Research Journal of Pharmacognosy
Volume:2 Issue: 3, Summer 2015

Attenuated total reflectance-inferared (ATR-IR) spectra can be used as a non-invasive fingerprinting approach in quality control of herbal samples.

Twenty versatile herbal samples were subjected to attenuated total reflectance-inferared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy followed by different clustering methods in order to determine by which method more reasonable classifications would be obtained.

All classification methods (K-means, HCA, PCA and SOM) were able to discriminate the two medicinal seeds, Hyocyamus niger and Peganum harmala from other herbal samples. Similarly, the starch samples were clustered in a reasonable method. In HCA, one cluster included three types of starch samples: Zea mays, Oryza sativa and Triticum aestivum. All the four classification methods were able to separate Solanum tuberosum starch from other starch samples. HCA and SOM, were able to classify leaf samples Origanum vulgare and Melissa officinalis belonging to Lamiaceae family, in one category. Crocus sativus and its adulterant Carthamus tinctorius flowers were identified by PCA, HCA and SOM as different categories.

The result of this study can be utilized for identification and quality control of traditionally used medicinal plant samples in an unknown sample powder. Such data could be the basis for preparing a data bank on Iranian medicinal samples which in turn is used as a simple, fast and reliable method for characterization of herbal powders in Pharmacopoeias.

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer and a major cause of morbidity globally. Hepatocellular carcinoma is a leading cause of death in the world. About 80% of all anticancer drugs are somehow related to natural products. One of the most important of these natural compounds is curcumin, the main component of turmeric that has a wide range of pharmacological activities. Curcumin has been found to suppress cell proliferation and decrease cell viability in various types of cancer cells; however, owing to lack of aqueous solubility, curcumin has shown reduced bioavailability in studies. Recent studies have shown that new 400th generation of dendrosome nanoparticle can increase bioavailability of curcumin and thus enhance the cytotoxic properties.  The aim of this study was to determine effectiveness of curcumin alone and in combination with 400th generation dendrosome nanoparticles (DNC) on cell viability rate in SW480 and Huh7 cells.

SW480 and Huh7 cells were incubated with different concentrations of curcumin and DNC (0-50μM) for 24, 48 and 72 h. Then cytotoxicity was assessed by MTT assay and IC50 was determined.

The results suggested that the concentration-dependent inhibitory effect of DNC was stronger than curcumin on SW480 and Huh7 cells.

The results suggest DNC as a more effective herbal anticancer agent for colorectal and hepatocellular tumors.

Plants belonging to the genus Tilia L. (Tiliaceae) are often tall beautiful trees which are considered for various medicinal potentials of their flowers and leaves. The present study was an attempt to investigate the phytochemical constituents of Tilia rubra subsp. caucasica leaves from the hyrcanian forests of north of Iran.

Chromatography on Silica gel (normal and reversed-phase) and Sephadex LH20 was applied for isolation and purification of the compounds from the hydroalcoholic extract of the plant leaves. The structures of isolated compounds were elucidated using UV, 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR spectral analyses.

Four flavonoid glycosides, quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucoside-7-O-α-L-rhamnoside (petiolaroside), quercetin-3-O-α-L-rhamnoside (quercitrin), apigenin-7-O-β-D-glucoside (cosmosiin) and luteolin-7-O-β-D-glucoside (cynaroside) were isolated from T. rubra subsp. caucasica leaves, which have been previously documented for their various biological activities.

The results of this study introduc T. rubra subsp. caucasica as a source of bioactive flavonoid glycosides and highlight it as an appropriate option for further pharmacognostical studies.

Despite the vast production of new antibiotics in the last three decades, resistance to these drugs by microorganisms has increased and essential oils (EOs) have been recognized to possess antimicrobial properties.

  In the present study, EOs obtained from aerial parts of Thymus vulgaris L., Lavandula angustifolia Mill., Rosmarinus officinalis L. and Mentha piperita L., were evaluated for their single and binary combined antibacterial activities against four Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

The results exhibited that some of the tested essential oils revealed antibacterial activities against the examined pathogens using broth microdilution method. Maximum activity of the testedessential oils was obtained from the combination of T. vulgaris and M. piperita essential oils against Staphylococcus aureus (MIC= 0.625 mg/mL).

Combinations of the essential oils in this study showed synergic action against some pathogenic microorganisms which could be considered in medical and food industries as preservatives.

Tuberculosis (TB) is the major public health problem in the world. Each year there are 2-3 million deaths worldwide caused by TB. The increasing incidence of Multi Drug Resistance tuberculosis (MDR-TB) worldwide highlights the urgent need to search for new anti-tuberculosis compounds. It has been reported that medicinal plant, Dracocephalum kotschyi, possesses some antibacterial effect, thus in the present study its anti-mycobacterial property was evaluated.

The sensitivity and resistance of M. tuberculosis strains at concentration of 0.2 µg/mL isoniazid was determined by proportion method. Methanol extract of D. kotschyi was prepared using maceration method. Six concentrations of D. kotschyi, including 20, 40, 80, 160, 320 and 640μg/mL were prepared and its anti-mycobacterial effect on four groups of M. tuberculosis including M. tuberculosis H37Rv (ATCC 27294), isoniazid susceptible and resistance and MDR strains was determined.

The methanol extract of D. kotschyi was significantly against M. tuberculosis. The percent of growthwas decreased from 100% to 0% in M. tuberculosis  H37Rv (ATCC 27294),  isoniazid resistant and isoniazid susceptible strains but from 100% to 50% in MDR strain in 640 μg/mL concentration.

The results showed that different concentrations of D. kotschyi methanol extracts showed a remarkable inhibitory effect on M. tuberculosis. Identification of the effective fraction of D. kotschyi against M. tuberculosis is a further step to be studied.

Angiogenesis is essential for tumor survival. Inhibiting angiogenesis could be a mechanism for hindering tumor development. Numerous studies have now been focused on agiogenesis inhibitors and many of such studies have targeted plant materials. In the present study, Crocus pallasii subsp. haussknechtii has been evaluated for anti-angiogenesis properties.

Anti-angiogenesis activity of the plant extracts and fractions has been investigated through wound healing assay in HUV-EC-C cells. The cytotoxic activity has also been evaluated by MTT assay.

The methanol extract and the methanol fraction of the corm along with the chloroform fraction of the aerial parts demonstrated to be cytotoxic to HUV-EC-C cells with IC50 values of 27.2, 74.1 and 60.0 μg/mL, respectively while the chloroform fraction of the corm showed the most considerable anti-angiogenesis property among the samples in wound healing assay.

Regarding the results of the present study, Crocus pallasii subsp. haussknechtii is suggested for further studies in cancer research evaluations.

The genus Verbascum, with nearly 360 species, is one of the largest members of Schrophulariacea family. In the Flora of Iran, the genus Verbascum is represented by 43 species among them seventeen plants are endemic. Verbascum species are well known in folk medicine and are widely used for therapeutic purposes. Verbascum sublobatum Murb. grows wildly in north of Iran. Literature review has shown that there is no report on phytochemical investigation about V. Sublobatum leaves. In the present study, phytochemicals of the plants have been isolated and the antioxidant activity of the extracts from leaves of Verbascum sublobatum Murb. has been evaluated.

Dried and powdered plant were extracted with 70% methanol and then partitioned by chloroform, ethyl acetate, and buthanol. The ethyl acetae fraction showed the strongest DPPH radical scavenging activity among the three fractions and was subjected to separation and identification. The separation and purification process were performed using various chromatographic methods. Structural elucidation was carried out on the basis of FT-IR, NMR and UV data.

The isolated compounds which had flavonoid structure, were identified as apigenin and luteolin.

The isolated compounds have been previously reported from other species of Verbascum which demonstrates the chemotaxonomic significance of the isolated compounds.

Esters of phthalates, mainly applied as plasticizer, cause several human health and environment    hazards. Phthalates are widely used in pharmaceutical products, cosmetics, as well as other plastic commercial products, and can penetrate in foods, water dusts, and air leading to ingestion and inhalation exposure followed by skin absorption for human. These compounds cause serious adverse effects on human health like destroying the endocrine system, and consequently developmental alterations and reproductive changes through induction of inflammation and oxidative stress. Some phthalates are able to bio-accumulate in water and have been isolated from aquatic organisms. Mammals and birds may be influenced by these compounds through food chain. Therefore, simple and rapid method for identification and quantification of these compounds is a debate especially for developing countries. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy has been successfully employed to determine and measure these compounds in volatile fractions of the plant or the algal materials without more essential chemical reactions. In this article, a rapid review on phthalate toxicity and related analysis methods to detect them in herbal extracts is presented.