MTT assay while osteogenesis was evaluated using Alkaline Phosphatase Activity (ALP), calcium deposition and Alizarin Red Staining. Quantitative real-time PCR was applied to examine the expression of bone specific genes such as osteocalcin, Runx2, and BMP-2. Ferutinin (5-15 µg/mL) could positively impact on the proliferation of cells in a dose-dependent manner. Also, ALP enzyme activity and calcium deposition were enhanced in the presence of ferutinin. Based on real-time PCR results, ferutinin could increase the expression of bone marker genes. The pattern of ferutinin effect on gene expression is similar to standard synthetic estrogen, 17-ß-estradiol. In the presence of the estrogen activity inhibitor (ICI), the effect of ferutinin on ALP and gene level was diminished. In conclusion, ferutinin may be considered as a potential candidate for the stem cell therapy in osteoporosis.