Mudasir A. Tantry

Acylated flavonol glycosides from Epimedium elatum, a plant endemic to the Western Himalayas

Herba Epimedii is a well-known Botanical preparation used over long time in traditional Chinese medicine. The extracts and chemical constituents from Epimedium species are aphrodisiac as well as to treat many ailments. Chemical investigation of lonely species growing in Kashmir Himalaya Epimedium elatum was undertaken to evaluate its chemical profile. Two unusual substituted acylated flavonol glycosides named Elatoside A (1) and Elatoside B (2) have been isolated from the ethanolic extract of E. elatum along with 23 previously known ones (3-25). All isolates were evaluated for antimicrobial and PPAR-γ ligand binding activity, and some of them appeared to be modestly active.

Antidiabetic Activity of Artemisia amygdalina Decne in Streptozotocin Induced Diabetic Rats

Artemisia species have been extensively used for the management of diabetes in folklore medicine. The current study was designed to investigate the antidiabetic and antihyperlipidemic effects of Artemisia amygdalina. Petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, methanol, and hydroethanolic extracts of Artemisia amygdalina were tested for their antidiabetic potentials in diabetic rats. The effect of extracts was observed by checking the biochemical, physiological, and histopathological parameters in diabetic rats. The hydroethanolic and methanolic extracts each at doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg b. w significantly reduced glucose levels in diabetic rats. The other biochemical parameters like cholesterol, triglycerides, low density lipoproteins (LDL), serum creatinine, serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT), serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT), and alkaline phosphatise (ALP), were found to be reduced by the hydroethanolic and methanolic extracts. The extracts also showed reduction in the feed and water consumption of diabetic rats when compared with the diabetic control. The histopathological results of treated groups showed the regenerative/protective effect on β-cells of pancreas in diabetic rats. The current study revealed the antidiabetic potential of Artemisia amygdalina being effective in hyperglycemia and that it can effectively protect against other metabolic aberrations caused by diabetes in rats, which seems to validate its therapeutic traditional use.

Titanium Dioxide Nanofibers and Microparticles Containing Nickel Nanoparticles

The present study reports on the introduction of various nanocatalysts containing nickel (Ni) nanoparticles (NPs) embedded within TiO2 nanofibers and TiO2 microparticles. Typically, a sol-gel consisting of titanium isopropoxide and Ni NPs was prepared to produce TiO2 nanofibers by the electrospinning process. Similarly, TiO2 microparticles containing Ni were prepared using a sol-gel syntheses process. The resultant structures were studied by SEM analyses, which confirmed well-obtained nanofibers and microparticles. Further, the XRD results demonstrated the crystalline feature of both TiO2 and Ni in the obtained composites. Internal morphology of prepared nanofibers and microparticles containing Ni NPs was characterized by TEM, which demonstrated characteristic structures with good dispersion of Ni NPs. In addition, the prepared structures were studied as a model for hydrogen production applications. The catalytic activity of the prepared materials was studied by in situ hydrolysis of NaBH4, which indicated that the nanofibers containing Ni NPs can lead to produce higher amounts of hydrogen when compared to other microparticles, also reported in this paper. Overall, these results confirm the potential use of these materials in hydrogen production systems.

5, 6-Dihydropyranobenzopyrone: a previously undetermined antioxidant isolated from Polygonum amplexicaule.

AIM To study the chemical constituents and their bioactivity of Polygonum amplexicaule. METHODS The isolation of compounds was achieved by chromatographic techniques and structure of the isolates was established by UV, IR, HRESI-MS and NMR including 1D and 2D experiments. RESULTS Bioassay-guided fractionation of an ethanolic extract of Polygonum amplexicaule led to the isolation of a hitherto unidentified compound, 5, 6-dihydropyranobenzopyrone (1) along with nine previously known compounds (2-10). Compounds 2-10 were identified as amplexicine (2), catechin (3), rutin (4), quercetin-3-O-β-D-galactopyranoside (5), chlorogenic acid (6), galloyl glucose (7), caffeic acid (8), gallic acid (9) and scopletin (10). CONCLUSION Compound 1 is new. Compounds 1-10 exhibited considerable antioxidant activity in a 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging assay.

HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS/MS Identification and Characterization of Major Constituents of Iris crocea, Iris germanica and Iris spuria Growing in Kashmir Himalayas, India

Genus Iris has long history of use in various indigenous systems of medicine as alternative aperient, stimulant, cathartic, diuretic, gall bladder diseases, liver complaints, dropsy, purification of blood, venereal infections, fever, ringworms, bilious infections and for a variety of heart diseases. Rhizomes of genus Iris are rich source of secondary metabolites and most of these metabolites are reported to possess anticancer, antiplasmodial, anticholinesterase, enzyme inhibitor and immunomodulatory properties. In our study, high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS/MS) method was established for simultaneous identification of flavonoids and other constituents in the rhizomes of three Iris species (Iris crocea, Iris germanica and Iris spuria) growing in Kashmir Himalayas, India. About twenty seven compounds were identified in these Iris species based on chromatographic retention time (tR), UV and MS/MS spectra and compared with those of isolated authentic compounds and literature data. About seven constituents (iridalglycoside 5b, iridalglycoside 7, irisquin B, irilin A, hesperetin, irisolone and irisolodone) were reported for the first time from Iris crocea. Our results demonstrate the developed method could be employed as a rapid and versatile analytical technique for identification of chemical constituents and quality control of Iris samples.

Saponins from Glycine max Merrill (soybean).

Saponins are a diverse group of plant secondary metabolites with a wide array of activities, as well as a significant role in nutrition and health. Saponins occur as multi-component mixtures of compounds with very similar polarities. Soysaponins are a special group of saponins. These represent the main source of saponins in Glycine max (soybeans, Fabaceae). In a study of the chemical profiling of plants, to investigate the possible misidentification and authentication of dietary supplements, the hydro-alcoholic extract of G. max was investigated. Three new saponins, designated as soysaponins M1 (1), M2 (2) and M3 (3) along with seven known soysaponins (4-10) were isolated by normal and reverse phase liquid chromatography. All compounds were characterized by spectroscopic techniques including 2D NMR spectroscopy.

Anti-inflammatory and immuno-modulatory studies on LC-MS characterised methanol extract of Gentiana kurroo Royle

BackgroundIn ayurvedic traditional medicine Gentiana kurroo Royle (family; Gentianaceae) is used to treat several metabolic diseases. This plant is rich in various compounds belonging to flavonoids and glycosides. Till now little work has been carried out on immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory potential of this plant. This study confirms the presence of bioactive compounds and evaluates the anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effect of this plant.MethodsTo carry out this work, the methanol extract was investigated in different doses using in vivo and in vitro models. In vivo study involved haemagglutination titre and DTH methods, and in vitro study was done using splenocyte proliferation assay and LPS stimulated macrophage culture. TNF-α, IL-6 and NO were assayed using ELISA kit methods, while NF-κB was evaluated by western blotting. LC-ESI-MS/MS was used for the characterization of the methanol extract.ResultsThe results showed suppression of both humoral and cell mediated immunity in vivo. This effect was also observed by inhibition of B and T cell proliferation in splenocyte proliferation assay. TNF-α, IL-6 and NO concentrations were also less in extract treated macrophage cultures. The NF-κB expression was also lowered in treated macrophages as compared to untreated macrophages. All these observations were found to be dose dependent. LC-MS characterization of this extract showed the presence of known compounds which are glycosides, alkaloids and flavonoids in nature.ConclusionThe methanol extract of this plant was found to be rich in glycoside, alkaloid and flavonoid compounds. These compounds are probably responsible for the suppression of immune response and anti-inflammatory activity. The extract as such and identified bioactive compounds can be useful for the treatment of inflammatory disorders.

9,10-seco-9,19-cyclolanostane triterpene from Salix caprea L. (Goat Willow)

Chemical investigation of low polar solvent extract of Salix caprea through chromatographic techniques led to the isolation of new triterpene as 1α,3β,25-trihydroxy-9(11)-ene-16-one-9,10-seco-9,19-cyclolanostane (1) along with fatty alcohols. The structure of compound 1 was established by IR, HRESI/MS and NMR including 1D and 2D experiments. The compound 1 showed moderate in vitro antiplasmodial activity.

Gracilone, a new sesquiterpene lactone from Tanacetum gracile (Tansies)

Abstract The methanolic extract of the Tanacetum gracile afforded the isolation of new sesquiterpene lactone, named gracilone (1) along with four known compounds as 14α-taraxeran-3-one (2), 14α-taraxeran-3-ol (3), apigenin (4) and β-sitosterol (5). The structure of compound 1 was elucidated on the basis of 1D, 2D NMR and MS spectroscopic analysis. Antimicrobial, antioxidant and anticancer activities of all compounds were evaluated, from which gracilone (1) showed a moderate antibacterial activity, while apigenin (4) showed comparatively more antibacterial activity against both grampositive and gramnegative tested strains.

Determination of essential oil composition of Rosmarinus officinalis growing as exotic species in Kashmir Valley

0009-3130/12/4706-1012 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 1) Drug Standardisation Research Unit, Regional Research Institute of Unani Medicine (CCRUM), Naseem Bagh Campus, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, 190 006 Kashmir, India, fax: +91 194 2421604, e-mail: mudaek@yahoo.co.in; 2) Natural Product Chemistry Division, Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (CSIR), Srinagar 190 005 Kashmir, India. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 6, pp. 880–881, November–December 2011. Original article submitted September 6, 2010. Chemistry of Natural Compounds, Vol. 47, No. 6, January, 2012 [Russian original No. 6, November–December, 2011]