• Title/Summary/Keyword: Phytochemicals

Search Result 393, Processing Time 0.022 seconds

Cyclooxygenase-2 as a Molecular Target for Cancer Chemopreventive Agents

  • Surh, Young-Joon
    • Toxicological Research
    • /
    • v.17
    • /
    • pp.89-96
    • /
    • 2001
  • Recently, considerable attention has been focused on the role of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in the carcinogenesis as well as in inflammation. Improperly overexpressed COX-2 has been observed in many types of human cancers and transformed cells in culture. Thus, it is conceivable that targeted inhibition of abnormally or improperly up-regulated COX-2 provides one of the most effective and promising strategies for cancer prevention. A ubiquitous eukaryotic transcription factor, NF-kB is considered to be involved in regulation of COX-2 expression. Furthermore, extracellular-regulated protein kinase and p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase appear to be key elements of the intracellular signaling cascades involved in NF-kB activation in response to a wide array of external stimuli. Certain chemopreventive phytochemicals suppress activation of NF-kB by blocking one or more of the MAP kinases, which may contribute to their inhibitory effects on COX-2 induction. One of the plausible mechanisms by which chemopreventive phytochemicals inhibit NF-kB activation involves suppression of degradation of the inhibitory unit I kB, which hampers subsequent translocation of p65, the functionally active subunit of NF-kB.

  • PDF

Differential Rapid Screening of Phytochemicals by Leaf Spray Mass Spectrometry

  • Muller, Thomas;Cooks, R. Graham
    • Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
    • /
    • v.35 no.3
    • /
    • pp.919-924
    • /
    • 2014
  • Ambient ionization can be achieved by generating an electrospray directly from plant tissue ("leaf spray"). The resulting mass spectra are characteristic of ionizable phytochemicals in the plant material. By subtracting the leaf spray spectra recorded from the petals of two hibiscus species H. moscheutos and H. syriacus one gains rapid access to the metabolites that differ most in the two petals. One such compound was identified as the sambubioside of quercitin (or delphinidin) while others are known flavones. Major interest centered on a $C_{19}H_{29}NO_5$ compound that occurs only in the large H. moscheutos bloom. Attempts were made to characterize this compound by mass spectrometry alone as a test of such an approach. This showed that the compound is an alkaloid, assigned to the polyhydroxylated pyrrolidine class, and bound via a $C_3$ hydrocarbon unit to a monoterpene.

Components of Nutraceutical Value in Physalis minima

  • Misra, L.N.;Lal, P.;Kumar, D.
    • Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
    • /
    • v.11 no.1
    • /
    • pp.25-30
    • /
    • 2006
  • It is of utmost importance to feed the current world population by improving agricultural production with newer varieties of food crops, but what is still more important is to add nutrition into the food. Some of the plants, which are currently growing in the wastelands, contain certain phytochemicals which add to their neutraceutical and health value. These plants contain secondary metabolites which enhance the over all metabolic functions of the body. Withasteroids are one of such phytochemicals. These chemicals are almost exclusively found in plants of the Solanaceae family; one of which, Physalis minima, contains several with asteroids. The aerial parts and roots of P. minima have been found to contain several steroids, identification of which is been discussed in this paper. These with asteroids contribute to the functional value since incorporation of withanolides in the diet may prevent or decrease the growth of tumors in humans.

Potential applications of radioprotective phytochemicals from marine algae

  • Oh, Jae-Young;Fernando, I.P. Shanura;Jeon, You-Jin
    • ALGAE
    • /
    • v.31 no.4
    • /
    • pp.403-414
    • /
    • 2016
  • The use of ionizing radiation and radioactive elements is becoming increasingly popular with the rapid developments in nuclear technology, radiotherapy, and radio diagnostic methods. However, ionizing radiation can directly or indirectly cause life-threatening complications such as cancer, radiation burns, and impaired immunity. Environmental contamination with radioactive elements and the depletion of ozone layer also contribute to the increased levels of radiation exposure. Radioprotective natural products have particularly received attention for their potential usefulness in counteracting radiation-induced damage because of their reduced toxicity compared with most drugs currently in use. Moreover, radioprotective substances are used as ingredients in cosmetic formulations in order to provide protection against ultraviolet radiation. Over the past few decades, the exploration of marine algae has revealed the presence of radioprotective phytochemicals, such as phlorotannins, polysaccharides, carotenoids and other compounds. With their promising radioprotective effects, marine algae could be a future source for discovering potential radioprotective substances for development as useful in therapeutics.

Bioactive Compounds in Vegetables: Their Role in the Prevention of Disease (채소류의 기능성)

  • Lee Young-Eun
    • Korean journal of food and cookery science
    • /
    • v.21 no.3 s.87
    • /
    • pp.380-398
    • /
    • 2005
  • There are various bioactive compounds in vegetables which are called 'phytochemicals' They are extranutritional constituents that typically occur in small quantities. They are being intensively studied to evaluate their effects on health. These biologically active compounds vary widely in chemical structure and function and are grouped accordingly, carotenoids, flavonoids, isothiocyanates, allyl compounds, indoles, isoflavones and saponins, etc. Traditionally used vegetables are defined, and their trivial names, biological functions and traditional and oriental medicinal effects are investigated in this study. Much scientific research needs to be conducted before we can begin to make science-based dietary recommendations. Despite this, there is sufficient evidence to recommend consuming vegetables rich in bioactive compounds, especially for the prevention of cancer.

Optimization of the extraction of phytochemicals from black mulberry (Morus nigra L.) leaves

  • Nastic, Natasa;Borras-Linares, Isabel;Lozano-Sanchez, Jesus;Svarc-Gajic, Jaroslava;Segura-Carretero, Antonio
    • Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
    • /
    • v.68
    • /
    • pp.282-292
    • /
    • 2018
  • This study aimed to compare the chemical composition of Morus nigra leaves extracts, obtained by maceration, accelerated solvent (ASE) and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) under different extraction conditions. With regards to chemical composition, mainly phenolic acids and flavonoids were identified. HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS allowed the identification of 13 new compounds reported in M. nigra leaves for the first time. ASE as a fast, green and innovative approach, seems to be the best choice for extracting compounds of different polarities within the shortest extraction time. The present study also highlights the potential application of M. nigra extracts as constituents of new added-value formulations.

Qualitative comparison of chemical and green synthesized Fe3O4 nanoparticles

  • Gokila, V.;Perarasu, V.T.;Rufina, R. Delma Jones
    • Advances in nano research
    • /
    • v.10 no.1
    • /
    • pp.71-76
    • /
    • 2021
  • Synthesis of nanoparticles using green technology using plants is gaining significant attention as it is an environmentally friendly substitute to conventional physical and chemical methods. The present study was focused on the chemical and green synthesis of Iron Oxide nanoparticles from ferric chloride. The green synthesis was achieved by utilizing the bio components of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis. The Fe3O4 nanoparticles with the size range of 87-400 nm were synthesized by wet chemical reduction technique which are unstable, prone to aggregation while in green synthesis the phytochemicals present in the leaf extract acts as the capping as well as the reducing agent thus the green synthesized iron (III) oxide nanoparticles were naturally stabilized, spherical shaped and are in the size range of 2-80 nm. The results of both the protocols are compared and presented briefly.

A Review of the Potency of Plant Extracts and Compounds from Key Families as an Alternative to Synthetic Nematicides: History, Efficacy, and Current Developments

  • Mwamula, Abraham Okki;Kabir, Md. Faisal;Lee, DongWoon
    • The Plant Pathology Journal
    • /
    • v.38 no.2
    • /
    • pp.53-77
    • /
    • 2022
  • The global nematicides market is expected to continue growing. With an increasing demand for synthetic chemical-free organic foods, botanical nematicides are taking the lead as replacements. Consequently, in the recent years, there have been vigorous efforts towards identification of the active secondary metabolites from various plants. These include mostly glucosinolates and their hydrolysis products such as isothiocyanates; flavonoids, alkaloids, limonoids, quassinoids, saponins, and the more recently probed essential oils, among others. And despite their overwhelming potential, variabilities in quality, efficacy, potency and composition continue to persist, and commercialization of new botanical nematicides is still lagging. Herein, we have reviewed the history of botanical nematicides and regional progresses, the potency of the identified phytochemicals from the key important plant families, and deciphered some of the impediments involved in standardization of the active compounds in addition to the concerns over the safety of the purified compounds to non-target microbial communities.

Botanical features and ethnopharmacological potential of Leonotis nepetifolia (L.) R. Br: a review

  • Gang, Roggers;Kang, Youngmin
    • Journal of Plant Biotechnology
    • /
    • v.49 no.1
    • /
    • pp.3-14
    • /
    • 2022
  • Leonotis nepetifolia (L.) R. Br, commonly called dagga, klip dagga, or lion's ear, has been used to effectively treat various diseases and other health problems for a long time because of its antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and analgesic activities. Several studies have attributed these biological activities to L. nepetifolia's constituent secondary metabolites, such as alkaloids, phenolics, flavonoids, tannins, steroids, glycosides, coumarins, anthocyanins, and saponins. This review aims to examine the evidence-based ethnopharmacological uses of L. nepetifolia in the treatment of bronchial asthma, diarrhea, skin diseases, malaria, burns, cancer, diabetes mellitus, and rheumatism. However, although L. nepetifolia has great potential to treat these diseases, further isolation and identification of its therapeutic phytochemical constituents are required. In addition, the performance of its extracts and phytochemicals should be thoroughly tested in preclinical and clinical trials in order to ascertain their safety and efficacy, which will prove valuable in developing new medicines.