Halina Ekiert

Current knowledge of Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill. (Chinese magnolia vine) as a medicinal plant species: a review on the bioactive components, pharmacological properties, analytical and biotechnological studies

Schisandra chinensis Turcz. (Baill.) is a plant species whose fruits have been well known in Far Eastern medicine for a long time. However, schisandra seems to be a plant still underestimated in contemporary therapy still in the countries of East Asia. The article presents latest available information on the chemical composition of this plant species. Special attention is given to dibenzo cyclooctadiene lignans. In addition, recent studies of the biological activity of dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans and schisandra fruit extracts are recapitulated. The paper gives a short resume of their beneficial effects in biological systems in vitro, in animals, and in humans, thus underlining their medicinal potential. The cosmetic properties are depicted, too. The analytical methods used for assaying schisandra lignans in the scientific studies and also in industry are also presented. Moreover, special attention is given to the information on the latest biotechnological studies of this plant species. The intention of this review is to contribute to a better understanding of the huge potential of the pharmacological relevance of S. chinensis.

Accumulation of furanocoumarins in Ruta graveolens L. shoot culture

Ruta graveolens L. shoots cultured in stationary liquid phase produced furanocoumarins: psoralen, bergapten, xanthotoxin, isopimpinellin and imperatorin at the amount totalling almost 1 g/100 g dry wt of the shoots. The dominating metabolites were therapeutically important compounds: xanthotoxin – 0.33 g/100 g dry wt and bergapten – 0.32 g/100 g dry wt. Maximum contents of the majority of the compounds were observed on 28th day of culture.

Production of deoxyschizandrin and γ-schizandrin in shoot-differentiating and undifferentiating callus cultures of Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill. (Chinese magnolia vine).

Shoot-differentiating and undifferentiating callus cultures of Schisandra chinensis were cultured, respectively, on six and two variants of the Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium, differing in the concentration of cytokinin, 6-benzyladenine (BA) and auxin, α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). In methanolic extracts from the biomass of both types of culture the amounts of two lignans: deoxyschizandrin and γ-schizandrin were estimated using the HPLC method. The levels of both compounds in the shoot-differentiating callus extracts were dependent on the concentration of BA and NAA in the MS medium variants. The amounts of deoxyschizandrin were high and varied over a wide range from 34.23 to 308.51 mg 100 g(-1) dry weight (DW); the amounts of γ-schizandrin were of a different order and ranged from 1.07 to 22.09 mg 100 g(-1) DW. In the extracts from undifferentiating callus the amounts of both compounds were lower and almost identical on the tested variants of the MS medium, equal, respectively, to about 18.5 mg 100 g(-1) DW deoxyschizandrin, and about 1.0 mg 100 g(-1) DW γ-schizandrin. The maximum amounts of deoxyschizandrin were obtained on the MS medium variant containing 3 mg l(-1) BA and 1 mg l(-1) NAA. These amounts were 7.5 and 5.1 times higher, respectively, than in the extracts from the leaves (41.01 mg 100 g(-1) DW) and fruits (60.72 mg 100 g(-1) DW) of native plant, analyzed for comparison. The maximum amount of γ-schizandrin in shoot-differentiating callus (22.09 mg 100 g(-1) DW) was comparable with its amount in the leaves (22.27 mg 100 g(-1) DW), but 3 times lower than in the fruits (66.50 mg 100 g(-1) DW). The obtained high amounts of deoxyschizandrin in the extracts of shoot-differentiating callus are of interest from the practical perspective.

Biotransformation of hydroquinone to arbutin in plant in vitro cultures — preliminary results

Cells from Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench. (Asteraceae), Exacum affine Balf. f. (Gentianaceae), Melittis melissophyllum L. (Lamiaceae), Ruta graveolens L. and Ruta graveolens ssp. divaricata (Tenore) Gams. (Rutaceae) agitating cultures perform a biotransformation reaction on exogenously supplied hydroquinone into its β-D-glucoside — arbutin, product with valuable medicinal and cosmetic properties. The maximum content of arbutin (determined by HPLC) in the biomass from investigated cultures is 4.01; 3.44; 1.79; 2.48 and 5.07 g/100 g d.w., respectively. Nothing but Ammi majus L. (Apiaceae) cultures contain trace amounts of the product. Arbutin is accumulated in cells; it is occasionally found in media only in vestigial amounts. In most of the investigated cultures the efficiency of the biotransformation process is about 60 %.

Arbutin production in Ruta graveolens L. and Hypericum perforatum L. in vitro cultures

Optimization of conditions for hydroquinone biotransformation into its β-d-glucoside, arbutin, in agitated shoot cultures of Ruta graveolens L. and Hypericum perforatum L. allowed us to obtain a maximum content of this important therapeutic and cosmetic product of 7.8 and 7.2% (dry weight), respectively. These contents are higher than respective values required for standardization of known arbutin-containing plant raw materials according to the European Pharmacopoeia and national pharmacopoeias of European countries.

Schisandra lignans production regulated by different bioreactor type

Schisandra chinensis (Chinese magnolia vine) is a rich source of therapeutically relevant dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans with anticancer, immunostimulant and hepatoprotective activities. In this work, shoot cultures of S. chinensis were grown in different types of bioreactors with the aim to select a system suitable for the large scale in vitro production of schisandra lignans. The cultures were maintained in Murashige-Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 3mg/l 6-benzylaminopurine (BA) and 1mg/l 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). Five bioreactors differing with respect to cultivation mode were tested: two liquid-phase systems (baloon-type bioreactor and bubble-column bioreactor with biomass immobilization), the gas-phase spray bioreactor and two commercially available temporary immersion systems: RITA® and Plantform. The experiments were run for 30 and 60 days in batch mode. The harvested shoots were evaluated for growth and lignan content determined by LC-DAD and LC-DAD-ESI-MS. Of the tested bioreactors, temporary immersion systems provided the best results with respect to biomass production and lignan accumulation: RITA® bioreactor yielded 17.86g/l (dry weight) during 60 day growth period whereas shoots grown for 30 days in Plantform bioreactor contained the highest amount of lignans (546.98mg/100g dry weight), with schisandrin, deoxyschisandrin and gomisin A as the major constituents (118.59, 77.66 and 67.86mg/100g dry weight, respectively).

Bioactivities of Traditional Medicinal Plants in Alexandria

In traditional folklore, medicinal herbs play a vital role in the prevention and treatment of microbial diseases. In the present study, the phenolic profiles of the medicinal plants Asparagus aethiopicus L., Citrullus colocynthis L., Senna alexandrina L., Kalanchoe delagoensis L., Gasteria pillansii L., Cymbopogon citratus, Brassica juncea, and Curcuma longa L. were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with a diode-array detector method. The results revealed rich sources of important compounds such as robinin in the fruits and leaves of A. aethiopicus; caffeic acid in the tubers of A. aethiopicus and quercitrin in the leaves of G. pillansii. Further, relatively high antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal activities were observed in C. colocynthis fruit coat, S. alexandrina pods, and A. aethiopicus leaves, respectively. The relatively higher the bioactivities of plants extracts associated with the phenols in these plants, in particular, the more abundant the phenols. Therefore, it was concluded that the fruit coat of C. colocynthis, pods of S. alexandrina, and leaves of A. aethiopicus might be excellent sources of natural products. These plant extracts also have a wide spectrum of antimicrobial activities that could be used in the pharmaceutical industries and to control diseases.

Production of verbascoside and phenolic acids in biomass of Verbena officinalis L. (vervain) cultured under different in vitro conditions

Abstract Methanolic extracts from the biomass of Verbena officinalis cultured under continuous artificial light and in darkness on 12 variants of the Murashige and Skoog medium containing different concentrations (0.5–3.0 mg/L) of plant growth regulators: 6-benzyladenine, kinetin, 1-naphthaleneacetic acid and indole-3-butyric acid, were analysed for the amounts of verbascoside and phenolic acids, before and after acid hydrolysis, using the HPLC-DAD method. The amounts of verbascoside were very high (max. 2454.12 mg/100 g DW – light, and 2135.59 mg/100 g DW – darkness). The total amounts of phenolic acids reached a maximum of 46.02 mg/100 g DW (free phenolic acids) and 141.05 mg/100 g DW (bound compounds). The main metabolites were: ferulic, o-coumaric and caffeic acids. The maximum amount of verbascoside was 3.28 times higher than in extracts from the herb of the parent plant. The cultures could be proposed as a potential biotechnological source for selected biologically active compounds.

Chemical composition, traditional and professional use in medicine, application in environmental protection, position in food and cosmetics industries, and biotechnological studies of Nasturtium officinale (watercress) – a review

The herb of Nasturtium officinale is a raw material that has long been used in the traditional medicine of Iran, Azerbaijan, Morocco and Mauritius. Nowadays, this raw material is the object of numerous professional pharmacological studies that have demonstrated its antioxidant, anticancer, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and cardioprotective properties. These therapeutic effects are caused by glucosinolates present in the plant, isothiocyanates, polyphenols (flavonoids, phenolic acids, proanthocyanidins), terpenes (including carotenoids), vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B6, E, C) and bioelements. The article presents the current state of phytochemical research on the generative and vegetative organs of the plant. A special spotlight is put on the main N. officinale secondary metabolites - glucosinolates. Attention is drawn to the important position of N. officinale in the production of healthy foods and in the production of cosmetics. A large part of the article is devoted to the importance of this species in phytoremediation processes used in the protection of soil environments and water reservoirs. The biotechnological research on this species has also been reviewed. Those studies are of particular importance not only due to the attractiveness of this species in phytotherapy and cosmetology, but also due to the deteriorating natural state of this species and the threat of extinction. The aim of this review is to promote N. officinale as a very valuable species, not yet fully discovered by global medicine.

Phytochemical studies and biological activity of three Chinese Schisandra species (Schisandra sphenanthera, Schisandra henryi and Schisandra rubriflora): current findings and future applications

AbstractSchisandra chinensis (Chinese magnolia vine) is the best-known representative of the genus Schisandra, widely used in the official East-Asian, North American and European medicine. The article recalls the healing value of this species and, above all, presents the current state of knowledge on the chemical composition and biological activity of three other species of the Schisandra genus: Schisandra sphenanthera, Schisandra henryi and Schisandra rubriflora. In addition to dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans (the so-called ‘Schisandra chinensis lignans’), they also contain other groups of lignans (e.g. 4-aryltetralin, aryltetralone, tetrahydrofuran and butane-type lignans) as the main compounds responsible for biological activity. The lignans are accompanied by other groups of compounds, including triterpenoids and nortriterpenoids. A review of biological studies, e.g. of empirically confirmed hepatoprotective, cytotoxic and anti-HIV-1 activities, proves that these species have a high therapeutic potential and may constitute a new East-Asian proposition for European medicine. The article also draws attention to the possibility of using the biosynthetic potential of the biomass from in vitro cultures of the described species and biotechnological solutions as an alternative to plant raw materials. Graphical abstract