Context:Echinacea (Asteraceae) is used because of its pharmacological properties. However, there are few studies that integrate phytochemical analyses with pharmacological effects.Objective: Evaluate the chemical profile and biological activity of hydroalcoholic Echinacea extracts.Materials and methods: Density, dry matter, phenols (Folin–Ciocalteu method), flavonoids (AlCl3 method), alkylamides (GC-MS analysis), antioxidant capacity (DPPH and ABTS methods), antiproliferative effect (SRB assay), anti-inflammatory effect (paw oedema assay, 11 days/Wistar rats; 0.4 mL/kg) and hypoglycaemic effect (33 days/Wistar rats; 0.4 mL/kg) were determined in three Echinacea extracts which were labelled as A, B and C (A, roots of Echinacea purpurea L. Moench; B, roots, leaves, flowers and seeds of Echinacea purpurea; C, aerial parts and roots of Echinacea purpurea and roots of Echinacea angustifolia DC).Results: Extract C showed higher density (0.97 g/mL), dry matter (0.23 g/mL), phenols (137.5 ± 2.3 mEAG/mL), flavonoids (0.62 ± 0.02 mEQ/mL), and caffeic acid (0.048 mg/L) compared to A and B. A, B presented 11 alkylamides, whereas C presented those 11 and three more. B decreased the oedema (40%) on day 2 similar to indomethacin. A and C showed hypoglycaemic activity similar to glibenclamide. Antiproliferative effect was only detected for C (IC50 270 μg/mL; 8171 μg/mL; 9338 μg/mL in HeLa, MCF-7, HCT-15, respectively).Discussion and conclusion: The difference in the chemical and pharmacological properties among extracts highlights the need to consider strategies and policies for standardization of commercial herbal extracts in order to guarantee the safety and identity of this type of products.

The structural reassignment, absolute configuration, and conformational behavior of the highly flexible natural product hypurticin (pectinolide E), 6S-[3'S,5'R,6'S-triacetoxy-1Z-heptenyl]-5S-acetoxy-5,6-dihydro-2H-pyran-2-one (1), were ascertained by a molecular modeling protocol, which includes extensive conformational searching, geometry optimization by DFT B3LYP/DGDZVP calculations, and comparison between the theoretical (DFT) and experimental (1)H-(1)H NMR coupling constants. Hyptolide (2), a related cytotoxic 5,6-dihydro-2H-pyran-2-one that increased the S phase of the HeLa cell cycle, was employed as a reference substance to validate the theoretical protocol designed to characterize the 3D properties of compound 1. The related synthetic derivative, tri-O-acetyl-3,6-dideoxy-d-glucose diphenyldithioacetal (14), was prepared by a six-step reaction sequence starting from d-glucose and served as an enantiopure building block to reinforce the structural and configurational assignment of 1. This protocol proved to be an important tool for the structural characterization of highly flexible bioactive polyoxygenated natural products.

Commercialization of agricultural products, including seeds and its derived products, represents an important economic source for developing countries. Natural colorants obtained from the seeds of achiote plant (annatto) have been used since pre-Hispanic times. Also, production of this crop has been important for Mayan cuisine. Annual world production of achiote seeds is approximately 14,500 tons (dry weight). Two thirds of the production is commercialized as dried seeds and the rest as colorant. Latin America produces 60% of the total world production, followed by Africa (27%) and Asia (12%). The main producers in Latin America are Peru, Brazil and Mexico. The purpose of the present paper is to review the most recent literature on Bixa orellana L. focusing on bixin, norbixin, tocotrienols and tocopherols biosynthesis, use and industrial applications of annatto extracts, as well as its nutraceutical potential and its benefits for human health.