Anti-inflammatory, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Effects of Artemisinin Extracts from Artemisia annua L.

The anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties of artemisinin derived from water, methanol, ethanol, or acetone extracts of Artemisia annua L. were evaluated. All 4 artemisinin-containing extracts had anti-inflammatory effects. Of these, the acetone extract had the greatest inhibitory effect on lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and proinflammatory cytokine (IL-1ß , IL-6, and IL-10) production. Antioxidant activity evaluations revealed that the ethanol extract had the highest free radical scavenging activity, (91.0±3.2%), similar to α-tocopherol (99.9%). The extracts had antimicrobial activity against the periodontopathic microorganisms Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Fusobacterium nucleatum subsp. animalis, Fusobacterium nucleatum subsp. polymorphum, and Prevotella intermedia. This study shows that Artemisia annua L. extracts contain anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial substances and should be considered for use in pharmaceutical products for the treatment of dental diseases.

Oceanobacillus chungangensis sp. nov., isolated from a sand dune.

A Gram-stain-positive, spore-forming, rod-shaped, motile, strictly aerobic bacterial strain, designated CAU 1051(T), was isolated from a sand dune and its taxonomic position was investigated using a polyphasic approach. Strain CAU 1051(T) grew optimally at pH 5.0 and 30 °C. NaCl was not required for growth but up to 10.0 % (w/v) NaCl was tolerated. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain CAU 1051(T) formed a distinct lineage within the genus Oceanobacillus and was most closely related to Oceanobacillus profundus CL-MP28(T), Oceanobacillus caeni S-11(T), and Oceanobacillus picturae LMG 19492(T) (96.8 %, 95.6 % and 95.3 % similarity, respectively). DNA-DNA reassociation analysis showed that strain CAU 1051(T) displayed 28.2±0.7 % relatedness to O. profundus KCTC 13625(T). Strain CAU 1051(T) contained MK-7 as the only isoprenoid quinone and anteiso-C15 : 0 as the major fatty acid. The cell wall peptidoglycan of strain CAU 1051(T) contained meso-diaminopimelic acid. The polar lipids were composed of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, six unidentified phospholipids, an unidentified glycolipid, and six unidentified polar lipids. The major whole-cell sugars were glucose and ribose. The DNA G+C content was 36.3 mol%. On the basis of phenotypic data and phylogenetic inference, strain CAU 1051(T) represents a novel species of the genus Oceanobacillus for which the name Oceanobacillus chungangensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CAU 1051(T) ( = KCTC 33035(T) = CCUG 63270(T)).