Flavonoids and their glycosides, including anthocyanins

Isolation and identification of antioxidant and α-glucosidase inhibitory compounds from fruit juice of Nitraria tangutorum.

Clinacanthans nutans (Burm. f.) Lindau is a popular medicinal vegetable in Southern Asia, and its extracts have displayed significant anti-proliferative effects on cancer cells in vitro. However, the underlying mechanism for this effect has yet to be established. This study investigated the antitumor and immunomodulatory activity of C. nutans (Burm. f.) Lindau 30% ethanol extract (CN30) in vivo. CN30 was prepared and its main components were identified using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). CN30 had a significant inhibitory effect on tumor volume and weight. Hematoxylin and eosin (H & E) staining and TUNEL assay revealed that hepatoma cells underwent significant apoptosis with CN30 treatment, while expression levels of proliferation markers PCNA and p-AKT were significantly decreased when treated with low or high doses of CN30 treatment. Western blot analysis of PAPR, caspase-3, BAX, and Bcl2 also showed that CN30 induced apoptosis in hepatoma cells. Furthermore, intracellular staining analysis showed that CN30 treatment increased the number of IFN-γ+ T cells and decreased the number of IL-4+ T cells. Serum IFN-γ and interleukin-2 levels also significantly improved. Our findings indicated that CN30 demonstrated antitumor properties by up-regulating the immune response, and warrants further evaluation as a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment and prevention of cancers.

Clinacanthus nutans (Burm. f.) Lindau Ethanol Extract Inhibits Hepatoma in Mice through Upregulation of the Immune Response

Cataract is the leading reason of blindness worldwide and is defined by the presence of any lens opacities or loss of transparency. The most common symptoms of cataract are impaired vision, decreased contrast sensitivity, color disturbance, and glare. Oxidative stress is among the main mechanisms involved in the development of age-related cataract. Surgery through phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation is the most effective method for cataract treatment, however, there are chances of serious complications and irreversible loss of vision associated with the surgery. Natural compounds consisting of antioxidant or anti-inflammatory secondary metabolites can serve as potential leads for anticataract agents. In this review, we tried to document medicinal plants and plant-based natural products used for cataract treatment worldwide, which are gathered from available ethnopharmacological/ethnobotanical data. We have extensively explored a number of recognized databases like Scifinder, PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar, and Scopus by using keywords and phrases such as "cataract", "blindness", "traditional medicine", "ethnopharmacology", "ethnobotany", "herbs", "medicinal plants", or other relevant terms, and summarized the plants/phytoconstituents that are evaluated in different models of cataract and also tabulated 44 plants that are traditionally used in cataract in various folklore medical practices. Moreover, we also categorized the plants according to scientific studies carried out in different cataract models with their mechanisms of action.

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Medicinal Plants and Natural Products Used in Cataract Management.

In this study, the effect of UV irradiation (UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C) on phytochemicals, total phenolics, and antioxidant activity of postharvest pigeon pea leaves was evaluated. The response of pigeon pea leaves to UV irradiation was phytochemical specific. UV-B and UV-C induced higher levels of phytochemicals, total phenolics, and antioxidant activity in pigeon pea leaves compared with UV-A. Furthermore, UV-B irradiation proved to possess a long-lasting effect on the levels of phenolics and antioxidant activity. After adapting for 48 h at 4 °C following 4 h UV-B irradiation, total phenolics and antioxidant activity were approximately 1.5-fold and 2.2-fold increased from 39.4 mg GAE/g DM and 15.0 μmol GAE/g DM to 59.1 mg GAE/g DM and 32.5 μmol GAE/g DM, respectively. These results indicate that UV irradiation of pigeon pea leaves can be beneficial in terms of increasing active components and antioxidant activity.

UV-induced changes of active components and antioxidant activity in postharvest pigeon pea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] leaves.

AIM: To isolate the chemical constituents from the aerial parts of Stellaria media (L.) Cyr.. METHODS: The compounds were isolated through column chromatography and recrystallization. The structures were elucidated by means of physio-chemical data and spectroscopy. RESULT: Fourteen C-Glycosylflavones were isolated from this plant, and their structures were elucidated as apigenin (1), vicenin (6, 8-di-C-β-D-glucopyranosyl apigenin) (2), 8-C-β-D-galactopyranosyl isovitexin(6-C-β-D-glucopyranosyl-8-C-β-D-galactopyranosyl apigenin) (3), 6-C-β-D-galactopyranosyl vitexin (6-C-β-D-galactopyranosyl-8-C-β-D-glucopyranosyl apigenin) (4), 6, 8-di-C-α-L-arabinopyranosyl apigenin (5), schaftoside (6-C-β-D-glucopyranosyl-8-C-α-L-arabinosyl apigenin) (6), isoschaftoside (6-C-α-L -arabinosyl-8-C-β-D-glucopyranosyl apigenin) (7), 6-C-β-D-galactopyranosyl-8-C-α-L-arabinosyl apigenin (8), 8-C-β-D-galactosyl apigenin (9), vitexin (8-C-β-D-glucopyranosyl apigenin) (10), isovitexin (6-C-β-D-glucopyranosyl apigenin) (11), tricetin 6, 8-di-C-β-D-glucopyranosyl (12), tricetin 6-C-α-L-arabinosyl-8-C-β-D-glucopyranosyl (13) and 7-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-6-C-β-D-6”-acetyl-glucopyranosyl apigenin (14). CONCLUSIONS: Compounds 3~8 and compounds 12 and 13 have been found in the plant for the first time, and compound 14 is a new C-glycosylflavone.

Yong-Mei Hu

Papers

C-glycosylflavones from Stellaria media