Jan Malik

Determination of certain micro and macroelements in plant stimulants and their infusions

The quantitative analysis of Al, B, Cu, Fe, Mn, P and Zn by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and Ca, K and Mg by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) has been carried out in both the raw material and infusions from 31 samples of traditional plant stimulants (tea and coffee) and mate, rooibos, honeybush and chamomile. The results were discussed with respect to differences to the beverage quality and their role in the human diet. The levels of elements not significantly differ between tea types (black, green, oolong, white), and between Arabica and Robusta coffee. In comparison with tea, coffee was found to be a poor source of elements with the exception of Ca and Fe. High levels of B, Ca, Cu, Mn, Mg and Zn were found in mate (mainly green type) and of B, Ca, Cu, Fe and P in chamomile, whereas the amounts of all elements in rooibos and honeybush infusions were low (except of Ca). Apart from tea, other stimulants appeared to not represent important sources of potentially harmful amounts of Al for the human diet.

Aluminium and other elements in selected herbal tea plant species and their infusions

The determination of Al, B, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, P, Zn and Ca, K, Mg by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS), respectively, in digests and infusions of Hibiscus sabdariffa (petals), Rosa canina (receptacles), Ginkgo biloba (leaves), Cymbopogon citratus (leaves), Aloe vera (leaves) and Panax ginseng (roots) was carried out in this study. Particular attention has been given to Al and heavy metals for the identification of possible raw material contaminants, their transformation into the infusion and for predicting their eventual role in the human diet during daily consumption. Additionally, Ion Chromatography (IC) speciation of Al in the leachates was carried out. In dry herbs, hibiscus and ginkgo appeared to contain the greatest contents of Al, Fe, K, Mn, Ni, Zn and B, Mg, P, respectively. A. vera contained the highest amount of Ca and highest values of Cu and P were observed in ginseng. In infusions, the topmost concentrations of Al, B, Cu, Fe, P, K, Mn, Ni, Zn were detected in those prepared from hibiscus petals, Ca from aloe leaves and Mg from leaves of ginkgo. According to a possible daily consumption exceeding 1 L, hibiscus decoction was identified as potentially dietetically significant in the content of certain elements. It seems to be possibly one of the top contributors of B from food (up to 5.5±0.2 mg/L). The Mg contained in the infusion (up to 106±5 mg/L) may be a contributor in the attenuation of blood pressure. A high amount of accessible Mn (up to 17.4±1.1 mg/L) can probably have an adverse effect in humans. The total Al allowance (up to 1.2±0.1 mg/L) suggests that no more than 1 L of the hibiscus infusion should be consumed per day by sensitive individuals including pregnant women and should be completely excluded from the diet of children under 6 months of age and children with chronic renal failure.

Redox and non-redox mechanism of in vitro cyclooxygenase inhibition by natural quinones.

In this study, ten anthra-, nine naphtho-, and five benzoquinone compounds of natural origin and five synthetic naphthoquinones were assessed, using an enzymatic in vitro assay, for their potential to inhibit cyclooxygenase-1 and -2 (COX-1 and COX-2), the key enzymes of the arachidonic acid cascade. IC₅₀ values comparable with COX reference inhibitor indomethacin were recorded for several quinones (primin, alkannin, diospyrin, juglone, 7-methyljuglone, and shikonin). For some of the compounds, we suggest the redox potential of quinones as the mechanism responsible for in vitro COX inhibition because of the quantitative correlation with their pro-oxidant effect. Structure-relationship activity studies revealed that the substitutions at positions 2 and 5 play the key roles in the COX inhibitory and pro-oxidant actions of naphthoquinones. In contrast, the redox mechanism alone could not explain the activity of primin, embelin, alkannin, and diospyrin. For these four quinones, molecular modeling suggested similar binding modes as for conventional nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

Selective growth inhibitory effect of biochanin A against intestinal tract colonizing bacteria.

Both bifidobacteria and clostridia are part of the natural gut microflora and while clostridia may be responsible for severe intestinal infections, bifidobacteria are probiotic microorganisms belonging to the most important prospective bacteria in the bowel. The antimicrobial activity of biochanin A was tested in vitro against six Bifidobacterium spp., and eight Clostridium spp. using the broth microdilution method. Biochanin A showed an inhibition against all clostridia in the range of minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) from 64 μg/mL (for Cl. clostridioforme, strains DSM 933 and I3) to 1,024 μg/mL (for Cl. perfringens, DSM 11778). No bifidobacteria were suppressed at four-fold higher concentration (MICs > 4,096) than MIC of Cl. perfringens. These results indicate selective growth inhibition of biochanin A and its potential use in antimicrobial prevention and/or protection.

Essential Oils in the Ranunculaceae Family: Chemical Composition of Hydrodistilled Oils from Consolida regalis, Delphinium elatum, Nigella hispanica, and N. nigellastrum Seeds

In this study, we analyzed the chemical composition of volatile oils hydrodistilled from seeds of Consolida regalis, Delphinium elatum, Nigella hispanica, and N. nigellastrum using GC and GC/MS. In C. regalis, octadecenoic (77.79%) and hexadecanoic acid (8.34%) were the main constituents. Similarly, the oils from D. elatum and N. hispanica seeds consisted chiefly of octadecadienoic (42.83 and 35.58%, resp.), hexadecanoic (23.87 and 28.59%, resp.), and octadecenoic acid (21.67 and 19.76%, resp.). Contrastingly, the monoterpene hydrocarbons α‐pinene (34.67%) and β‐pinene (36.42%) were the main components of N. nigellastrum essential oil. Our results confirm the presence of essential oils in the family Ranunculaceae and suggest chemotaxonomical relationships within the representatives of the genera Consolida, Delphinium, and Nigella. In addition, the presence of various bioactive constituents such as linoleic acid, (−)‐β‐pinene, squalene, or carotol in seeds of D. elatum, N. hispanica, and N. nigellastrum indicates a possible industrial use of these plants.

The influence of the quinone antioxidants tert-butylhydroquinone and 2,5-di-tert-butylhydroquinone on the arachidonic acid metabolism in vitro

The aim of the present study was to elucidate the effect of the food additive tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), its metabolite tert-butylbenzoquinone (TBQ), the indirect food additive 2,5-di-tert-butylhydroquinone (DTBHQ) and five other structurally related quinones on the enzymatic activity of cyclooxygenase-1 and -2 (COX-1, -2) and 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO). In a study conducted on purified enzymes TBHQ affected neither COX-1 nor COX-2 activity, but inhibited 5-LO in human neutrophils with an IC50 of 13.5 µM. In contrast, DTBHQ regulated the activity of 5-LO as well as the activity of COX-2 (IC50 = 1.8 and 14.1 for 5-LO and COX-2, respectively). The in silico studies on DTBHQ indicated interactions with the catalytic iron of 5-LO and possible hydrogen bond interactions with His367 or His372. These data suggest that TBHQ and DTBHQ influence arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism in biologically relevant concentrations in vitro and should be further studied for their possible effect on the AA pathway in vivo.