Although much has been published about curcumin, which is obtained from turmeric, comparatively little is known about turmeric itself. Turmeric, a golden spice obtained from the rhizome of the plant Curcuma longa, has been used to give color and taste to food preparations since ancient times. Traditionally, this spice has been used in Ayurveda and folk medicine for the treatment of such ailments as gynecological problems, gastric problems, hepatic disorders, infectious diseases, and blood disorders. Modern science has provided the scientific basis for the use of turmeric against such disorders. Various chemical constituents have been isolated from this spice, including polyphenols, sesquiterpenes, diterpenes, triterpenoids, sterols, and alkaloids. Curcumin, which constitutes 2–5% of turmeric, is perhaps the most-studied component. Although some of the activities of turmeric can be mimicked by curcumin, other activities are curcumin-independent. Cell-based studies have demonstrated the potential of turmeric as an antimicrobial, insecticidal, larvicidal, antimutagenic, radioprotector, and anticancer agent. Numerous animal studies have shown the potential of this spice against proinflammatory diseases, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, depression, diabetes, obesity, and atherosclerosis. At the molecular level, this spice has been shown to modulate numerous cell-signaling pathways. In clinical trials, turmeric has shown efficacy against numerous human ailments including lupus nephritis, cancer, diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, acne, and fibrosis. Thus, a spice originally common in the kitchen is now exhibiting activities in the clinic. In this review, we discuss the chemical constituents of turmeric, its biological activities, its molecular targets, and its potential in the clinic.

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Multitargeting by turmeric, the golden spice: From kitchen to clinic

Extracts of plants from the Malaysian rainforest and other fragile habitats are being researched intensively for identification of beneficial biological actions, with assessment of antioxidant behavior being a common component of such assessments. A number of tests for antioxidant behavior are used, with the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reduction activity potential (FRAP) assays often being used in parallel, and also with measurement of total phenolics content (TPC) as a surrogate marker for antioxidant capacity. The present study investigated the possible redundancy in using all three assays to determine antioxidant capacity in 92 extracts obtained from 27 plants from the Malaysian rainforest. The results demonstrated that the assays displayed a high (R ≥ 0.82) and significant (P < 0.0001) correlation with one another, indicating a high level of redundancy if all three assays are used in parallel. This appears to be a waste of potentially valuable plant extracts. Because of problems with the FRAP assay relating to color interference and variable rates of reaction point, the DPPH assay is the preferred assay in preliminary screening of extracts of plants from the Malaysian rainforest.

High Correlation of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) Radical Scavenging, Ferric Reducing Activity Potential and Total Phenolics Content Indicates Redundancy in Use of All Three Assays to Screen for Antioxidant Activity of Extracts of Plants from the Malaysian Rainforest

Momordica charantia L. (M. charantia), a member of the Cucurbitaceae family, is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. It has been used in folk medicine for the treatment of diabetes mellitus, and its fruit has been used as a vegetable for thousands of years. Phytochemicals including proteins, polysaccharides, flavonoids, triterpenes, saponins, ascorbic acid and steroids have been found in this plant. Various biological activities of M. charantia have been reported, such as antihyperglycemic, antibacterial, antiviral, antitumor, immunomodulation, antioxidant, antidiabetic, anthelmintic, antimutagenic, antiulcer, antilipolytic, antifertility, hepatoprotective, anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities. However, both in vitro and in vivo studies have also demonstrated that M. charantia may also exert toxic or adverse effects under different conditions. This review addresses the chemical constituents of M. charantia and discusses their pharmacological activities as well as their adverse effects, aimed at providing a comprehensive overview of the phytochemistry and biological activities of M. charantia.

https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/18/12/2555/pdf

Recent Advances in Momordica charantia: Functional Components and Biological Activities.

Review of synthesis and various biological activities of spiro heterocyclic compounds comprising oxindole and pyrrolidine moities

We investigated the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of different forms (local names: mura and chora) of turmeric (Curcuma longa) from the Khulna and Chittagong divisions of Bangladesh for their antioxidant properties and polyphenol, flavonoid, tannin, and ascorbic acid contents. The antioxidant activity was determined using the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical-scavenging activity and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) values. The ethanolic extract of Chittagong’s mura contained the highest concentrations of polyphenols (16.07%), flavonoids (9.66%), and ascorbic acid (0.09 mg/100 g) and chora resulted in high yields (17.39%). The ethanolic extract of Khulna’s mura showed a higher DPPH radical-scavenging activity with the lowest 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) (1.08 μg/mL), while Khulna’s chora had the highest FRAP value (  μM Fe per 100 g). Overall, the ethanolic extract had higher antioxidant properties than those in the aqueous extract. However, the tannin concentration was lower in the ethanolic extract. We conclude that the turmeric varieties investigated in this study are useful sources of natural antioxidants, which confer significant protection against free radical damage.

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Antioxidant Properties of Popular Turmeric (Curcuma longa) Varieties from Bangladesh

Aqueous and ethanol extracts of different traditional Malaysian plants (Polygonum minus, Andrographis paniculata, Curcuma xanthorrhiza, Momordica charantia and Strobilanthes crispus) were evaluated for their antioxidant properties, total phenolic content and cytotoxic activity Antioxidant activity was evaluated by using 1,1-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays The results showed that ethanol extracts contain high antioxidant activities compared to aqueous extracts The findings exhibited a strong correlation between antioxidant activity and the total phenol contents In addition, all the plant extracts showed non-toxic effects against a normal human lung fibroblast cell line (Hs888Lu) Although traditionally aqueous extracts are used, we determined that ethanol extracts usually achieved better activity in the assays

https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/16/4/3433/pdf

Antioxidant, total phenolic content and cytotoxicity evaluation of selected Malaysian plants.

ZnO absorbs certain wavelengths of light and this behavior is more pronounced for nanoparticles of ZnO. As many toxicity measurements rely on measuring light transmission in cell lines, it is essential to determine how far this light absorption influences experimental toxicity measurements. The main objective was to study the ZnO absorption and how this influenced the cytotoxicity measurements. The cytotoxicity of differently sized ZnO nanoparticles in normal and cancer cell lines derived from lung tissue (Hs888Lu), neuron-phenotypic cells (SH-SY5Y), neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y), human histiocytic lymphoma (U937), and lung cancer (A549) was investigated. Our results demonstrate that the presence of ZnO affected the cytotoxicity measurements due to the absorption characteristic of ZnO nanoparticles. The data revealed that the ZnO nanoparticles with an average particle size of around 85.7nm and 190nm showed cytotoxicity towards U937, SH-SY5Y, differentiated SH-SY5Y, and Hs888Lu cell lines. No effect on the A549 cells was observed. It was also found that the cytotoxicity of ZnO was particle size, concentration, and time dependent. These studies are the first to quantify the influence of ZnO nanoparticles on cytotoxicity assays. Corrections for absorption effects were carried out which gave an accurate estimation of the concentrations that produce the cytotoxic effects.

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Effects of the absorption behaviour of ZnO nanoparticles on cytotoxicity measurements

The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro cellular activity of novel spiroisoxazoline type compounds against normal and cancer cell lines from lung tissue (Hs888Lu), neuron-phenotypic cells (SH-SY5Y), neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y), human histiocytic lymphoma (U937), lung cancer (A549), and leukaemia (HL-60). Our bioassay program revealed that the spiroisoxazoline type compounds show cytotoxicity only in lymphoma cell lines, which is in contrast with the pyrrolidine precursor of these spiroisoxazoline compounds, where significant cytotoxicity is seen in all normal and cancer cell lines. These data suggest a tumour-specific mechanism of action. In addition these data also show that spiroisoxazoline compounds are non-toxic in the human neuronphenotypic neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cell line, and furthermore that they might protect cells from neurodegenerative disease.

https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/15/12/9340/pdf

Evaluation of the bioactivity of novel spiroisoxazoline typecompounds against normal and cancer cell lines.

2-Aryl-4,5-dioxopyrrolidine-3-carboxylate and 5-aryl-2,4-dioxopyrrolidine-3-carboxylate derivatives were successfully synthesized via carbonyl-based multiple component reaction and Dieckmann cyclization, respectively. Successive functional group transformations which include decarboxylation and hydrazonation afforded 2-oxo-5-aryl-3-hydrazone and 2-oxo-5-aryl-4hydrazone derivatives. Compound 3d exhibited activity against human histiocytic lymphoma (U937) and neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y) cell lines while compound 6 showed neuroprotective ability from oxidative stress medium induced with H2O2.

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Synthesis and bioactivity of some 2-oxo-5-aryl-3-hydrazone and 2-oxo-5-aryl-4-hydrazone pyrrolidine derivatives

Ficus deltoidea or locally known as ‘Mas Cotek’ is a very common herb found throughout the tropics is available in many varieties In Malaysia, traditional practitioners use this plant in herbal remedies to treat several illnesses like headache, hypertension, and hyperglycemia which may be related to antioxidant properties of the plant The first objective of the study was to evaluate antioxidant properties of aqueous extracts of four varieties of Ficus deltoidea namely var angustifolia, deltoidea, intermedia, and kunstleri in order to identify which variety possess the highest antioxidant potential In this study, the antioxidant of aqueous extract of the leaves and fruits of the four varieties of Ficus deltoidea were evaluated by their DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging activity In addition, total phenolic content (TPC) of the aqueous extracts were also determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu method The TPC value of var intermedia was very good both for the leaves and fruits (8652 and 9658 mg GAE/100 g extract respectively) compared to other varieties In the DPPH assay, var deltoidea showed the highest radical scavenging activity both for the leaves and fruits (8204% and 7143% respectively) compared to other varieties The second objective was to study the neurotoxicity In this study, neuroblastoma cell line, SH-SY5Y was used to determine the neurotoxicity of aqueous extracts of four varieties of Ficus deltoidea Cell viability was assessed using MTS assay Results showed that the aqueous extracts of four varieties of Ficus deltoidea were not toxic within the tested concentration range from 1 ng/ml to 1 mg/ml The study also showed that the aqueous extracts could protect neuron cells and suggested that the varieties possess potential neuroprotective effects

Mazatulikhma Mat Zain

Papers

Antioxidant, total phenolic content and cytotoxicity evaluation of selected Malaysian plants.

Effects of the absorption behaviour of ZnO nanoparticles on cytotoxicity measurements

Evaluation of the bioactivity of novel spiroisoxazoline typecompounds against normal and cancer cell lines.

Synthesis and bioactivity of some 2-oxo-5-aryl-3-hydrazone and 2-oxo-5-aryl-4-hydrazone pyrrolidine derivatives

Radical scavenging and neurotoxicity of four varieties of Ficus deltoidea