HPLC-MS/MS Profiles, Antioxidant, Neuroprotective, Antidiabetic and Skin Protective Effects of Different Extracts of Vicia peregrina L. Collected from the Eastern Region of Turkey.

Many Vicia species (Fabaceae) were proven to possess bioactive compounds with potential health beneficial properties. The present study was designed to determine the phenolic constituents, antioxidant and enzyme inhibition activities of aerial parts and seed of V. peregrina. Hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts were prepared by maceration and aqueous extract by infusion. The chemical compositions of the extracts were determined using HPLC-MS/MS technology. The antioxidant activities were examined using various assays including free radical scavenging (ABTS and DPPH), reducing ability (CUPRAC and FRAP), metal chelation, and phosphomolybdenum. The enzyme inhibitory effects were investigated against cholinesterase, tyrosinase, amylase and glucosidase. The highest total phenolics and flavonoids contents were recorded in the methanol extracts of the seed (45.42 mg GAE/g) and aerial parts (40.33 mg RE/g) respectively. The aerial parts were characterized by higher accumulation of chlorogenic acid (9893.86 µg g-1 ), isoquercitrin (9400.33 µg g-1 ), delphindin 3,5 diglucoside (9113.28 µg g-1 ), hyperoside (6337.09 µg g-1 ), rutin (3489.83 µg g-1 ) and kaempferol-3-glucoside (2872.84 µg g-1 ). Generally, the methanol and aqueous extracts of the two studied parts exerted the best antioxidant activity with highest anti-DPPH (61.99 mg TE/g), anti-ABTS (101.80 mg TE/g) and Cu++ (16169 mg TE/g) and Fe+++ (172,36 mg TE/g) reducing capacity were recorded from the seed methanol extract. Methanol extract of the seed showed the best anti-tyrosinase activity (75.86 mg KAE/g). These results indicated that V. peregrina is rich with bioactive phenolics suggesting their use in different health promoting applications.

UHPLC-MS/MS analysis, cytotoxic, enzyme inhibition, and antioxidant properties of Lantana camara L. extracts obtained by conventional and nonconventional methods.

Lantana camara is widely known as a garden plant, but its use for various medicinal purposes is widespread in traditional medicine. In the frame of this study, L. camara was subjected to several different extraction techniques, including supercritical carbon dioxide extraction, accelerated solvent extraction (ASE), homogenizer-assisted extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction, maceration, and Soxhlet extraction. The investigation encompasses the analysis of the chemical composition alongside assessments of biological activities, such as antioxidant and enzyme-inhibition potential and cytotoxicity of the obtained extracts. The obtained results showed that the extract obtained by accelerated-solvent extraction was the richest in the content of total phenols and of individual compounds. Of the 17 components identified in total, hispidulin was detected in the highest concentration (5.43-475.97 mg/kg). In the antioxidant assays, the extracts obtained by accelerated-solvent and microwave extraction possessed the highest level of antioxidant and antiradical protection. All obtained extracts showed enzyme-inhibitory action on amylase, glucosidase, tyrosinase, and cholinesterase, showing a high potential for application against diseases induced by excessive activity of these enzymes. Cytotoxic analysis was performed on normal and tumor cells, whereby the obtained IC50 values were in the range of 7.685-79.26 µg/mL, showing the high cytotoxicity of the obtained extracts. Using Z score analysis, ASE resulted in an optimal combination of tested quality characteristics of the L. camara extracts.

Chemical composition and biological activities of Cucurbita okeechobeensis extracts from its aerial parts, seeds, and fruit shells.

The Cucurbita genus has been widely used in traditional medicinal systems across different countries. In this study, we aimed to investigate the chemical composition, antioxidant properties, enzyme inhibitory, and cytotoxic effects of methanol and aqueous extracts obtained from the aerial parts, seeds, and fruit shells of Cucurbita okeechobeensis. Antioxidant properties were assessed using various chemical methods, including radical quenching (DPPH and ABTS), reducing power (CUPRAC and FRAP), metal chelation, and phosphomolybdenum assays. The extracts' enzyme inhibitory effects were tested against cholinesterase, amylase, glucosidase, and tyrosinase, whereas different cancer cell lines were used for the cytotoxicity study. The chemical composition, evaluated by HPLC-ESI-MSn, showed that the most abundant compounds were flavonoids (mainly quercetin glycosides) followed by phenolic acids (mostly caffeic acid derivatives). The aerial parts displayed stronger antioxidant ability than the seed and fruit shells, in agreement with the highest content in phytochemicals. In addition, the methanol extracts presented the highest bioactivity and content in phytochemicals; among them, the extract of the aerial part exhibited significant cytotoxic effects on cancer cell lines and induced apoptosis. Overall, our results suggest that C. okeechobeensis is a valuable source of bioactive compounds for the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries.

Phytochemical profiling and bioactivity assessment of underutilized Symphytum species in comparison with Symphytum officinale.

BACKGROUND: Symphytum (comfrey) genus, particularly Symphytum officinale, has been empirically used in folk medicine mainly for its potent anti-inflammatory properties. In an attempt to shed light on the valorization of less known taxa, the current study evaluated the metabolite profile and antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory effects of nine Symphytum species. RESULTS: Phenolic acids, flavonoids and pyrrolizidine alkaloids were the most representative compounds in all comfrey samples. Hierarchical cluster analysis revealed that, within the roots, S. grandiflorum was slightly different from S. ibericum, S. caucasicum and the remaining species. Within the aerial parts, S. caucasicum and S. asperum differed from the other samples. All Symphytum species showed good antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory activities, as evaluated in DPPH (up to 50.17 mg Trolox equivalents (TE) g-1), ABTS (up to 49.92 mg TE g-1), cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC, up to 92.93 mg TE g-1), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP, up to 53.63 mg TE g-1), acetylcholinesterase (AChE, up to 0.52 mg galanthamine equivalents (GALAE) g-1), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE, up to 0.96 mg GALAE g-1), tyrosinase (up to 13.58 mg kojic acid equivalents g-1) and glucosidase (up to 0.28 mmol acarbose equivalents g-1) tests. Pearson correlation analysis revealed potential links between danshensu and ABTS/FRAP/CUPRAC, quercetin-O-hexoside and DPPH/CUPRAC, or rabdosiin and anti-BChE activity. CONCLUSIONS: By assessing for the first time in a comparative manner the phytochemical-biological profile of a considerably high number of Symphytum samples, this study unveils the potential use of less common comfrey species as novel phytopharmaceutical or agricultural raw materials. © 2024 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.