Oregano essential oils obtained from the genera Origanum, Thymus, Coridothymus, Thymbra, Satureja and Lippia are rich in carvacrol, a monoterpenic phenol isomeric with thymol. Turkey is the biggest exporter of oregano herb and oil to the world markets. Oregano is mainly used in food, spice and pharmaceutical industries. Carvacrol is responsible for the biological activities of oregano. Many diverse activities of carvacrol such as antimicrobial, antitumor, antimutagenic, antigenotoxic, analgesic, antispasmodic, antiinflammatory, angiogenic, antiparasitic, antiplatelet, AChe inhibitory, antielastase, insecticidal, antihepatotoxic and hepatoprotective activities and uses such as feed additive, in honeybee breeding and in gastrointestinal ailments have been shown. This paper highlights these activities and attempts to explain the possible in vivo mechanism of action of carvacrol.

Biological and Pharmacological Activities of Carvacrol and Carvacrol Bearing Essential Oils

Anthraquinones represent a large family of compounds having diverse biological properties. Emodin (1,3,8-trihydroxy-6-methylanthraquinone) is a naturally occurring anthraquinone present in the roots and barks of numerous plants, molds, and lichens, and an active ingredient of various Chinese herbs. Earlier studies have documented mutagenic/genotoxic effects of emodin, mainly in bacterial system. Emodin, first assigned to be a specific inhibitor of the protein tyrosine kinase p65lck, has now a number of cellular targets interacting with it. Its inhibitory effect on mammalian cell cycle modulation in specific oncogene overexpressed cells formed the basis of using this compound as an anticancer agent. Identification of apoptosis as a mechanism of elimination of cells treated with cytotoxic agents initiated new studies deciphering the mechanism of apoptosis induced by emodin. At present, its role in combination chemotherapy with standard drugs to reduce toxicity and to enhance efficacy is pursued vigorously. Its additional inhibitory effects on angiogenic and metastasis regulatory processes make emodin a sensible candidate as a specific blocker of tumor-associated events. Additionally, because of its quinone structure, emodin may interfere with electron transport process and in altering cellular redox status, which may account for its cytotoxic properties in different systems. However, there is no documentation available which reviews the biological activities of emodin, in particular, its growth inhibitory effects. This review is an attempt to analyze the biological properties of emodin, a molecule offering a broad therapeutic window, which in future may become a member of anticancer armamentarium.

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Molecular mechanism of emodin action: transition from laxative ingredient to an antitumor agent.

Testing for genetically modified organisms (GMOs): Past, present and future perspectives.

Cassia Linn. (Family  Caesalpiniaceae) is a large tropical genus with about 600 species of herbs, shrubs and trees. Most of the plants of the genus are wellknown in Indian system of medicine for their cathartic, purgative and antibiotic properties. Many compounds of structural significance and medicinal importance have been reported from different species of this genus. Species of Cassia are rich source of anthraquinones which are wellknown as natural dyes, and are gaining importance in recent years due to environmental pollution caused by synthetic dyes. This paper attempts to give an overview of literature on the isolated and characterized anthraquinones from various Cassia species and their repoted applications. Besides dye yielding properties they are used in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Thus plants of Cassia species can serve as commercial source of naturaly occurring anthraquinones.

http://nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream/123456789/14810/1/IJNPR%203(3)%20291-319.pdf

A review on anthraquinones isolated from Cassia species and their applications

Research advances for the extraction, analysis and uses of anthraquinones: A review

The fungicidal activities of Cassia tora extracts and their active principles were determined against Botrytis cineria, Erysiphe graminis, Phytophthora infestans, Puccinia recondita, Pyricularia grisea, and Rhizoctonia solani using a whole plant method in vivo and were compared with synthetic fungicides and three commercially available anthraquinones. The responses varied with the plant pathogen tested. At 1 g/L, the chloroform fraction of C. tora showed a strong fungicidal activity against B. cinerea, E. graminis, P. infestans, and R. solani. Emodin, physcion, and rhein were isolated from the chloroform fraction using chromatographic techniques and showed strong and moderate fungicidal activities against B. cinerea, E. graminis, P. infestans, and R. solani. Furthermore, aloe-emodin showed strong and moderate fungicidal activities against B. cinerea and R. solani, respectively, but did not inhibit the growth of E. graminis, P. infestans, P. recondita, and Py. grisea. Little or no activity was observed for anthraquinone and anthraquinone-2-carboxylic acid when tested at 1 g/L. Chlorothalonil and dichlofluanid as synthetic fungicides were active against P. infestans and B. cinerea at 0.05 g/L, respectively. Our results demonstrate the fungicidal actions of emodin, physcion, and rhein from C. tora.

Anthraquinones isolated from Cassia tora (Leguminosae) seed show an antifungal property against phytopathogenic fungi.

Qualitative and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods have been developed for the detection of genetically modified (GM) potatoes. The combination of specific primers for amplification of the promoter region of Cry3A gene, potato leafroll virus replicase gene, and potato virus Y coat protein gene allows to identify each line of NewLeaf, NewLeaf Y, and NewLeaf Plus GM potatoes. Multiplex PCR method was also established for the simple and rapid detection of the three lines of GM potato in a mixture sample. For further quantitative detection, the realtime PCR method has been developed. This method features the use of a standard plasmid as a reference molecule. Standard plasmid contains both a specific region of the transgene Cry3A and an endogenous UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase gene of the potato. The test samples containing 0.5, 1, 3, and 5% GM potatoes were quantified by this method. At the 3.0% level of each line of GM potato, the relative standard deviations ranged from 6.0 to 19.6%. This result shows that the above PCR methods are applicable to detect GM potatoes quantitatively as well as qualitatively.

Qualitative and Quantitative PCR Methods for Detection of Three Lines of Genetically Modified Potatoes

8-Quinolinol and other quinolinol derivatives were evaluated with regard to their growth-inhibitory effects against intestinal bacteria, using the paper disk-agar diffusion method. The observed growth responses varied according to the chemicals and dosages used, as well as the bacterial species tested. 8-Quinolinol showed a significant inhibitory effect against Clostridium difficile, C. perfringens, and Escherichia coli, at 5, 2, 1, and 0.5 mg/disk, and also exhibited a very strong inhibitory effect at 0.25 mg/disk. At low concentrations, 8-quinolinol had strong inhibitory effects against C. perfringens at 0.1 and 0.05 mg/disk; 8-quinolinol also manifested a moderate inhibitory effect against C. perfringens at 0.025 mg/disk. Furthermore, 8-quinolinol revealed moderate and weak growth inhibition against C. difficile and E. coli at concentrations of 0.1 and 0.05 mg/disk, respectively, but 2-quinolinol, 4-quinolinol, and 6-quinolinol evidenced no growth inhibition against B. bifidum, B. longum, C. difficile, C. perfringens, E. coli, or L. casei. The inhibitory effects of 8-quinolinol against C. difficile, C. perfringens, and E. coli lead to its consideration as a possible therapeutic modality for the treatment of diseases associated with harmful intestinal bacteria.

Antimicrobial Effects of 8-Quinolinol

To efficiently express a gene of interest in transgenic plants, the choice of promoter is a crucial factor as it directly affects the expression of the transgene that will yield the desired phenotype. The Arabidopsisβ-carotene hydroxylase 1 gene (AtBch1) shows constitutive and ubiquitous expression and was thus selected as one of best candidates for constitutive promoter analysis by both in silico northern blotting and semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis. To investigate AtBch1 promoter activity, the 1,981-bp 5′-upstream region of this gene was fused with β-glucuronidase (GUS) and transformed into Arabidopsis. Through the molecular characterization of transgenic leaf tissues, the AtBch1 promoter generated strong activity that drives 1.8- and 2-fold higher GUS expression than the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S (35S) promoter at the transcriptional and translational levels, respectively. Furthermore, the GUS enzyme activity driven by the AtBch1 promoter was 2.8-fold higher than that produced by the 35S promoter. By histochemical GUS staining, the ubiquitous expression of the AtBch1 promoter was observed in all tissues of Arabidopsis. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis with different tissues further showed that this promoter serves as a strong constitutive driver of transgene expression in dicot plants.

The Arabidopsis beta-carotene hydroxylase gene promoter for a strong constitutive expression of transgene

The steam distillate obtained from Thujopsis dolabrata var. hondai sawdust was fractionated by centrifugal thin-film evaporation, and the fractions were then investigated for antiplatelet activity using washed rabbit platelets. The biologically active constituent of T. dolabrata var. hondai sawdust was isolated by silica gel column and HPLC chromatographies and characterized as carvacrol by various spectral analyses. Carvacrol inhibited platelet aggregation induced by collagen, arachidonic acid, and platelet activating factor with IC 50 values of 12.6, 2.5, and 385.3 μM, respectively. However, carvacrol had no effect on thrombin, calcium ionophore A23187, or phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate induced platelet aggregation. Carvacrol was a much more potent inhibitor, as antiplatelet agents, compared with aspirin. These results suggest that carvacrol isolated from T. dolabrata var. hondai sawdust may be useful as a lead compound for inhibiting arachidonic acid-induced platelet aggregation.

Young-Mi Kim

Papers

Anthraquinones isolated from Cassia tora (Leguminosae) seed show an antifungal property against phytopathogenic fungi.

Qualitative and Quantitative PCR Methods for Detection of Three Lines of Genetically Modified Potatoes

Antimicrobial Effects of 8-Quinolinol

The Arabidopsis beta-carotene hydroxylase gene promoter for a strong constitutive expression of transgene

Antiplatelet activity of Thujopsis dolabrata var. hondai-derived component against platelet aggregation