Extracts of wild garlic (Allium ursinum) and garlic (A. sativum) with defined chemical compositions were investigated for their in vitro inhibitory potential on 5-lipoxygenase (LO), cyclooxygenase (CO), thrombocyte aggregation (TA), and angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE). The inhibition rates as IC50 values of both extracts for 5-LO, CO, and TA showed a good correlation with the %-content of the major S-containing compounds (thiosulfinates and ajoenes) of the various extracts. In the 5-LO and CO test the garlic extracts are slightly superior to the wild garlic extracts whereas, in the TA test, no differences could be found. In the ACE test the water extract of the leaves of wild garlic containing glutamyl-peptides showed the highest inhibitory activity followed by that of the garlic leaf and the bulbs of both drugs. The comparative studies underline the usefulness of wild garlic as a substitute of garlic.

Polyunsaturated alkamides isolated from Achillea species, Echinacea angustifolia DC., Anacyclus pyrethrum (L.) Link, and Aaronsohnia pubescens (Desf.) Bremer & Humphries, (Compositae) were shown to possess inhibitory activity in in vitro cyclooxygenase (sheep seminal microsomes) and 5-lipoxygenase (porcine leukocytes) assays. Activity appeared to depend on the particular structure of the alkamides.

The n-hexane extract of Bidens campylotheca Schultz Bip. ssp campylotheca (Compositae) showed significant in vitro inhibition of cyclooxygenase (CO) and 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO). Five polyacetylenes, heptadeca-2E,8E,10E,16-tetraene-4,6-diyne (1), heptadeca-2E,8Z,10E,16-tetraene-4,6-diyne (2), heptadeca-2E,8E,16-triene-4,6-diyne-10-ol (3), safynol (5) and, as a new compound, safynol-2-O-isobutyrate (4) could be isolated and their structures elucidated mainly by UV, MS, NMR, and COSY-NMR. The isolated compounds exhibited a significant inhibitory effect on cyclooxygenase and 5-lipoxygenase.

No abstract

No abstract