Traditionally Used Medicinal Plants of Armenia.

The rich and diverse flora of Armenia has been used for medicinal purposes for at least 3000 years. The relevant literature in Armenian, English, and Russian revealed a vast array of used medicinal plants, some of them unique to the Caucasus region. The usage of medicinal plants confirms the position of Armenia as a country at the crossroads of Asia and Europe because of its traditional usage of medicinal plants from both continents.

Cytotoxic diterpenoids from and comparison with the tanshinone profile of danshen ().

The roots of are the source of the traditional Chinese medicine danshen and the class of tanshinones, particular quinoid -diterpenoids of the abietane type. Of these compounds, cryptotanshinone, dihydrotanshinone I, tanshinone I, and tanshinone IIA, have been extensively studied for their anticancer potential, not only but as well because of their high abundance in and their thus easy availability. However, also additional species are known to contain tanshinones, mainly such of the subgenus , of which is the only species widely occurring in Europe.

Phytochemical Profile of (Blue Fenugreek) Herb and Quantification of Aroma-Determining Constituents.

The herb of (Fabaceae), commonly known as blue fenugreek, is used for the production of traditional cheese and bread varieties in the Alpine region. Despite its frequent consumption, only one study so far has focused on the constituent pattern of blue fenugreek, revealing qualitative information on some flavor-determining constituents. However, with regard to the volatile constituents present in the herb, the applied methods were insufficient and did not take relevant terpenoids into account.

Synthesis, Characterization, and Study of Catalytic Activity of Chiral Cu(II) and Ni(II) Salen Complexes in the α-Amino Acid C-α Alkylation Reaction.

A new family of Cu(II) and Ni(II) salen complexes was synthesized and fully characterized through various physicochemical methods. Their catalytic activity was evaluated in the phase transfer C-alkylation reaction of the Schiff bases of D,L-alanine ester and benzaldehyde derivatives. It was found that the introduction of a chlorine atom into the - and -positions of the phenyl ring of the substrate resulted in an increase in both the chemical yield and the asymmetric induction ( 66-98%).