Edible wild plants, chicory and purslane, alleviated diabetic testicular dysfunction, and insulin resistance via suppression 8OHdg and oxidative stress in rats.

Testicular dysfunction is a prevalent health problem frequently reported in individuals with diabetes mellitus (DM). Oxidative-inflammatory reactions, hormonal and spermatic abnormalities often accompany this illness. Herbal remedies "particularly wild plants" including chicory (Chicorium Intybus) and purslane (Portulaca Oleracea) are emerging as popular agents for people dealing with these issues due to their ability to act as antioxidants, reduce inflammation, and exhibit antidiabetic effects. According to the collected data, the daily administration of chicory (Ch) seed-extract (250 mg/kg) or purslane (Pu) seed-extract (200 mg/kg) to streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats (50 mg/kg) for 30 days resulted in the normalization of fasting blood glucose (FBG), serum fructosamine, insulin levels, and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), as well as reducing lipid peroxidation end-product malondialdehyde (MDA) level, aldehyde oxidase (AO) and xanthene oxidase (XO) activities. While caused a considerable improvement in glutathione (GSH) content, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) activity, and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) when compared to diabetic rats. Ch and Pu extracts had a substantial impact on testicular parameters including sperm characterization, testosterone level, vimentin expression along with improvements in body and testis weight. They also mitigated hyperlipidemia by reducing total lipids (TL), total cholesterol (TC) levels, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), while increasing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). Furthermore, oral administration of either Ch or Pu notably attuned the elevated proinflammatory cytokines as tumor necrotic factor (TNF-α), C-reactive protein (CRP), and Interleukin-6 (IL-6) together with reducing apoptosis and DNA damage. This was achieved through the suppression of DNA-fragmentation marker 8OHdG, triggering of caspase-3 immuno-expression, and elevation of Bcl-2 protein. The histological studies provided evidence supporting the preventive effects of Ch and Pu against DM-induced testicular dysfunction. In conclusion, Ch and Pu seed-extracts mitigate testicular impairment during DM due to their antihyperglycemic, antilipidemic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiapoptotic properties.

Portulaca oleracea L. Extract Alleviated Type 2 Diabetes Via Modulating the Gut Microbiota and Serum Branched-Chain Amino Acid Metabolism.

SCOPE: Portulaca oleracea L. extracts (PE) show hypoglycemic function, but the precise mechanism remains obscure. This study is designed to investigate the association of the antidiabetes effect of PE with the gut microbiota modulation and BCAAs metabolism. METHODS AND RESULTS: The Orbitrap LC-MS to Orbitrap Fusion Lumos Tribrid mass spectrometer is employed to analyze the major compounds in PE. The components of the intestinal microflora in diet-induced/STZ-treated diabetic mice are analyzed by high-throughput 16S rRNA genes sequencing. The results show that PE improves blood glucose and insulin level, increases anti-inflammatory cytokine level, lowers serum branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), and increases serum glutamine level. PE also protects the mucosal epithelium of the colon and cecum from damage. On the impact of gut microbial composition, PE reduces the Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio and the abundance of the Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group, Blautia, Ruminiclostridium_9, Dubosiella, and increases the abundance of the Bacteroides, Akkermansia, and Mucisprillum genera. Bacterial functionality prediction indicates PE potentially inhibits bacterial BCAAs biosynthesis, and promotes the tissue-specific expression of BCAAs catabolic enzyme for reducing BCAAs supplementation. CONCLUSION: These results reveal that PE improving T2D-related biochemical abnormalities is associated not only with gut microbiota modification but also with the tissue-specific expression of BCAAs catabolic enzyme.

Moringa, Rosemary and Purslane Leaves Extracts Alleviate Metabolic Syndrome in Rats Induced by High Fat-High Fructose Diet.

<b>Background and Objective:</b> Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of metabolic abnormalities characterized by obesity, insulin resistance and dyslipidemia. This study aimed to investigate the impact of moringa, rosemary and purslane leave water extracts on metabolic syndrome in rats. <b>Materials and Methods:</b> Phenolic compounds in the plant leaves water extracts were determined by HPLC. Fifty adult male albino rats Sprague-Dawley strain were equally divided into five groups, group (1) Normal rats fed on the balanced diet, group (2) Metabolic syndrome rats fed on High Fat-High Fructose Diet (HF-HFD). The other three groups were fed on HF-HFD and orally administered 200 mg kg¹ b.wt. daily of the tested plant's leaves water extracts, respectively, for 12 weeks. Some anthropometric measurements (BMI, Lee index and adiposity index), biochemical parameters such as glucose hemostasis parameters (glucose, Insulin, HOMA-IR and GLP-1), lipids profile (TAGs, TC, LDL-C, HDL-C, free fatty acids, Apo-B and Apo A1), adipokines (leptin and adiponectin), some inflammatory markers (TNF-α and IL-6) and oxidative stress markers (PCC, NO and MDA), some anti-oxidant markers (GSH, CAT and TAOC) as well as, the gene expression level of endothelial nitric oxide synthase were determined. <b>Results:</b> The results revealed that feeding rats with HF-HFD for 12 weeks significantly increased anthropometric measurements, some inflammatory markers and oxidative stress markers and worsen glucose hemostasis parameters, lipids profile, adipokines and endothelial function as compared to the normal group. Moreover, co-administration of the tested plant's extracts at the tested dose to HF-HFD fed rats reduced the development of indicators of metabolic syndrome when compared to the metabolic syndrome group. <b>Conclusion:</b> The administered plant leaves water extracts at the tested dose could improve the features of metabolic syndrome. Rosemary leaves water extract has more effect in comparison with the other extracts.

Water-soluble alkaloids isolated from Portulaca oleracea L.

Fifteen new water-soluble alkaloids were obtained from the fresh herbs of Portulaca oleracea L. The structures of 15 alkaloids 1-15 were established according to spectroscopic data, and the stereoconfigurations were determined based on experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD) data and single crystal X-ray diffraction. Alkaloids 1-15 were found to display good anti-inflammatory activity at 10 µM and could significantly reduce the interleukin-6 (IL-6) and nitric oxide (NO) levels induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in RAW 264.7 macrophages.

The effect of ultrasonic on reducing anti-browning minimum effective concentration of purslane extract on fresh-cut potato slices during storage.

Enzymatic browning is one of the major difficulties for the preservation and commercial value of fresh-cut products. To research more healthy and inexpensive anti-browning methods, we investigated the effect of ultrasonic coupling purslane extract on the browning resistance of fresh-cut potato during 8d storage at 4 °C. Firstly, the optimal ultrasonic time (10 min) was obtained. Then, the results showed that the combined application with lower purslane extract concentration (0.02%, w/w) could achieve a better anti-browning effect than the optimal concentration of alone purslane extract (0.05%, w/w). The combined application not only significantly inhibited the key enzyme activities of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POD), but also effectively reduced the damage to cell membrane, maintained its integrity and permeability. Meanwhile, it also improved antioxidant capacity during storage. Overall, the ultrasonic cavitation combined with purslane extract would be a promising method for fresh-cut industry.

The anti-inflammatory potential of Portulaca oleracea L. (purslane) extract by partial suppression on NF-κB and MAPK activation.

Portulaca oleracea L. (Purslane) has great potential as food and traditional drugs in several countries. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effects of purslane extract on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Purslane extracts significantly reduced LPS-induced synthesis of NO in a dose-dependent manner, as well as the expression levels of iNOS and COX-2. The productions of TNF-α and IL-6 were also significantly reduced at the higher dose of 400 µg/ml. Meanwhile, the expression levels of P65, p-P65, p-MEK and p-IκB-α were inhibited dose-dependently. The nuclear translocation of P65 was partially prevented by the extract, which explained the inhibition of NF-κB pathway. In addition, three reported flavonoids, named luteolin, kaempferol and quercitrin, were identified in the extract, which might be responsible for its anti-inflammatory effects. Above all, our research has partially proved that purslane could be considered as a natural anti-inflammatory agent in further applications.

Effect of purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) extract on anti-browning of fresh-cut potato slices during storage.

Enzymatic browning is a crucial reaction affecting the quality of fresh-cut fruit and vegetables. Purslane is an edible Chinese folk medicine with extensive distribution and containing a lot of polyphenols and alkaloids. However, little research on its' anti-browning effect on fresh-cut food was reported. In this study, the effectiveness of 0.05% (w/w) purslane aqueous extract treatment efficiently inhibited the activities of polyphenol oxidase (PPO), peroxidase (POD) and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), the membrane integrity was effectively maintained, and malondialdehyde (MDA) content increases was retarded during whole storage period at 4 °C. Oddly, the higher purslane extract concentration, the lower endogenesis phenolic content. Additionally, thirty polyphenols and fifty-six alkaloids were found in purslane aqueous extract by LC-MS/MS. All results suggest that purslane aqueous extract is a promising nutritive anti-browning agent for fresh-cut potato.

Phytoremediation of fluoride with garden ornamentals Nerium oleander, Portulaca oleracea, and Pogonatherum crinitum.

Nursery grown plants of Nerium oleander, Pogonatherum crinitum, and Portulaca oleracea were observed to remove fluoride up to 92, 80, and 73%, respectively, from NaF solution at the concentration of 10 mg L-1 within 15 days. Concentration range of 10-50 mg L-1 of fluoride revealed a constant decrease of removal from 92 to 51% within 15 days by N. oleander, while the biomass (one to five plants) showed enhancement in removal from 74 to 98% in 10 days. Translocation and bioaccumulation factors calculated after fluoride contents in roots and leaves of N. oleander, P. crinitum, and P. oleracea were 1.85, 1.19, and 1.43, and 9.8, 3.6, and 2.2, respectively. P . oleracea, P. crinitum, and N. oleander showed reductions in chlorophyll contents by 40, 57 and 25 and 8%, carbohydrates by 50, 44, and 16%, and proteins by 38, 53, and 15%, respectively. Activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) in the roots of P. oleracea, P. crinitum, and N. oleander were observed to be induced by 400, 383, and 500%; 80, 105, and 424%; and 153, 77, and 71%, respectively, while the leaves showed induction in SOD, CAT, and GPX activities by 550, 315, and 165%; 196, 227, and 243%; and 280, 242, and 184%, respectively. Results endorsed the superiority of N. oleander for fluoride removal over other plant species.

Alternative Strategies in Response to Saline Stress in Two Varieties of Portulaca oleracea (Purslane).

Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) is a globally-distributed plant with a long history of use in folk medicine and cooking. We have developed purslane as a model system for exploring plant responses to stress. We exposed two varieties of purslane to saline stress with the objective of identifying differences between the varieties in the plasticity of morphological and physiological traits. The varieties responded to saline stress with significantly different changes in the measured traits, which included inter alia biomass, flower counts, proline concentrations and betalain pigment concentrations. The alternative responses of the two varieties consisted of complex, simultaneous changes in multiple traits. In particular, we observed that while both varieties increased production of betalain pigments and proline under saline stress, one variety invested more in betalain pigments while the other invested more in proline. Proline and betalain pigments undoubtedly play multiple roles in plant tissues, but in this case their role as antioxidants deployed to ameliorate saline stress appears to be important. Taken holistically, our results suggest that the two varieties employ different strategies in allocating resources to cope with saline stress. This conclusion establishes purslane as a suitable model system for the study of saline stress and the molecular basis for differential responses.

Portulaca oleracea L. as a Prospective Candidate Inhibitor of Hepatitis C Virus NS3 Serine Protease.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a worldwide health problem affecting about 300 million individuals. HCV causes chronic liver disease, liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and death. Many side effects are associated with the current treatment options. Natural products that can be used as anti-HCV drugs are thus of considerable potential significance. NS3 serine protease (NS3-SP) is a target for the screening of antiviral activity against HCV. The present work explores plants with anti-HCV potential, isolating possible lead compounds. Ten plants, used for medicinal purposes against different infections in rural areas of Pakistan, were collected. The cellular toxicity effects of methanolic extracts of the plants on the viability of Huh-7 cells were studied through the Trypan blue dye exclusion method. Following this, the anti-HCV potential of phytoextracts was assessed by infecting liver cells with HCV-3a-infected serum inoculum. Only the methanolic extract of Portulaca oleracea L. (PO) exhibited more than 70% inhibition. Four fractions were obtained through bioassay-guided extraction of PO. Subsequent inhibition of all organic extract fractions against NS3 serine protease was checked to track the specific target in the virus. The results showed that the PO methanolic crude and ethyl acetate extract specifically abridged the HCV NS3 protease expression in a dose-dependent fashion. Hence, PO extract and its constituents either alone or with interferon could offer a future option to treat chronic HCV.

Responses of Portulaca oleracea Linn. to selenium exposure.

The present study was investigated to evaluate the uptake and accumulation of selenium (Se) by the stem cuttings of Portulaca oleracea L. grown in alfisol amended with various concentrations of Se. P. oleracea accumulated a maximum of 63.4 µg g(-1) dry weight in a short growth period of 42 days. The order of accumulation of Se among the plant parts was leaves (31.5 µg g(-1)) > stems (16.4 µg g(-1)) > roots (15.5 µg g(-1)). The accumulation potential was fourfold higher than the plant available concentration of 15.2 µg g(-1) of Se g(-1) of soil (diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid extracted). Although the plant was able to accumulate Se in their tissues, increase in Se concentrations in soil caused a concentration-dependent decrease in the growth rate of plants (regeneration of leaves, number of leaves, number of roots, root length, stem length and biomass).

Cytotoxicity assessments of Portulaca oleracea and Petroselinum sativum seed extracts on human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2).

The Pharmacological potential, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial activities of Portulaca oleracea (PO) and Petroselinum sativum (PS) extracts are well known. However, the preventive properties against hepatocellular carcinoma cells have not been explored so far. Therefore, the present investigation was designed to study the anticancer activity of seed extracts of PO and PS on the human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2). The HepG2 cells were exposed with 5-500 µg/ml of PO and PS for 24 h. After the exposure, cell viability by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2yl)-2,5-biphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, neutral red uptake (NRU) assay, and cellular morphology by phase contrast inverted microscope were studied. The results showed that PO and PS extracts significantly reduced the cell viability of HepG2 in a concentration dependent manner. The cell viability was recorded to be 67%, 31%, 21%, and 17% at 50, 100, 250, and 500 µg/ml of PO, respectively by MTT assay and 91%, 62%, 27%, and 18% at 50, 100, 250, and 500 µg/ml of PO, respectively by NRU assay. PS exposed HepG2 cells with 100 µg/ml and higher concentrations were also found to be cytotoxic. The decrease in the cell viability at 100, 250, and 500 µg/ml of PS was recorded as 70%, 33%, and 15% by MTT assay and 63%, 29%, and 17%, respectively by NRU assay. Results also showed that PO and PS exposed cells reduced the normal morphology and adhesion capacity of HepG2 cells. HepG2 cells exposed with 50 µg/ml and higher concentrations of PO and PS lost their typical morphology, become smaller in size, and appeared in rounded bodies. Our results demonstrated preliminary screening of anticancer activity of Portulaca oleracea and Petroselinum sativum extracts against HepG2 cells, which can be further used for the development of a potential therapeutic anticancer agent.

Evaluation of antioxidant properties and mineral composition of Purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) at different growth stages.

The main objective of this research was to appraise the changes in mineral content and antioxidant attributes of Portulaca oleracea over different growth stages. The antioxidant activity was measured using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. The iodine titration method was used to determine the ascorbic acid content (AAC). DPPH scavenging (IC(50)) capacity ranged from 1.30 ± 0.04 to 1.71 ± 0.04 mg/mL, while the ascorbic acid equivalent antioxidant activity (AEAC) values were 229.5 ± 7.9 to 319.3 ± 8.7 mg AA/100 g, total phenol content (TPC) varied from 174.5 ± 8.5 to 348.5 ± 7.9 mg GAE/100 g. AAC 60.5 ± 2.1 to 86.5 ± 3.9 mg/100 g and FRAP 1.8 ± 0.1 to 4.3 ± 0.1 mg GAE/g. There was good correlation between the results of TPC and AEAC, and between IC(50) and FRAP assays (r(2) > 0.9). The concentrations of Ca, Mg, K, Fe and Zn increased with plant maturity. Calcium (Ca) was negatively correlated with sodium (Na) and chloride (Cl), but positively correlated with magnesium (Mg), potassium (K), iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn). Portulaca olerecea cultivars could be used as a source of minerals and antioxidants, especially for functional food and nutraceutical applications.

Evaluation of free radicals scavenging and immunity-modulatory activities of Purslane polysaccharides.

In this study, antioxidant and immunity-modulatory activities of Purslane polysaccharide were estimated. The results revealed that in a dose-dependent manner, Purslane polysaccharides could significantly scavenge superoxide anion, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH(-)), nitric oxide and hydroxyl radicals. Furthermore, the Purslane polysaccharides could still effectively inhibit the red blood cell (RBC) haemolysis, and increase spleen, thymocyte T and B lymphocyte proliferation, it could be concluded that Purslane polysaccharides could be of considerable preventive and therapeutic significance to some free radical associated health problems such as ovarian cancer, by scavenging accumulating free radicals and enhancing immunity functions.

Hypoglycemic effects of crude polysaccharide from Purslane.

The effects of crude polysaccharide from Purslane (CPP) on body weight (bw), blood glucose, total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), triglyceride (TG) and serum insulin levels were studied in diabetes mellitus mice. CPP treatment (200, 400 mg/kg bw) for 28 days resulted in a significant decrease in the concentrations of fasting blood glucose (FBG), TC and TG. Furthermore, CPP significantly increased the concentration of HDL-c, body weight and serum insulin level in the mice. In addition, according to acute toxicity studies and single cell gel electrophoresis analysis, CPP did not produce any physical or behavioral signs of toxicity. More significantly, our data demonstrated CPP exhibited the best effects at the dose of 400 mg/kg bw. The above results suggest that CPP can control blood glucose and modulate the metabolism of glucose and blood lipids in diabetes mellitus mice, so we conclude that CPP should be evaluated as a candidate for future studies on diabetes mellitus.

Effects of copper sulfate and copper nitrate in aquatic medium on the restoration potential and accumulation of copper in stem cuttings of the terrestrial medicinal plant, Portulaca oleracea linn.

The stem cuttings of the terrestrial, ornamental plant, Portulaca oleracea, grew well in distilled water by producing adventitious roots and leaves. However, when exposed to various concentrations of sulfate and nitrate salts of copper resulted in a suppression of root growth, increase in initiation time of roots and sprouts and decay of stem cuttings from the cut open end, decrease in number of leaves with an increase in concentration of copper in the growth medium. Accumulation of copper increased with increasing concentrations of both copper sulfate and copper nitrate. However, copper accumulation was greater in copper nitrate than in copper sulfate treatment. Hence, copper in the presence of nitrate is more toxic than in the presence of sulfate. The accumulation factors in all treatment concentrations were greater than 1, hence P. oleracea is a copper accumulator.