Chemical characterization of Brickellia cavanillesii (Asteraceae) using gas chromatographic methods

Abstract

A methanol extract of lyophilized Brickellia cavanillesii was quantitatively analyzed using gas chromatographic (GC) techniques. The chromatographic methods employed were (i) GC-flame ionization detector (GC-FID), (ii) GC-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and (iii) purge and trap GC-MS (P&T GC-MS). Thirteen compounds were identified with a quality match of 90% and above using GC-MS. The compounds were (1) Cyclohexene, 6-ethenyl-6-methyl-1-(1-methylethyl)-3-(1-methylethylidene)-, (S)-; (2) Bicylo (2.2.1) heptan-2-one, 1, 7, 7-trimethyl-(1S, 4S)-; (3) Phenol, 2-methoxy-4-(1-propenyl)-; (4) Benzene, 1-(1, 5-dimethyl-4-hexenyl)-4-methyl-; (5) Naphthalene, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8a-hexahydro4, 7-dimethyl-1-1-(1-methylethyl)-, (1S-cis)-; (6) Phenol, 2-methoxy-; (7) Benzaldehyde, 3-hydroxy-4-methoxy-; (8) 11, 13-Eicosadienoic acid, methyl ester; (9) 2-Furancarboxaldehyde, 5-methyl-; (10) Maltol; (11) Phenol; (12) Hydroquinone; (13) 1H-Indene, 1-ethylideneoctahydro-7a-methyl-, (1E, 3a.alpha, 7a.beta.). Other compounds (14) 3-methyl butanal; (15) (D)-Limonene; (16) 1-methyl-4-(1-methyl ethyl) benzene; (17) Butanoic acid methyl ester; (18) 2-methyl propanal; (19) 2-butanone; (20) 2-pentanone; and (21) 2-methyl butane were also identified when P&T GC-MS was performed. Of the 21 compounds identified, 12 were validated using chemical standards. The identified compounds were found to be terpenes, derivatives of terpenes, esters, ketones, aldehydes, and phenol-derived aromatic compounds; these are the primary constituents of the essential oils of many plants and flowers.

The Biologic Potential of Lyophilized Extracts of Brickellia cavanillesii (Asteraceae): Apoptosis and Glut 2 Gene Expression

“…Although increase in gene expression did not achieve statistical significance (p>0.05 [p=0.05422]), it attained biological significance for concentrations of 0.2 mg/mL LBC at 6h and 24 h. We postulate that 0.2 mg/mL LBC may be a better therapeutic dose than 0.02 mg/ml LBC. Two previous studies exploring the potential of B. cavanillesii in diabetes therapy, performed in our laboratory at The Institute of Environmental and Human Health, Texas Tech University (TIEHH), indicate that there may be some validity in the acclaimed therapeutic effect of B. cavanillesii [4,5]. This study reinforces this observation and attempts to propose a mechanism of action.…”

“…Other supplies and reagents were purchased from Fisher Scientific (Hampton, NH, USA). Lyophilized extracts of Brickellia cavanillesii were prepared [4], filter-sterilized using 0.2 µm filter (Corning, NY, USA) and diluted with plain media to produce serial concentrations of LBC solution without FBS. Fresh preparations were made for each experiment.…”

“…Species of the Asteraceae family are used largely for their presumed antidiabetic and anticancer properties among others [2,3]; Brickellia cavanillesii is easily one of the more popular herbal plants consumed for the therapy of diabetes in Neotropical Americas. Preliminary studies conducted in our laboratory employed gas chromatographic methods to chemically characterize and identify twenty-one compounds in the methanol extracts of Lyophilized Brickellia cavanillesii (LBC) [4]. A succeeding study explored the potential therapeutic benefit and biological activity of LBC in vitro [5] using cytotoxicity testing and protein expression.…”

“…However, at the molecular level, pancreatic β-cell loss by apoptosis seems critical in the development of insulin deficiency and disease onset [13,14]. The investigation of the apoptotic effect, and the gene expression, of HepG2 cells exposed to LBC is predicated on the outcome of previous studies [4,5] which suggest that LBC may possess potential therapeutic benefit and biological activity in the therapy of T2DM. HepG2 cells have been employed severally to understudy therapeutic activity [15,16] in herbal decoctions; and is demonstrated to be an excellent model used in examining therapeutic activity [17,18].…”

Lyophilized Tea Extracts of Brickellia cavanillesii (Asteraceae): In Vitro Characterization of Biological Activity

“…Although extensive research has been done on certain species of Brickellia (Perez‐Gutierrez and others ; Rivero‐Cruz and others ) little is known about our specie of interest, Brickellia cavanillesii . In a recent study twenty‐one chemical compounds were identified in the lyophilized methanol extract of B. cavanillesii (Eshiet and others ). Twelve of the 21 identified compounds (1 to 12) in B. cavanillesii were employed in this research; these compounds were found to be terpenes; derivatives of terpenes, esters, ketones, aldehydes, and phenol‐derived aromatic compounds.…”