Antioxidant, Antidiabetic, and Antihypertensive Properties of Echinacea purpurea Flower Extract and Caffeic Acid Derivatives Using In Vitro Models.

The extraction yield, total phenols, caffeic acid derivatives (CAD), and antioxidant properties of 50% ethanolic Echinacea purpurea flower extract were determined. The in vitro inhibitory effects of 50% ethanolic extract and CAD on α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) linked with type 2 diabetes were also investigated. The extraction yield, total phenols, and total CAD of the extract were 27.04%, 195.69 mg CAE/g and 78.42 mg/g, respectively. Cichoric acid (56.03 mg/g) was the predominant CAD compound in the extract. The extract exhibited good antioxidant properties. The extract and CAD inhibited α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and ACE activities in a concentration-dependent manner. Among the tested samples, chlorogenic acid, and caffeic acid (IC50 of 1.71-1.81 mg/mL) had the highest α-amylase inhibitory activity, cichoric acid (IC50 of 0.28 mg/mL) showed higher α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. Both chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid (IC50 of 0.11-0.14 mg/mL) demonstrated higher ACE-inhibitory activity. The in vitro results suggest that E. purpurea extract and CAD have good potential for managing hyperglycemia and hypertension. Overall, the data suggest it is a choice for developing antihyperglycemia and antihypertension compounds from field-grown E. purpurea.

Karyological, morphological and phytochemical characteristics of medicinal plants Sophora flavescens Aiton grown from seeds collected at different localities.

BACKGROUND: Dried roots of Sophora flavescens Aiton contain many phytochemicals that exhibit beneficial effects on human health. This study examined and compared the karyological, morphological and phytochemical characteristics of three S. flavescens populations collected from the Danda, Hualien and Yuli of Taiwan and a population collected from Gansu, China. RESULTS: Karyotypes of the four populations were similar, with a diploid number of 2n = 18. The Hualien population produced more roots but with less matrine and oxymatrine contents in its root tissue than others. However, only the root of Danda population had a measurable level of naringenin. The dried root of Yuli population had greater ferric reducing antioxidant power and trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity than that of the other populations. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, the collected S. flavescens populations, particularly the population collected from Danda, have the potential to be used in breeding programs.

Using ITS2 PCR-RFLP to generate molecular markers for authentication of Sophora flavescens Ait.

BACKGROUND: Dried root of Sophora flavescens Ait. is a medicinal material occasionally misused or adulterated by other species similar in appearance. In this study the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of DNA samples of S. flavescens Ait. collected from different areas of Taiwan were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and compared. The effectiveness of using ITS2 PCR restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP)-generated markers to differentiate S. flavescens Ait. from possible adulterants was also evaluated. RESULTS: The S. flavescens Ait. samples collected from different areas were extremely low in ITS sequence variability at species level. ITS2 PCR-RFLP coupled with restriction enzymes Sac I, Sac II, Xho I or Pvu I produced specific fragments for all tested variants. ITS2 PCR-RFLP coupled with Sac II was further performed to identify mixtures of DNA extracts of S. flavescens Ait. and Sophora tomentosa L. in various ratios. The developed ITS2 PCR-RFLP markers could detect mixed DNA samples of S. flavescens Ait./S. tomentosa L. up to a ratio of 10:1. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrates the usefulness of ITS2 PCR-RFLP coupled with pre-selected restriction enzymes for practical and accurate authentication of S. flavescens Ait. The technique is also suitable for analysing S. flavescens Ait. mixed with other adulterants.