The evaluation of hepatoprotective effects of flavonoids from Scorzonera austriaca Wild against CCl4-induced acute liver injury in vitro and in vivo.

Scorzonera austriaca Wild is a traditional herbal medicine; however, little is known with regard to the effect of flavonoids from S. austriaca (FSA) on liver injury induced by Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), especially the mechanism remains unknown. Therefore, our paper was designed to investigate the hepatoprotective effect of FSA against CCl4-induced acute liver injury in vitro and in vivo, with focus on its potential mechanism. The purity of FSA prepared by using polyporous resin column chromatography could reach 94.5%, and seven flavonoid compounds in FSA were identified by using LC-ESI-MS analysis. In vivo results showed that FSA markedly decreased the levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and malonaldehyde (MDA) and increased the contents of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px). Furthermore, in vivo and in vitro results confirmed that FSA could inhibit inflammatory response, as evidenced by decreasing the levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) through inactivating toll-like receptor-4/nuclear factor-κB (TLR4/NF-κB) signaling pathway. FSA activated autophagy by increasing the ratio of LC3B-II/I and decreasing the protein level of p62 so as to exert its hepatoprotective effect. In general, these evidences suggested that FSA is likely to serve as a potential material for the drugs against chemical hepatic injury.

Qualitative and quantitative analyses of secondary metabolites in aerial and subaerial of Scorzonera hispanica L. (black salsify).

Scorzonera hispanica commonly known as black salsify is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the Asteraceae family. The subaerial parts of black salsify are cultivated in Central and Southern Europe as a vegetable. There are only few reports on the chemical composition of S.hispanica. The aim of the present study was to determine the chemical composition of subaerial and aerial parts of this species. In total, twelve compounds were isolated and identified with spectroscopic methods, including a series of seven rare sesquiterpenoids - five bisabolane and two curcumenal derivatives. Furthermore, a fully validated HPLC-DAD-CAD method for the quantification of phenolic compounds of S. hispanica was developed. The cytotoxicities of lignan [(-)-syringaresinol (1)] and bisabolane derivatives from S. hispanica against several cancer cell lines were studied. (-)-Syringaresinol was the only compound active against myeloma cell lines and was also active against colon cancer cell lines. However, this lignan was also found to be cytotoxic for normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Two bisabolane derivatives were active against colon cancer cell lines and may be interesting as lead structures for the development of new anti-colon cancer agents.

Inhibition of quorum sensing-regulated behaviors by Scorzonera sandrasica.

Many Gram-negative bacteria use N-acyl homoserine lactone signal molecules to monitor their own population density and coordinate gene regulation in a process called quorum sensing (QS). Increasing evidence implies that certain eukaryotes produce QS-inhibitory compounds. In this work, we tested 46 terrestrial plants materials for their ability to inhibit QS-regulated behaviors in different bacterial species. Plant materials were dried and extracted using different solvents. The chloroform-soluble compounds extracted from Scorzonera sandrasica were found to inhibit violacein production, a QS-regulated behavior in Chromobacterium violaceum. In addition, the chloroform extract was also able to inhibit QS-regulated carbapenem antibiotic production in Erwinia carotovora. Because the regulation of many bacterial processes is controlled by QS systems, the finding of natural compounds acting as QS inhibitors suggests an attractive tool to control and handle detrimental infections caused by human, animal, and plant pathogens.