Xanthones (dibenzo-γ-pyrones) constitutes an important class of oxygenated heterocycles and occur as secondary metabolites in plants and microorganisms. They are known for various biological activities such as antioxidant, monoamine oxidase inhibitor, antihypertensive, hepatoprotective, antithrombotic, antifungal and anticancer. The tricyclic scaffold as well as the nature and/or position of the substituents present on it play an important role in displaying various biological activities. The unique structural scaffold and medicinal importance of xanthones have therefore attracted many Scientists in the past, to isolate or synthesize xanthones or their analogs as potential drug candidates. It would not be wrong to call them as close cousins to the polyphenol family that are known to possess strong antioxidant effects on the nervous system. The main two sources of xanthones are: Isolation from natural resources or synthesis. Though few reviews have been published in the past, mainly focusing on the anticancer activities of xanthone derivatives, but there is not a single review which is based on their antioxidant activities. We therefore have made efforts to briefly summarize natural and synthetic xanthones possessing antioxidant activity in this review.

BackgroundThe medicinal orchid Dendrobium moniliforme contains water-soluble polysaccharides, phenanthrenes, bibenzyl derivatives, and polyphenol compounds. This study explored the antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of D. moniliforme extracts and detected their bioactive compounds.MethodsPlant material was collected from the Daman of Makawanpur district in central Nepal. Plant extracts were prepared from stems using hexane, chloroform, acetone, ethanol and methanol. The total polyphenol content (TPC) in each extract was determined using Folin-Ciocalteu’s reagent and the total flavonoid content (TFC) in each extract was determined using the aluminium chloride method. The in vitro antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of each extract were determined using DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assays respectively. Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis was used to detect bioactive compounds.ResultsTPC content was highest (116.65 μg GAE/mg of extract) in D. moniliforme chloroform extract (DMC) and TFC content was highest (116.67 μg QE/mg of extract) in D. moniliforme acetone extract (DMA). D. moniliforme hexane extract (DMH) extract showed the highest percentage of DPPH radical scavenging activity (94.48%), followed closely by D. moniliforme ethanol extract (DME) (94.45%), DMA (93.71%) and DMC (94.35%) at 800 μg/ml concentration. The antioxidant capacities of DMC, DMA, DMH and DME, which were measured in IC50 values, were much lower 42.39 μg/ml, 49.56 μg/ml, 52.68 μg/ml, and 58.77 μg/ml respectively than the IC50 of D. moniliforme methanol extract (DMM) (223.15 μg/ml). DMM at the concentration of 800 μg/ml most inhibited the growth of HeLa cells (78.68%) and DME at the same concentration most inhibited the growth of U251 cells (51.95%). The cytotoxic capacity (IC50) of DMM against HeLa cells was 155.80 μg/ml of extract and that of DME against the U251 cells was 772.50 μg/ml of extract. A number of bioactive compounds were detected in both DME and DMM.ConclusionThe fact that plant extract of D. moniliforme has a number of bioactive compounds which showed antioxidant and cytotoxic activities suggests the potential pharmacological importance of this plant.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12906-018-2197-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Dendrobium crepidatum is an epiphytic orchid found in south Asia including Nepal and China. This orchid species is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for the treatment of cancer, diabetes, cataracts, and fever. The objectives of the present research were to assess the antioxidant and cytotoxic properties of its stem’s extracts with the identification of bioactive secondary metabolites. The antioxidant and cytotoxic activities were evaluated using the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assays, respectively, and compounds were identified using GC–MS (gas chromatography and mass spectrometry). Ethanol and acetone extracts scavenged 94.69 ± 0.10% and 93.41 ± 0.86% of DPPH free radicals, respectively. They showed 50% inhibition of DPPH free radicals (IC50) at concentrations of 73.90 µg/mL and 99.44 µg/mL, which were found to be statistically similar to that of ascorbic acid (control). Chloroform extract inhibited the growth of 81.49 ± 0.43% of HeLa (human cervical carcinoma) cells and hexane extract inhibited the growth of 76.45 ± 4.26% of U251 (human glioblastoma) cells at 800 µg/mL concentration. These extracts showed 50% inhibition of cell growth (IC50) toward both the HeLa and U251 cell lines at their high concentrations, which were found statistically significantly different from that of cisplatin drug (control). The above extracts showed antioxidant and cytotoxic properties, potentially due to the presence of tetracosane, triacontane, stigmasterol, and some phenol derivatives (2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol, 2-methoxy-5-(1-propenyl)-phenol, p-mesyloxyphenol, and 2,6-dimethoxy-4-(2-propenyl)-phenol). This study explores the potential of this orchid in alternative medicine toward the development of drugs from its medicinally active compounds.

Context: Dendrobium longicornu is a traditional medicinal plant widely used in Asia. It has many bioactive compounds like bibenzyl, phenanthrenes, phenolic compounds. There has been little research in the cytotoxic and antioxidant effects of D. longicornu. Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the cytotoxic and antioxidant activities of this plant. Settings and Design: Antioxidant and cytotoxic activity of Dendrobium longicornu extracts. Methods and Material: The plant extracts were prepared by soxhlet's extractor in organic solvents, acetone and ethanol. The total polyphenol content (TPC) in the extracts was determined spectrophotometrically by the Folin-Ciocalteu method and the total flavonoid content (TFC) by aluminium chloride method. The antioxidant activity was determined using DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) method. The cytotoxic activity was evaluated against human brain tumor cells (U251) and cervical cancer cells (HeLa) using MTT assay. Statistical analysis used: Regression analysis was done for calculation of IC 50 . Duncan multiple range test and Dunnett test were done to compare the data. Results: The Dendrobium longicornu acetonic extract (DLA) showed significantly highest TPC and TFC than Dendrobium longicornu ethanolic extract (DLE). The antioxidant activity was also significantly higher in DLA followed by DLE. Highest cytotoxicity (i.e., lowest IC 50 value) was found for the DLA on U251 cells and DLE on HeLa cells. Conclusions: This result concluded that D. longicornu is a potential source of antioxidant and cytotoxic agents.

Dendrobium amoenum has biologically active phytoconstituents valued for traditional Chinese or folk medicine as tonic. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents of its stem extract was estimated by using Folin-Ciocalteu’s reagent and Aluminium chloride methods respectively. Antioxidant activity was determined by DPPH free radical scavenging method. Total phenolic content found in acetone (134.34 μg GAE/mg extract) and chloroform (101.55 μg GAE/mg extract) extract was significantly higher than other solvent extracts. Similarly, these two extracts had significantly high flavonoid content (acetone: 115.73 μg QE/mg extract, and chloroform: 84.16 μg QE/mg extract). Presence of high phenolic and flavonoid contents in these extracts showed the highest antioxidant activity. Highest antioxidant activity of these extracts was determined by their lowest IC50 value (acetone: 53.19 μg/ml and chloroform: 36.48 μg/ml). Significant negative relationship was found between phenolic content and IC50 (R2 = 0.209, p < 0.01) and flavonoid content and IC50 (R2 = 0.389, p < 0.01), which indicates high antioxidant activity due to high phenolic and flavonoid contents. This result revealed that D. amoenum act as an antioxidant agent due to its free radical scavenging activity which plays a crucial role in the development of new chemotherapeutic agents.