No abstract

Six phenolic compounds were isolated from the solid rice culture media of Alternaria sp., an endophyte isolated from the leaves of three desert plants, Lycium schweinfurthii Dammer (Solanaceae), Pancratium maritimum L. (Amaryllidaceae) and Cynanchum acutum L. (Apocynaceae).

Unprecedented nanoemulsion formulations (NE) of Jasminum humile and Jasminum grandiflorum essential oils (EO) were prepared, and examined for their cytotoxic and antiviral activities. NE characterization and stability examination tests were performed to ensure formula stability. The antiviral activity was determined against hepatitis A (HAV) and herpes simplex type-1 (HSV-1) viruses using MTT assay, while the cytotoxic potential was determined against liver (HepG-2), breast (MCF-7), leukemia (THP-1) cancer cell lines and normal Vero cells. Statistical significance was determined in comparison with doxorubicin as cytotoxic and acyclovir as antiviral standard drugs. GC-MS analysis indicated twenty four compounds in the EO of J. humile and seventeen compounds in the EO of J. grandiflorum. Biological investigations of pure EOs revealed weak cytotoxic and antiviral effects. Nevertheless, their NE formulations exhibited high biological value as cytotoxic and antiviral agents. NE formulations also showed feasible selectivity index for the viral-infected and cancer cells (especially HepG-2) than normal Vero cells. Both nanoemulsions showed lower IC50 than standard doxorubicin against HepG-2 (26.65 and 22.58 vs. 33.96 μg/mL) and MCF-7 (36.09 and 36.19 vs. 52.73 μg/mL), respectively. The study results showed the dramatic effect of nanoemulsion preparation on the biological activity of EOs and other liposoluble phytopharmaceuticals.

A new glucoside, 3-methoxy-4-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-methyl benzoate, has been isolated from Lycium schweinfurthii along with five known compounds through bioactivity guided fractionation of the total plant methanolic extract towards α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. All the isolated compounds were tested for their inhibitory effect on α-glucosidase enzyme. As a result, four of them showed a potent inhibitory activity and thus constitute a therapeutic approach to decrease postprandial hyperglycemia in diabetic patients.