Myrtus communis berry color morphs: a comparative analysis of essential oils, fatty acids, phenolic compounds, and antioxidant activities

Extracts of mature dark blue and white berries from two Tunisian Myrtus communis morphs growing at the same site were assessed for their essential‐oil and fatty‐acid compositions, phenolic contents, and antioxidant activities. The GC and GC/MS analyses of the essential oils allowed the identification of 33 constituents. The oils from the dark blue fruits showed high percentages of α‐pinene (11.1%), linalool (11.6%), α‐terpineol (15.7%), methyl eugenol (6.2%), and geraniol (3.7%). Myrtenyl acetate (20.3%) was found to be the major compound in the oils from white berries. GC Analysis of the pericarp and seed fatty acids showed that the polyunsaturated fatty acids constituted the major fraction (54.3–78.1%). The highest percentages of linoleic acid (78.0%) and oleic acid (20.0%) were observed in the seeds and the pericarps of the white fruits, respectively. The total phenol, flavonoid, and flavonol contents and the concentration of the eight anthocyanins, identified by HPLC analysis, were significantly higher in the dark blue fruits. All extracts showed a substantial antioxidant activity, assessed by the free radical‐scavenging activity and the ferric reducing power, with the dark blue fruit extracts being more effective.     

Chemical compositions by using LC–MS/MS and GC–MS and antioxidant activities of methanolic extracts from leaf and flower parts of Scabiosa columbaria subsp. columbaria var. columbaria L.

The members of the Scabiosa genus are one of the traditional medicinal plants used in the treatment of many diseases, in particular the treatment of scabies. In this study, it was aimed to determine antioxidant activities and chemical composition of methanolic extracts of leaves and flowers of Scabiosa columbaria subsp. columbaria var. columbaria. The phenolic contents of both parts of the plant were analyzed by LC–MS/MS. A total of 6 phenolic compounds were determined and chlorogenic acid was the major compound in both flower and leaf parts of the plants, with 5936.052 µg/g and 8021.666 µg/g, respectively. 6 different methods were used to determine the antioxidant activity of the plant parts. Both leaf and flower parts of the plant showed high antioxidant activity in all tested methods and the antioxidant activity values of the leaf part were measured higher than those of the flower part for four tests. The methanol extracts of the plant parts was analyzed with GC–MS and number of the essential oil compounds in the leaf and flower parts were determined as 17 and 13, respectively. Linalool compound was also found to be common in both parts of the plant. The major compounds of the essential oils were identified as 4-Octadecenal (30.01%) in the flower and carvone (35.44%) in the leaf. In addition, terpene derivatives was determined as 90.32% of the highest essential oil group in the leaf, while this value was determined as 1.42% in the flower. For the flower, aromatics were determined as the main component group with 21.31%.     

Evaluation of chemical composition and anti-inflammatory,antioxidant, antibacterial activity of essential oil of Sardinian Santolina corsica Jord. & Fourr.

Santolina corsica Jord. & Fourr. Corsican-Sardinian is an endemism almost present all around Corsica; in Sardinia, it can only be found in Monte Albo (calcareous substratum and poor in nutrients). The aim of our study is to investigate the chemical composition of S. corsica essential oils from plants growing in three different stations located at different altitudes and evaluate the biological activity using anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antimicrobial test. The composition of the essential oils was determined by gas chromatography and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The essential oils of the Sardinian-Corsican endemism S. corsica, growing in Monte Albo, showed a great variability, probably due to genetic characters different from the Corsican type. We found three different chemotypes: artemisia ketone-β-fellendrene; myrcene and β-fellandrene-myrcene. Standard microbiological assays demonstrated that the essential oils collected in the selected stations, compared with oil and compound with demonstrated antibacterial activity, don’t have any antibacterial activity. DPPH test carried out on the tree samples, compared with chatechin, demonstrated that the oils don’t have antioxidant activity.Regarding anti-inflammatory activity the study demonstrated that the essential oils have a good anti-inflammatory activity on the bronchial tract.The addition of essential oil make easy the exocytose and the histiocytes can expel the anthracotic pigment into the culture medium, purifying its cytoplasm and restoring its ability to phagocytize more material. With a higher concentration of granulocytes in the sample, the incubation of cells shows a non-specific inflammatory pattern in which the addition of the essential oils has a positive impact on the decrease of granulocytes.More experiments are requested to confirm the data, but on the basis of these first results S. corsica essential oil showed potential activity against respiratory infections.     

Chemical composition and larvicidal effects of essential oil of Dendropanax morbifera against Aedes aegypti L.

Essential oils obtained from the flowers of Dendropanax morbifera were extracted and the chemical composition and larvicidal effects were studied. The analyses were conducted by gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy (GC–MS) revealed that the essential oil of D. morbifera contained 27 compounds. The major chemical components identified were γ-elemene (18.59%), tetramethyltricyclohydrocarbon (10.82%), β-selinene (10.41%), α-zingibirene (10.52%), 2-isopropyl-5-methylbicylodecen (4.2%), β-cubebene (4.19), and 2,6-bis(1,1-Dimethylethyl)-4-phenol (4.01%). The essential oil had a significant toxic effect against early fourth-stage larvae of Aedes aegypti L. with an LC₅₀ value of 62.32 ppm and an LC₉₀ value of 131.21 ppm. The results could be useful in search for newer, safer, and more effective natural larvicidal agents against A. aegypti.     

Chemical Diversity of Volatiles of Teucrium orientale L. var. orientale,var. puberulens,and var. glabrescens Determined by Simultaneous GC‐FID and GC/MS Techniques

In the present work, three varieties of Teucrium orientale, var. orientale, var. puberulens, and var. glabrescens, were collected and investigated for chemical composition of the oils. Subsequent gas chromatography (GC‐FID) and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC/MS) revealed high abundance of sesquiterpenes in the essential oils analyzed. All the oils contained β‐caryophyllene (22.6, 8.5, and 6.3%, resp.) and hexadecanoic acid (7.9, 12.8, and 13.1%). Germacrene D (24.6 and 33.4%) and bicyclogermacrene (6.7 and 8.5%) were found to be the main constituents of var. orientale and var. puberulens, respectively. The high percentages of β‐cubebene (26.9%), α‐cubebene (9.0%), and α‐copaene (7.2%) established the diversity of var. glabrescens. The qualitative difference between the essential oils allowed the differentiation between the varieties in agreement with the morphological observations described in Flora of Turkey for each variety studied. In addition, a cluster analysis of twelve Teucrium taxa based on the essential‐oil composition has been carried out. Hovewer, the analysis did not clearly reflect the infrageneric classification of the genus, it largely confirmed the relationships between the infraspecific taxa of Teucrium orientale and T. chamaedrys.     

GC/MS analysis of anandamide and quantification of N-arachidonoylphosphatidylethanolamides in various brain regions, spinal cord, testis, and spleen of the rat

Anandamide [N-arachidonoylethanolamide (NAE)] was initially isolated from porcine brain and proposed as an endogenous ligand for cannabinoid receptors in 1992. Accumulating evidence has now suggested that, in the tissue, NAE is generated from N-arachidonoylphosphatidylethanolamides (N-ArPEs) by phosphodiesterase. In this study a sensitive and specific procedure was developed to quantify NAE and N-ArPE, including organic solvent extraction, reverse-phase C-18 cartridge separation, derivatization, and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis. NAE is converted by a two-step derivatization procedure to a pentafluorobenzoyl ester followed by pentafluoropropionyl acylation. Quantification was performed by isotope dilution GC/MS using deuterium-labeled NAE (NAE-2H8) as an internal standard. The same chemical derivatization was applicable to N-ArPE quantification. The separated N-ArPE fractions were converted by a two-step cleavage/derivatization procedure into the pentafluorobenzoyl ester of NAE and then to its pentafluoropropionyl amide. The derivative was quantified by GC/MS using deuterium-labeled 1,2-[2H8]dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho(arachidonoyl)ethanolamid e as an internal standard. Using these methods, we have found that endogenous NAE levels in rat brain, spleen, testis, liver, lung, and heart were below the level of quantification achievable (0.1 pmol/mg of protein) but that N-ArPE is readily quantifiable and is widely distributed in the rat CNS with the highest level in the spinal cord. The striatum, hippocampus, and accumbens contain intermediate concentrations of N-ArPE, whereas the value is lowest in the cerebellum.     

Agro-waste derived compounds (flax and black seed peels): Toxicological effect against the West Nile virus vector,Culex pipiens L. with special reference to GC–MS analysis

The development of different approaches to use agricultural residues as a source of high value-added products, become a must, especially after the problems emerged due to their accumulation. This contribution demonstrates the potential of agricultural residues, Linuim usitatissium (flax seed) and Nigella sativa (black seed) peels, as raw materials for the production of bioactive products, botanical insecticides, against Cx. pipiens, with deep analysis to their chemical constituents by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, the larvicidal efficacies of the three crude extracts (methylene chloride, petroleum ether and methanol 70%) from the two plant waste peels were evaluated for the first time against the late third instar larvae of Cx. pipiens. Results indicated different lethal doses in larvae depending on the efficacy of organic solvent used. For both compounds methanol 70% extracts produced the highest dry yield. The most efficient solvent is petroleum ether in case of both flax and Black seed peels. Petroleum ether extract exhibited the highest toxicity against Cx. pipiens with an LC50 of 69.6383 ppm. The same results for black seed indicated that petroleum ether was the most efficient against Cx. pipiens with an LC50 of 40.7748 ppm. The study revealed for the first time the type of phytochemical constituents presents in peels of flax and black seeds using GC–MS analysis which revealed twenty-eight constituents among extracts of flax and black seed peels ranging from to 58.8711% to 99.99% of the total extracts. GC–MS profiling showed that a five constituents, 9-2-Methyl-Z, Z-3, 13 octadecadienol (terpenoid), 9,17-Octadecadienal, (Z)-, Nonanoic acid, 9-oxo-, methyl ester, 9,12-Octadecadienoic acid Z,Z and Octasiloxane, 1,1,3,3,5,5,7,7,9,9,11,11,13,13,15,15-hexadecamethyl- have insecticidal activity beside many other biological activities as recorded from a variety of botanical extracts. While the constituents like Hexadecanoic acid, methyl ester and cis-9-Hexadecenal, both of them are larvicidal, cis-Vaccenic acid and 9-Oxononanoic acid showing only an insecticidal activity beside Undecanoic acid the mosquito repellent. The other six constituents Linoelaidic acid, Oleic Acid, Z-2-Octadecen-1-ol, 1-Methoxy-3-hydroxymethylheptane, Cis-11,14–Eicosadieonic acid-methyl ester and Heptasiloxane, 1,1,3,3,5,5,7,7,9,9,11,11,13,13-tetradecamethyl- are constituents of other plant extracts which showed as a whole an insecticidal activity.     

Characterisation of the effects of leaf galls of Clusiamyia nitida (Cecidomyiidae) on Clusia lanceolata Cambess. (Clusiaceae): Anatomical aspects and chemical analysis of essential oil

Galls develop in different plant organs and are induced by the activity of various organisms. Some studies have investigated the ecological interactions between species of Clusia and gall-inducing insects. The goal of our study is to characterise changes in leaf anatomy caused by the activity of gall insects in Clusia lanceolata. Additionally, we also investigated the chemical composition of volatile compounds of normal leaves and those with galls to detect possible effects on the host plants. For anatomical studies, we used botanical material fixed in FAA₅₀. Transversal sections of the leaf blade were obtained from samples of leaves located on the third and fourth nodes from both male and female individuals. Material was studied from both sexes both with unaffected leaves and leaves containing galls. Fresh leaves of C. lanceolata were used for the extraction of volatile compounds, which were submitted to stem distillation using a modified Clevenger apparatus determining the oil yields subsequently (w/w). The unaffected leaves of female and male individuals of C. lanceolata exhibit similar anatomical structures. However, galls on leaves of both sexes show anatomical differences. The activity of the gall insect Clusiamyia nitida induces several changes in the foliar anatomy and the distribution of metabolic compounds in new tissues during gall development. However, the larvae are not able to induce significant changes in the volatile compounds of inflected leaves from male and female individuals.     

Conformational studies of a monoclonal antibody, IgG1, by chemical oxidation: structural analysis by ultrahigh-pressure LC-electrospray ionization time-of-flight MS and multivariate data analysis

We describe the development of a method in which protein oxidation by H₂O₂ followed by ultrahigh-pressure liquid chromatography (UHPLC) coupled with electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ESI-ToFMS) and multivariate analysis are used to detect alterations in conformational states of proteins. In the study reported here, an IgG1 monoclonal antibody in native and denatured conformational states was oxidized by treatment with hydrogen peroxide. Peptide fragments generated by tryptic digestion were then analyzed by UHPLC-ESI-ToFMS. After reducing noise and extracting peaks from the LC–MS data using MzExplorer, software developed in-house and based on Matlab, we were able to distinguish peptides arising from the native and denatured states of the oxidized protein by principal component analysis. Peptides containing residues, which are inclined to undergo oxidation, such as methionine, are founded to be particularly important in this approach. We believe that the methodology could facilitate attempts to characterize the conformational states of recombinant monoclonal antibodies and other proteins.