Anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities of cupressuflavone from Cupressus macrocarpa: Impact on pro-inflammatory mediators.

Hit, Lead & Candidate Discovery Inflammation is a complex biological process that is generally occurs in response to pathological triggers. Both neurodegenerative diseases and cancer have been linked to inflammation. The analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of cupressuflavone (CUF) isolated from Cupressus macrocarpa were examined. The analgesic effects of CUF (40, 80 and 160 mg/kg po) were assessed in the acetic acid-induced writhing and hot plate models in mice with diclofenac sodium as the reference standard (100 mg/kg). CUF dose-dependently inhibited the writhing response in mice by 25, 48, and 62%, at the three CUF doses with 160 mg/kg being equivalent to the diclofenac control. CUF dose-dependently increased the hot plate model reaction time with a maximal effect after 120 min. In the carrageenan-induced paw edema model of inflammation, CUF demonstrated anti-inflammatory activity by inhibiting paw edema by 55, 60, and 64% at doses of 40, 80, and 160 mg/kg po, respectively. CUF also reduced the plasma pro-inflammatory mediators PGE2 (44, 54, and 58%), TNF-α (26, 37, and 53%), IL-1ß (19, 33, and 41%), and IL-6 (32, 44, and 55%) at the three doses tested with the highest dose having similar effects to diclofenac sodium (100 mg/kg). This finding from this study indicates that CUF has both analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects.

Alkaloids of genus Erythrina: An updated review.

Genus Erythrina (Fabaceae) comprises several species, which are widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. The plants of this genus exhibited significant role in traditional medicine targeting different diseases. Alkaloids and flavonoids were reported as the chief bioactive constituents of this genus with a wide range of biological activities. About 143 alkaloids were isolated from Erythrina sp. Anticonvulsant, anxiolytic, curare-like activity, insecticidal and cytotoxic activities were reported for Erythrina sp. alkaloids. The present work is an overview of the isolated alkaloids from Erythrina sp. with their reported biological activities.[Figure: see text]Abbreviations: CHCl3: Chloroform; CNS: Central nervous system; DCM: Methylene chloride; DPPH: 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl; E.: Erythrina; ERα/ß: Estrogen receptors α/ß; EtOAc: Ethyl acetate; EtOH: Ethanol; Hep-G2: Human liver carcinoma cell lines; HIV: Human immunodeficiency virus; HL-60: Human promyelocytic leukemia cells; K-562: Human immortalized myelogenous leukemia cell line; LPS: Lipopolysaccharide; MeOH: Methanol; MOLT-4: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell line; nAChRs: nicotinic acetylcholine receptors; NO: Nitric oxide; NREM: non-rapid eye movement; Pet. ether: Petroleum ether; RBA: Receptor binder affinity; TRAIL: Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand.

GC-MS and LC-MS Identification of the Phenolic Compounds Present in the ethyl Acetate Fraction Obtained from Senna tora, L. Roxb. seeds.

The aim of this work is to characterize the active constituents present in the ethyl acetate fraction of Senna tora, L. Roxb. seeds. Due to the fact that the main biological activity of S. tora, L seeds is attributed to its phenolic compounds which are mainly isolated from Ethyl acetate fraction, to avoid repetition of work and to save time, it was deemed necessary to confirm the identity of these phenolic compounds. This was done by GC-MS and LC-MS analysis of the ethyl acetate fraction where the structures of the isolated compounds were established on the basis of molecular ion peak and their fragmentation pattern. They were identified as Chrysophanol, Chrysarobin, 10-hydroxy-5-methoxy-2-methyl-1, 4-anthracenedione, Rubrofusarin, Parietin, Griseoxanthone-B, Isotorachrysone, and Cumbiasin B.