Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Six Extracts Using Protein-Based Biomimetic Methods.

Medicinal plants are a valuable reservoir of novel pharmacologically active compounds. ROS and free radicals are primary contributors to oxidative stress, a condition associated with the onset of degenerative diseases such as cancer, coronary heart disease, and vascular disease. In this study, we used different spectrophotometry methods to demonstrate the antioxidant properties of 6 extracts: ; ; : Arieș red cultivar of , and white variety of ; ; and subsp.

Pharmacological Potential of Three Berberine-Containing Plant Extracts Obtained from L., (Pursh) Nutt., and Rupr.

Three berberine-containing plant extracts were investigated for their pharmacological properties. The stems and leaves of , , and were characterized through scanning electron microscopy. The plant extracts obtained from fresh stem barks were further analyzed through high-performance liquid chromatography, revealing berberine concentrations, among berbamine and palmatine.

Phytochemical Characterization and Antimicrobial Activity of Several Extracts.

Microbial infections affect both the human population and animals. The appearance of more and more microbial strains resistant to classical treatments led to the need to develop new treatments. plants are known for their antimicrobial properties due to their high content of thiosulfinates, especially allicin, polyphenols or flavonoids.

Remodeling tumor microenvironment by liposomal codelivery of DMXAA and simvastatin inhibits malignant melanoma progression.

Anti-angiogenic therapies for melanoma have not yet been translated into meaningful clinical benefit for patients, due to the development of drug-induced resistance in cancer cells, mainly caused by hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) overexpression and enhanced oxidative stress mediated by tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). Our previous study demonstrated synergistic antitumor actions of simvastatin (SIM) and 5,6-dimethylxanthenone-4-acetic acid (DMXAA) on an in vitro melanoma model via suppression of the aggressive phenotype of melanoma cells and inhibition of TAMs-mediated angiogenesis. Therefore, we took the advantage of long circulating liposomes (LCL) superior tumor targeting capacity to efficiently deliver SIM and DMXAA to B16.

Phytochemical Analysis and In Vitro Effects of L. and L. Extracts on Human Normal and Tumor Cell Lines: A Comparative Study.

L. (garlic bulbs) and L. (Welsh onion leaves) showed quantitative differences of identified compounds: allicin and alliin (380 µg/mL and 1410 µg/mL in garlic; 20 µg/mL and 145 µg/mL in Welsh onion), and the phenolic compounds (chlorogenic acid, -coumaric acid, ferulic acid, gentisic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, kaempferol, isoquercitrin, quercitrin, quercetin, and rutin).

The Synergistic Antitumor Effect of 5-Fluorouracil Combined with Allicin against Lung and Colorectal Carcinoma Cells.

5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is an anticancer drug used to inhibit the proliferation of many different tumor cells. Since severe events are associated with this compound, its combination with different anticancer drugs or adjuvants would allow the use of a significantly lower dose of 5-FU. In this study, we highlighted that the combination of allicin with 5-FU inhibited the cell migration and proliferation of colorectal and lung cancer cells.

Comprehensive evaluation of radical scavenging, reducing power and chelating capacity of free proteinogenic amino acids using spectroscopic assays and multivariate exploratory techniques.

Among others, amino acids can inhibit oxidative processes through multiple pathways including inactivation of reactive oxygen species, scavenging free radicals, chelation of pro-oxidative transition metals, as well as reduction of hydroperoxides. Moreover, they can be a major target for oxidants as a result of their abundance in biological systems. The purpose of the present study is to examine the radical scavenging, reducing power and chelating capacity of the free proteinogenic amino acids, using several analytical assays based on different mechanisms and monitored via molecular UV-vis absorption spectrophotometry.

Phytochemical Analysis of Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidant Effects of Flower and Fruit Extracts.

Oxidative stress and inflammation are interlinked processes. The aim of the study was to perform a phytochemical analysis and to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of ethanolic flower (MF), green fruit (MGF), and ripe fruit (MRF) extracts. Plant extract chemical composition was evaluated by HLPC.

Bioactive compounds and "in vitro" antioxidant activity of some traditional and non-traditional cold-pressed edible oils from Macedonia.

The bioactive compounds and "in vitro" antioxidant activity measured by three antioxidant assays of some traditional and non-traditional cold-pressed edible oils from Macedonia were object of this study. The fatty acid composition showed dominance of monounsaturated oleic acid in "sweet" and "bitter" apricot kernel oils with percentages of 66.7 ± 0.

Alternative fluorimetric-based method to detect and compare total S-nitrosothiols in plants.

Nitric oxide (NO) is an important signaling molecule occurring in virtually all organisms, whose mechanism of action relies mainly on its interaction with proteins or peptides by nitrosylation, forming compounds such as S-nitrosothiols (SNO). The Saville reaction and the ozone-based chemiluminescence method are the main techniques used for nitrosylated protein quantification. While the Saville assay is not very sensitive, the ozone-based chemiluminescence is expensive and time-consuming.

An assay for pro-oxidant reactivity based on phenoxyl radicals generated by laccase.

A transient species may be detected with UV-vis and EPR spectroscopy during turnover of a laccase with quercetin; this species is assigned as a quercetin-derived radical, based on EPR spectra as well the observed UV-vis similarities (a 540nm centred band) with previously reported data. The rates of formation and decay of this species correlate well (r=0.9946) with the pro-oxidant reactivity manifested by flavonoids in the presence of laccase.

Ecosystem discrimination and fingerprinting of Romanian propolis by hierarchical fuzzy clustering and image analysis of TLC patterns.

The fingerprinting capacity of thin layer chromatography (TLC) and image analysis in the case of propolis samples collected in different area in Romania has been investigated. Fuzzy divisive hierarchical clustering approach was used as a powerful tool of samples discrimination and fingerprinting according to the geographical origin and local flora. The fuzzy partition and patterns obtained by membership degrees plot were in a very good agreement with floral origin and geographic location of Romanian propolis samples, and clearly illustrate the fuzziness concerning their similarities and difference.

Multivariate analysis of reflectance spectra from propolis: geographical variation in Romanian samples.

The present study described reflectance spectroscopy as a suitable analytical tool to discriminate the floral origin of 39 Romanian propolis samples. Relevant differences between the UV-vis reflectance spectra of the investigated propolis samples within the 220-850nm spectral range were found. The results obtained applying cluster analysis, principal component analysis and linear discriminant analysis to the digitized data of zero order, zero order normalized and first order derivative spectra support the reliability of this technique.

Redox reactivity in propolis: direct detection of free radicals in basic medium and interaction with hemoglobin.

Propolis is one of many natural products with known antioxidant properties. The present work aims to investigate the intimate molecular-level mechanisms of this antioxidant reactivity. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR)-detectable free radical signals are described here for the first time in propolis extracts.

Quantitative determination of some food dyes using digital processing of images obtained by thin-layer chromatography.

A high-performance thin-layer chromatographic method combined with image processing of scanned chromatograms was developed for the determination of some food dyes (tartrazine, azorubine and Sunset Yellow) in different products. Porous silica gel with 3-aminopropyl functional groups attached to the matrix was used as stationary phase and a mixture of isopropanol, diethyl ether and ammonia (2:2:1, v/v/v) formed the mobile phase. Quantitative evaluation was performed using special-purpose software.