Chemical composition of Allium schoenoprasum leaves and inhibitory effect of their extract on tumor growth in mice

Allium vegetables: Traditional uses, phytoconstituents, and beneficial effects in inflammation and cancer

The genus Allium comprises of at least 918 species; the majority grown for dietary and medicinal purposes. This review describes the traditional uses, phytoconstituents, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activity, and safety profile of six main species, namely Allium sativum L. (garlic), Allium cepa L. (onions), Allium ampeloprasum L. (leek), Allium fistulosum L. (scallion), Allium schoenoprasum L. (chives) and Allium tuberosum Rottler (garlic chives). These species contain at least 260 phytoconstituents; mainly volatile compounds-including 63 organosulfur molecules-, saponins, flavonoids, anthocyanins, phenolic compounds, amino acids, organic acids, fatty acids, steroids, vitamins and nucleosides. They have prominent in vitro anti-inflammatory activity, and in vivo replications of such results have been achieved for all except for A. schoenoprasum. They also exert cytotoxicity against different cancer cell lines. Several anticancer phytoconstituents have been characterized from all except for A. fistulosum. Organosulfur constituents, saponins and flavonoid glycosides have demonstrated anti-inflammatory and anticancer activity. Extensive work has been conducted mainly on the anti-inflammatory and anticancer activity of A. sativum and A. cepa. The presence of anti-inflammatory and anticancer constituents in these two species suggests that similar bioactive constituents could be found in other species. This provides future avenues for identifying new Allium-derived anti-inflammatory and anticancer agents.

Antioxidant Properties and Structure-Antioxidant Activity Relationship of Allium Species Leaves

Allium is a genus that is widely consumed and used as traditional medicine in several countries. This genus has two major species, namely cultivated species and wild species. Cultivated species consist of A. cepa L., A. sativum L., A. fistulosum L. and A. schoenoprasum L. and wild species consist of A. ursinum L., A. flavum L., A. scorodoprasum L., A. vineale L. and A. atroviolaceum Boiss. Several studies report that the Allium species contain secondary metabolites such as polyphenols, flavonoids and tannins and have bioactivity such as antioxidants, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, pancreatic α-amylase, glucoamylase enzyme inhibitors and antiplatelets. This review summarizes some information regarding the types of Allium species (ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology), the content of compounds of Allium species leaves with various isolation methods, bioactivities, antioxidant properties and the structure-antioxidant activity relationship (SAR) of Allium compounds.

Purification, Characterization, and Self-Assembly of the Polysaccharide from Allium schoenoprasum

The major polysaccharide component from the stalk of Allium schoenoprasum (AssP) was extracted and purified. Gel filtration chromatography purified AssP exhibited a molecular weight of around 1.7 kDa, which was verified by MALDI-ToF-MS. The monosaccharide analysis revealed its composition as rhamnose: arabinose: galactose: glucose: mannose: fructose with a molar ratio of 0.03:2.46:3.71:3.35:1.00:9.93, respectively. The Congo-red assay indicated that there was no tertiary structure of this polysaccharide, however, it self-assembled into a homogenous nanoparticle with a diameter of ~600 nm as revealed by the dynamic light scattering measurement. The solution behavior of this polysaccharide was simulated. The association of this polysaccharide was both time dependent and concentration dependent. AssP forms spherical particles spontaneously as time passes by, and when the AssP concentration increased, the spherical particles increased their sizes and eventually merged into cylindrical micelles. The diversity of AssP hydrodynamic behavior endowed potential versatility in its future applications.

Beneficial Effects of Spices in Food Preservation and Safety

Spices have been used since ancient times. Although they have been employed mainly as flavoring and coloring agents, their role in food safety and preservation have also been studied in vitro and in vivo. Spices have exhibited numerous health benefits in preventing and treating a wide variety of diseases such as cancer, aging, metabolic, neurological, cardiovascular, and inflammatory diseases. The present review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of the most relevant and recent findings on spices and their active compounds in terms of targets and mode of action; in particular, their potential use in food preservation and enhancement of shelf life as a natural bioingredient.

Polyphenolic extracts of edible flowers incorporated onto atelocollagen matrices and their effect on cell viability

The phenolic extract of chives flowers (Allium schoenoprasum, Liliaceae), introduced Sage (Salvia pratensis, Lamiaceae), European elderberry (Sambucus nigra, Caprifoliaceae) and common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale, Asteraceae) were characterised by High Performance Liquid Chromatography and incorporated in different concentrations onto atelocollagen thin films. In order to assess the biological impact of these phenolic compounds on cell viability, human immortalised non-tumorigenic keratinocyte cell line was seeded on the thin films and cell proliferation was determined by using an MTT assay. In addition, their antimicrobial activity was estimated by using an agar diffusion test. Data indicated the concomitance between cell viability and concentration of polyphenols. These findings suggest that these phenolic-endowed atelocollagen films might be suitable for tissue engineering applications, on account of the combined activity of polyphenols and collagen.