Methanolic extracts from the aerial parts and roots of two Scutellaria species, S. alpina and S. altissima, and five polyphenols from these plants demonstrated a significant ability to inhibit the formation of advanced glycation end-products (AGE) in vitro. S. alpina, which is richer in polyphenolic compounds, had strong antiglycation properties. These extracts demonstrated also high activity in the FRAP (ferric-reducing antioxidant power), antiradical (DPPH) and lipid peroxidation inhibition assays. Among the pure compounds, baicalin was the strongest glycation inhibitor (90.4% inhibition at 100 µg/mL), followed by luteolin (85.4%). Two other flavone glycosides had about half of this activity. Verbascoside was similar to the reference drug aminoguanidine (71.2% and 75.9%, respectively). The strong correlation observed between AGE inhibition and total flavonoid content indicated that flavonoids contribute significantly to antiglycation properties. A positive correlation was also observed between antiglycative and antioxidant activities. The studied skullcap species can be considered as a potential source of therapeutic agents for hyperglycemia-related disorders.

Salvia viridis L. is an annual herb used in Mediterranean medicine. The purpose of this study was to determine the polyphenol profile of aqueous (decoction and infusion) and hydroethanolic extracts of aerial parts of field-grown S. viridis and to evaluate their antioxidant activity. The polyphenol profiling was performed via UPLC-DAD/ESI-MS. Additionally, the total polyphenol content in extracts tested were determined by UV-Vis spectrophotometry using the Folin-Ciocalteu assay. The antioxidant effect was evaluated by the FRAP, DPPH, ABTS, O2•− scavenging and TBARS methods. The hydroethanolic extract gave the highest content of total phenolic compounds, followed by the infusion. The UPLC-DAD/ESI-MS analysis of extracts showed a total of 19 phenolic compounds identified as flavonoids (four compounds), phenylethanoids (eight compounds) and phenolic acids (seven compounds). Rosmarinic acid was the predominant phenolic acid, verbascoside was the predominant phenylethanoid, while apigenin glucuronide or methylluteolin glucuronide, depending on the sample, were the predominant flavonoids in the analyzed extracts. The presence of a high polyphenol level indicated a high antioxidant activity of both the infusion and the hydroalcoholic extract. These results indicate that S. viridis is a rich resource of phenolic compounds and can be used in dietary applications with the potential to reduce oxidative stress.

The present study evaluates the effects of various cytokinins on Scutellaria alpina shoot proliferation and production of polyphenolic metabolites (baicalin, wogonoside, luteolin, luteolin 7-O-glucoside, verbascoside). The shoots were induced from shoot tips on MS medium supplemented with IAA (indole-3-acetic acid, 0.57 lM) and various concentrations of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), kinetin, zeatin (1, 2, 4, 8 lM) or tidiazuron (TDZ) (0.2, 0.5, 1 lM). Among the cytokinins tested, BAP was the most effective for shoot induction, and the highest number of shoots (25 per explant) was achieved with 2 and 4 lM BAP. Maximum biomass production was also achieved on these media. Significantly higher baicalin, wogonoside and verbascoside contents were recorded in treatments containing cytokinins combined with 0.57 lM IAA, when compared to cytokinin-free medium. TDZ at a concentration of 0.5 lM was the most effective for polyphenol production. However, supplementation with cytokinins often results in the reduction of luteolin and its 7-O-glucoside production in the shoot culture of S. alpina. ABTS [2,20 -azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid)] and ferric reducing antioxidant power assays were used to identify the antioxidant potential of methanolic extracts from shoots cultured in the presence of different types and concentrations of cytokinins. In both tests, the shoots from medium supplemented with 0.5 lM TDZ demonstrated the strongest antioxidant activity. The results indicate that higher polyphenolic content correlated with greater reducing power and antiradical efficiency.

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Hairy roots of Dracocephalum moldavica L. were induced using Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain A4. Transformed roots were obtained from shoot explants with low transformation frequency of up to 3 %. The effects of different liquid media: Murashige and Skoog (MS), Gamborg et al. (B5) and Woody Plant (WP) with full-and half-strength ( MS, B5, WP), on biomass accumulation and rosmarinic acid (RA) content were investigated. The hairy roots were cultured in photoperiod (16 h light/8 h dark) and darkness. Biomass of D. moldavica hairy roots was the highest (7.23 g flask -1 of fresh weight and 0.89 g flask -1 of dry weight) in the cultures grown in WP medium under periodic light. Ultra performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed the highest RA content (78 mg g -1 dry wt) in roots cultured in B5 medium under photoperiod conditions. It was about tenfold higher compared to roots of field-grown mother plants. Antioxidant activities and total phenolic contents of methanolic extracts of D. moldavica hairy roots cultured in B5 and WP media under photoperiod and darkness and roots of field grown plants were compared. All extracts were investigated using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging and phosphomolybdenum reduction assays. Total phenolic contents were estimated by the FolinCiocalteu method. The methanolic extract of D. moldavica hairy roots grown in B5 medium under photoperiod possessed the strongest effects on reducing Mo and DPPH radical scavenging. The activities were significantly higher (p B 0.05) than those of methanolic extract of roots of intact plants grown in the field. The most active methanolic extract of hairy roots was characterized by the highest level of rosmarinic acid and total content of phenolic compounds.