Phytochemical Profiles, Antioxidant, Cytotoxic, and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Traditional Medicinal Plants: Centaurea pichleri subsp. pichleri, Conyza canadensis, and Jasminum fruticans.

Centaurea pichleri subsp. pichleri, Conyza canadensis, and Jasminum fruticans are traditionally used plants grown in Turkey. Methanol extracts were obtained from these plants and pharmacological activity studies and phytochemical analyses were carried out. To evaluate the phytochemical composition, spectrophotometric and chromatographic techniques were used. The extracts were evaluated for antioxidant activity by DPPH●, ABTS●+ radical scavenging, and FRAP assays. The cytotoxic effects of the extracts were investigated on DU145 prostate cancer and A549 lung cancer cell lines. The anti-inflammatory effects of extracts were investigated on the NO amount, TNF-α, IFN-γ, and PGE 2 levels in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated Raw 264.7 cells. The richest extract in terms of phenolic compounds (98.19 ± 1.64 mgGAE/gextract) and total flavonoids (21.85 ± 0.64 mgCA/gextract) was identified as C. pichleri subsp. pichleri methanol extract. According to antioxidant activity determinations, the C. pichleri subsp. pichleri extract was found to be the most active extract. Finally, the C. pichleri subsp. pichleri methanol extract was revealed to be the most effective inhibitor of viability in the cytotoxic activity investigation, and the extract with the best anti-inflammatory action. The findings point to C. pichleri subsp. pichleri as a promising source of bioactive compounds in the transition from natural sources to industrial uses, such as new medications, cosmeceuticals, and nutraceuticals.

Phytochemical Composition and Biological Activities of Arctium minus (Hill) Bernh.: A Potential Candidate as Antioxidant, Enzyme Inhibitor, and Cytotoxic Agent.

Arctium minus (Hill) Bernh. (Asteraceae), which has a wide distribution area in Turkey, is a medicinally important plant. Eighty percent methanol extracts of the leaf, flower head, and root parts of A. minus were prepared and their sub-fractions were obtained. Spectrophotometric and chromatographic (high-performance liquid chromatography) techniques were used to assess the phytochemical composition. The extracts were evaluated for antioxidant activity by diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazil radical (DPPH●), 2,2'-Azino-bis 3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS●+) radical scavenging, and ß-carotene linoleic acid bleaching assays. Furthermore, the extracts were subjected to α-amylase, α-glucosidase, lipoxygenase, and tyrosinase enzyme inhibition tests. The cytotoxic effects of extracts were investigated on MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines. The richest extract in terms of phenolic compounds was identified as the ethyl acetate sub-fraction of the root extract (364.37 ± 7.18 mgGAE/gextact). Furthermore, chlorogenic acid (8.855 ± 0.175%) and rutin (8.359 ± 0.125%) were identified as the primary components in the leaves' ethyl acetate sub-fraction. According to all methods, it was observed that the extracts with the highest antioxidant activity were the flower and leaf ethyl acetate fractions. Additionally, ABTS radical scavenging activity of roots' ethyl acetate sub-fraction (2.51 ± 0.09 mmol/L Trolox) was observed to be as effective as that of flower and leaf ethyl acetate fractions at 0.5 mg/mL. In the ß-carotene linoleic acid bleaching assay, leaves' methanol extract showed the highest antioxidant capacity (1422.47 ± 76.85) at 30 min. The enzyme activity data showed that α-glucosidase enzyme inhibition of leaf dichloromethane extract was moderately high, with an 87.12 ± 8.06% inhibition value. Lipoxygenase enzyme inhibition was weakly detected in all sub-fractions. Leaf methanol extract, leaf butanol, and root ethyl acetate sub-fractions showed 99% tyrosinase enzyme inhibition. Finally, it was discovered that dichloromethane extracts of leaves, roots, and flowers had high cytotoxic effects on the MDA-MB-231 cell line, with IC50 values of 21.39 ± 2.43, 13.41 ± 2.37, and 10.80 ± 1.26 µg/mL, respectively. The evaluation of the plant extracts in terms of several bioactivity tests revealed extremely positive outcomes. The data of this study, in which all parts of the plant were investigated in detail for the first time, offer promising results for future research.

Phytochemical Compounds Loaded to Nanocarriers as Potential Therapeutic Substances for Alzheimer's Disease-Could They be Effective?

Alzheimer's disease accounts for a high percentage of dementia cases in elderly individuals. This type of brain disease is caused by damage to the brain cells affecting the ability of the patients to communicate, as well as their thinking, behavior, and feelings. Although numerous research laboratories focus on advancements in treating Alzheimer's disease, the currently approved pharmacological approaches seem to only alleviate the symptoms. Consequently, there is an urgent need for alternative pharmacological options that can prevent the progressive impairment of neurons. Natural substances were used in ancient times to treat various disorders given their biological activities such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiapoptotic properties. Besides, their cost-effectiveness and accessibility to anyone who needs them are their most significant characteristics. Therefore, the possible use of phytochemical compounds for the possible management or even prevention of Alzheimer's disease is currently under investigation. This review article summarizes the present status of Alzheimer's disease diagnosis and underlying mechanisms, the potential phytochemicals and their carriers, along with future perspectives. In the future, natural substances can play a role as an adjunct therapy for neurodegenerative forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease.

Antioxidant Activity of Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa L.) Fruit Extract and Cytotoxic Effects on Various Cancer Cell Lines.

OBJECTIVE: Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa L. (Rosaceae) is a shrup whose fruits are consumed as food in Turkey. This study was aimed to evaluate antioxidant activity of methanol extract of P. spinosa and its cytotoxic effects on cancer cell lines. METHOD: Methanol extract of P. spinosa fruit was evaluated for its in vitro cytotoxic activity on multiform (GBM) brain cancer (LN229, U87 and T98G) and pancreas cancer (PANC-1 and AsPC-1) cell lines. Cell viability assays were performed by calculating the percentage of viable cells using a luminescence system, and spectrophotometrically. measuring its antioxidant ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging activities. Differences were considered as statistically significant at p*<0.001 and p**<0.0005 according to unpaired student t-test. RESULTS: Methanol extract of P. spinosa fruit showed 2548±18 mg GAE/100 g correspon-ding to the total phenolic content, and moderate antioxidant activity (0.1896±0.1143 and 0.0729±0.0348) by ABTS� and DPPH� assays. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, after evaluating the results of brain and pancreas cancer cell lines, significant cytotoxic activities with 50-63% cell viability of GBM brain cancer cells were determined while no cytotoxicity was observed on pancreas cancer cell lines, PANC-1; and AsPC-1. The results of this study showed that the methanol extract of P. spinosa fruit has significant antioxidant capacity and leads to statistically significant decreased viability on glioblastoma brain cancer cells.

Hypoglycemic activity of Capparis ovata desf. var. palaestina zoh. methanol extract

Caper (Capparis ovata Desf. and Capparis spinosa L.) is naturally widespread in Turkey. Traditionally, buds, fruits, seeds and roots of this plant are used as tonic, diuretic, anti-rheumatic, expectorant, antidiabetic, and antifungal. The aim of this study is to evaluate potential hypoglycemic effect of C. ovata var. palaestina extracts in alloxan-induced diabetic mice. For this purpose; diabetic mice were administered with 100, 300, 500 mg/kg (i.p.) doses of methanol extract of bud and fruit. Blood glucose levels were screened 60, 120, 240 and 360 min. after treatment. Furthermore, high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) analysis, ABTS and DPPH free radical scavenging activity test, and phenolic and flavonoid compounds analysis of extracts were carried out. The data obtained from in vivo study revealed that fruit-methanol 500 mg/kg (FM3), bud-methanol 300 mg/kg (BM2), bud-methanol 500 mg/kg (BM3) extracts showed significant hypoglycemic activity. All extracts indicated significant antioxidant activity, however bud-methanol (BM) extract demonstrated the most potent antioxidant activity. Moreover high levels of phenolic substances and flavonoids were involved in all extracts, but the highest levels were found in FM extract. HRMS study showed that rutin, quercetin 3-O-glucoside (isoquercitrin) and stachydrine substances had seen in BM extract. The results of this study showed that the C. ovata var. palaestina extracts which, indicate hypoglycemic, antioxidant activities, might provide additional support in diabetes.

Comparison of Seeds of Colchicum speciosum and Gloriosa superba in respect to Colchicine and Colchicoside Contents by RP-LC.

In this study, colchicine (CLN) and colchicoside (CLS) contents of the methanolic extracts of the seeds of Colchicum speciosum Steven that were collected from Uzungöl, Trabzon and also the seeds belonging to two different samples of Gloriosa superba Linn. imported from India were compared by using RP-LC (Reversed Phase High Pressure Liquid Chromatography). This proposed method is advantageous in terms of sample preparation and selective separation of the compounds. Also the method was successfully validated in accordance with the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guideline acceptance criteria for system suitability, linearity and range, precision, specificity and accuracy. As a conclusion of this analysis, the colchicoside and colchicine contents of G. superba (GSI), G. superba (GSII) and C. speciosum (CS) were found to be 312.9 mg/100 g and 333.1 mg/100 g; 434.0 mg/100 g and 471.1 mg/100 g, and 51.9 mg/100 g and 75.9 mg/100 g, respectively.

Quantitative Determination by HPLC-DAD of Icariin, Epimedin A, Epimedin B, and Epimedin C in Epimedium (Berberidaceae) Species Growing in Turkey.

The genus Epimedium is rich in terms of flavonoids, of which icariin, epimedin A, epimedin B and epimedin C are known especially to be biologically active. Therefore, it is important to quantify these compounds. In this study, a HPLC method coupled with DAD detection was developed and validated for the determination of icariin, epimedin A, epimedin B and epimedin C in Epimedium species growing in Turkey. The chromatographic separation was performed using a gradient system with a mobile phase of 0.1% formic acid (A) and acetonitrile (B) applied at a flow rate of 1 mL/min using.a diode array detector. The highest values were, respectively, icariin 0.65%, epimedin A 0.13%, epimedin B 0.11%, epimedin C 0.06%. The highest values were obtained from the materials collected in Uzungol (Trabzon-Turkey).

Quantititative determination of lycorine and galanthamine in Galanthus trojanus and G. cilicicus by HPLC-DAD.

Lycorine and galanthamine have various biological activities. A reliable HPLC method coupled with DAD detection was developed and validated for the determination of galanthamine and lycorine in Galanthus trojanus and G. cilicicus. A simple method for the extraction of the alkaloids in low-mass plant samples was employed utilizing columns pre-packed with diatomaceous earth (Extrelut). This method was applied to the aerial parts and bulbs of G. trojanus and G. cilicicus (Amaryllidaceae) collected during the flowering season. The chromatographic separation was performed using an isocratic system with a mobile phase of trifluoroacetic acid-water-acetonitrile (0.01:92.5:7.5) applied at a flow rate of 1 mL min(-1) and using a diode array detector. Validation procedures showed that the method was specific, accurate and precise. The highest amount of lycorine (0.012%) was detected in the bulbs of G. trojanus collected from Can (Canakkale), whereas the aerial parts of this species collected from Bayramiç (Canakkale) was not found to contain this alkaloid. In G. cilicicus samples, lycorine was only determined in the bulbs, giving yields of 0.004%; galanthamine yields were between 0.015-0.016%, but none of the G. trojanus samples contained this latter alkaloid.