Imre Máthé

Antiproliferative activity of Hungarian Asteraceae species against human cancer cell lines. Part II

The antiproliferative activities of aqueous and organic extracts prepared from 26 Hungarian species of the tribes Cynereae and Lactuceae (Asteraceae) were tested in vitro against HeLa (cervix epithelial adenocarcinoma), A431 (skin epidermoid carcinoma) and MCF7 (breast epithelial adenocarcinoma) cells by using the MTT assay. Of the tested 200 extracts of different plant parts obtained with n‐hexane, chloroform, 50% methanol and water, 16 extracts displayed noteworthy cell growth inhibitory activity (>50% inhibition at a concentration of 10 µg/mL). The IC50 values of these extracts were determined, and their direct cytotoxic effects were measured. High differences between the antiproliferative and cytotoxic activities, demonstrating a real cell proliferation inhibitory activity rather than direct killing effects, were found for some Centaurea, Cirsium, Cichorium, Lactuca, Onopordum and Scorsonera extracts. Copyright

Antiinflammatory activities of Hungarian Stachys species and their iridoids.

The antiinflammatory activities of aqueous extracts prepared from the aerial parts of ten Hungarian Stachys species were investigated in vivo in the carrageenan‐induced paw oedema test after intraperitoneal and oral administration to rats. Some of the extracts were found to display significant antiphlogistic effects when administered intraperitoneally and orally; in particular, the extracts of S. alpina, S. germanica, S. officinalis and S. recta demonstrated high activity following intraperitoneal administration. At the same dose of 5.0 mg/kg, these extracts exhibited similar or greater potency than that of the positive control diclofenac‐Na. The main iridoids present in the investigated extracts, ajugoside, aucubin, acetylharpagide, harpagide and harpagoside, were also assayed in the same test, and high dose‐dependent antiphlogistic effects were recorded for aucubin and harpagoside. These results led to the conclusion that most probably iridoids are responsible for the antiinflammatory effect of Stachys species, but other active constituents or their synergism must also be implicated in the antiinflammatory effect. Copyright

Cytotoxic activities of Stachys species

The cytotoxic activity of Stachys plants and of aucubin and harpagide against MCF7-breast adenocarcinoma, HeLa-cervix adenocarcinoma, A431-skin carcinoma of epithelial origin is reported in this study. Cisplatin and doxorubicin were use as reference compound.

Iridoids of Stachys species growing in Hungary

Stachys species contain iridoids, for example harpagide, acetylharpagide, aucubin, harpagoside, and ajugoside. The iridoid composition and content of leaves, stems, and inflorescences of ten Stachys species have been compared by use of a TLC–densitometric method. Harpagoside, harpagide, and acetylharpagide proved to be the main iridoids in Stachys officinalis L., St. sylvatica L., St. grandiflora Host., St. macrantha (C. Koch.) Jalas I., St. alpina L., St. palustris L., St. recta L., St. byzantina Koch., and St. germanica L. No iridoids were detected in St. annua L.

The Composition of the Essential Oil of Teucrium stocksianum from the United Arab Emirates

Abstract The hydrodistilled essential oil obtained by steam distillation of the aerial parts of Teucrium stocksianum Boiss., collected in the United Arab Emirates, was analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Forty-one components were identified, but the major compounds were α-cadinol (12.0–14.6%) and δ-cadinene (12.4–13.8%).

Volatile and some non-volatile chemical constituents of Mediterranean Salvia species beyond their native area

Members of the Salvia genus, like many representatives of the subfamilies Lamioideae and Nepetoideae, can be grown under the continental conditions of Hungary, beyond their native area of distribution. Salvia tomentosa Mill., S. officinalis L., S.fruticosa Mill., S. lavandulifolia Vahl., S. candelabrum Boiss., and S. ringens Sm. are species with essential oils of similar characteristics, i.e., with a predominant monoterpenoid content, whereas the thujone shows significant variations. The investigations reviewed have demonstrated that since S. tomentosa Mill. has a similar essential oil composition to S. officinalis L., but with a favorably lower thujone content, it could be regarded as a potential substitute for the purpose of essential oil production. Among the non-volatile components, ursolic, oleanolic, rosmarinic, caffeic acids do not show remarkable differences in the species investigated.

TLC of ecdysteroids with four mobile phases and three stationary phases

Eleven mobile phases and three stationary phases have been investigated for TLC separation of a large number of ecdysteroids. Optimization of the chromatography was based on trial and error. Use of four mobile phases on three stationary phases enabled separation of all the ecdysteroids from each other in at least one system. The TLC behavior of ecdysteroids containing different numbers of hydroxyl groups, side-chain variations, and extra double bonds, and of positional isomers and stereoisomers, is reported and interpreted. Our method is suggested for screening plant extracts for ecdysteroids.

TLC and GC Analysis of the Essential Oils of Stachys Species

Species of the Lamioideae subfamily of the family Lamiaceae, including Stachys species, do not contain much essential oil. The first stage of studying the volatile components of Stachys species was characterization of n-hexane extracts by TLC, with sabinene, limonene, linalool, and β-caryophyllene as test materials. On the basis of these results we then studied the volatile compounds by use of GC-FID and GC-MS. By examination of the TLC plates, use of Kováts retention indices, and MS library search we identified components of essential oil fractions obtained from Stachys officinalis II. (L.) Trev., Stachys alpina L., Stachys macrantha (Koch) Stearn, Stachys palustris L., Stachys recta L. subsp. recta, and Stachys annua L. (from Vácrátót) by vapor distillation in accordance with Hungarian Pharmacopoeia VII.

Determination of Stachys palustris iridoids by a combination of chromatographic methods

Stachys palustris L. (Lamiaceae) contains the iridoids harpagide and acetylharpagide. The presence of other components, for example aucubin, can be revealed by TLC and RP HPLC. A readily applicable simple TLC-densitometric method for analysis of aqueous extracts of the plants has been established for comparative studies of aucubin-like iridoids in Stachys palustris.

Liquid chromatographic monitoring of phytoecdysteroid production of Serratula wolffii

Seasonal dependence of 20-hydroxyecdysone content of Serratula wolffii was monitored. Thin-layer chromatography was used after a single clean-up using polyamide. High performance liquid chromatography was employed for the analysis, after removal of the high excess of flavonoids and other impurities using a clean-up on both C18 and polyamide. Parallel analyses using both thin layer chromatography with densitometry and high performance liquid chromatography gave similar results at the determination of vegetation dependence of ecdysteroids. Results indicated two maxima of ecdysteroid content (w/w), such as beginning of vegetation (in April and May) and during blossoming (in August). The two ecdysteroids, 20-hydroxyecdysone and polypodine B were also isolated from Serratula wolffii, their chemical structures were identified by spectroscopic methods.