This study provides first results on the antiproliferative and antioxidant properties and detailed phytochemical screening of O. vulgare ssp. viride (Boiss.) Hayek.

The aim of this study was to examine the anticancer activities and phytochemical profiles of Dicranum scoparium against HeLa cell lines. The bio-guided fractionation studies of dichloromethane extract have high antiproliferative activities. Fractions 7, 9, 19, 20 are rich source of unsaturated fatty acids, and- in the case of Fr-19 may improve the antiproliferative activities as well as increase the unsaturated fatty acid content. The effect of proliferative activities in hexane extract can be attributed to the saturated fatty acid composition of D. scoparium. The Fr-9 exhibited strong antiproliferative activity at concentrations of 100 and 50 μg mL(-1) compared to 5-FU. The fractions of 7, 9, 19 and 20 from dichloromethane extracts exhibited antiproliferative activities at a concentration of 100 μg mL(-1). The HPLC-TOF/MS studies gave nine compounds from the most active fraction of dichloromethane at concentrations of 250 and 100 μg mL(-1). The lower activities were obtained from the fractions including steroid derivatives.

No abstract

The aim of this study was to isolate the active components from the essential oil (EO) of Satureja boissieri and to investigate the cytotoxic effects of these components on human cervical epithelioid carcinoma (HeLa) cell line. The major components of EO were found to be p-cymene (23.15%), g-terpinene (22.84%), thymol (18.96%) and carvacrol (21.25%) using GC-MS. The components were separated by column chromatography and p-cymene, thymol and spathulenol were isolated as pure terpenoids. The cytotoxic activity of the components was investigated using the xCELLigence system (Real Time Cell Analyzer). The pure compounds, p-cymene and thymol exhibited excellent cytotoxic effects against HeLa cell line.

A class of tetracyclic terpenes was synthesized and evaluated for antagonistic activity of endothelin-1 (ET-1) induced vasoconstriction and inhibitory activity of voltage-activated Ca2+ channels. Three repeated Robinson annulation reactions were utilized to construct the tetracyclic molecules. A stereoselective reductive Robinson annulation was discovered for the formation of optically pure tricyclic terpenes. Stereoselective addition of cyanide to the hindered α-face of tetracyclic enone (-)-18 was found and subsequent transformation into the aldehyde function was affected by the formation of bicyclic hemiiminal (-)-4. Six selected synthetic tetracyclic terpenes show inhibitory activities in ET-1 induced vasoconstriction in the gerbil spiral modiolar artery with putative affinity constants ranging between 93 and 319 nM. Moreover, one compound, (-)-3, was evaluated further and found to inhibit voltage-activated Ca2+ currents but not to affect Na+ or K+ currents in dorsal root ganglion cells under similar concentrations. These observations imply a dual mechanism of action. In conclusion, tetracyclic terpenes represent a new class of hit molecules for the discovery of new drugs for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension and vascular related diseases.