Genista species are sources of antioxidant phenolic compounds such as O- and C-glycosylﬂavonoids and isoflavonoids. A combination of a DPPH scavenging assay with HPTLC-MS, a fast and efficient method for identification of bioactive compounds, has been applied for evaluation of the radical scavenging activity of metabolites from Genista saharae Coss. a Dur. Different organs collected at various periods have been compared. Identification of antioxidant compounds was obtained by elution of the major DPPH-inhibition zones. The resulting HPTLC-MS analysis under moderately polar conditions, coupled to the DPPH results led to the putative identification of two antioxidant isoflavone aglycones: 3',4',5,7-tetrahydroxyisoflavone (1) and ficuisoflavone (3), whereas polar migration conditions led to the identification of the glycosides 5-methoxy-4',7-trihydroxy-8-glucopyranosylisoflavone (4) and 4',5-dihydroxy-7-methoxyisoflavone-4'-O-β-D-gluco-pyranoside (5). Evaluation of percentage of inhibition of DPPH radical by the purified isoflavone 4 from the root extract showed that it affords a moderate contribution to the total radical scavenging activity of the extract.

Rapid Identification of Antioxidant Compounds of Genista saharae Coss. & Dur. by Combination of DPPH Scavenging Assay and HPTLC-MS

Chemical composition and biological activity of Tanacetum audibertii (Req.) DC. (Asteraceae), an endemic species of Sardinia Island, Italy

Chemistry of natural organic products regards studies of molecular structural characters devoted to the identification of new molecular architectures and searching new compounds present in natural matrices characterized by biological useful activity. More recently, particular attention has been directed to phytochemical studies of plants, the so-called endemic species, growing in particular areas, characterized by narrow limits. The hypothesis is that a wide variety of climates, environmental, geological, geographical, and biological conditions has led to the diversification of species. Endemism is the condition of being restricted to a particular area with a prescribed extent and describes species that are native to a particular geographic territory, and usually occurs in areas that are in some way isolated. The term “endemism” derives from the medical language and it was used for the first time, referred to plants, in 1820 by De Candolle. It is possible to distinguish several categories of endemisms. In 1926 Herzog sets the differences between neoendemics and paleoendemics species. Favarger & Contandriopoulos in 1961 and Favarger in 1964 proposed a new classification based on the mode of genesis of the species: schizoendemism, apoendemism, patroendemism, and paleoendemism. Paleoendemism and patroendemism represent the conservative component of the flora of a territory while schizoendemism and apoendemism represent the innovating component of it. Like other Mediterranean-type ecosystems, the Mediterranean Basin has high levels of plant diversity and endemism. The floral diversity of the Mediterranean Basin is dramatic. Its 25,000 vascular plants species (13,000 endemic species) are more than four times the number found in all the rest of Europe. The Mediterranean region constitutes both a refuge area and one that encourages floral exchange and active plant speciation. Many of the endemic species are concentrated on islands, peninsulas, cliffs, and peaks. In this review, studies on the molecular pattern of endemic plants of restricted areals (Sardinia Island and Central Italy with Monti Sibillini National Park and Majella National Park) are reported, with particular attention toward plants containing active compounds and plants with an ethnopharmacologic history and tradition. These two areas were selected as representative sites of insular and peninsular areas of Italy.

Endemic Plants of Italy and Their Peculiar Molecular Pattern

The last decades have recorded an increase of plant-based drug discovery processes. Indeed, natural products possess a superior chemical diversity as compared to synthetic ones, leading to a renewal in searching for new therapeutic agents from the plant kingdom. In particular, since the structural variety of natural compounds reflects the biodiversity of their source organisms, regions of the world with high biodiversity and endemism deserve particular interest. In this context, Sardinia Island (Italy), with 290 endemic taxa (12% of the total flora), is expected to provide unique and structurally diverse phytochemicals for drug development. Several research groups built up a large program dedicated to the analysis of Sardinian endemic species, highlighting their peculiar features, both in respect of phytochemical and biological profiles. On this basis, the aim of this review is to provide an up-to-date and comprehensive overview on ethnobotanical uses, biological properties and phytoconstituents of Sardinian endemic plants in order to support their beneficial potential and to provide input for future investigations. We documented 152 articles published from 1965 to June 2020 in which a broad range of biological activities and the identification of previously undescribed compounds have been reported, supporting their great value as sources of therapeutic agents.

https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/9/8/958/pdf

So Uncommon and so Singular, but Underexplored: An Updated Overview on Ethnobotanical Uses, Biological Properties and Phytoconstituents of Sardinian Endemic Plants

Valentina Graziosi

Papers

Endemic Sardinian plants: the case of Genista cadasonensis Valsecchi