Growth, secondary metabolite production, and in vitro antiplasmodial activity of Sonchus arvensis L. callus under dolomite [CaMg(CO3)2] treatment

Sonchus arvensis L. water extract attenuates dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis by adjusting gut microbiota

Sonchus arvensisL. (SA) is a traditional Chinese food and medicine termed "Ju Mai Cai". The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effects of an aqueous extract of SA on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) - induced colitis in mice by adjusting the diversity of gut microbiota. Male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into four groups: CL (control group); ML group (DSS only); SA group (SA extract); and MS group (SA extract + DSS). The protective effect of SA on ulcerative disease was estimated by several analyses (i.e., body weight loss, diarrhea, bloody stools, disease activity index scores, and hematoxylin and eosin staining). The effect of SA on gut microbiota was determined by analysis of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences. The results indicated that MS significantly attenuated the body weight loss. The disease activity index scores were markedly lower in the MS group versus in the ML group. Moreover, the length of the colon was significantly improved in the MS groups versus in the ML group. Pathological changes were markedly improved following the administration of SA to mice with DSS-induced ulcerative disease. The results of Beta diversity analysis revealed that the composition of gut microbiota was significantly different between groups. Taken together, the results indicated that SA extract may prevent ulcerative colitis.

In vitro and in vivo antiplasmodial activities of leaf extracts from Sonchus arvensis L

BACKGROUND

Malaria continues to be a global problem due to the limited efficacy of current drugs and the natural products are a potential source for discovering new antimalarial agents. Therefore, the aims of this study were to investigate phytochemical properties, cytotoxic effect, antioxidant, and antiplasmodial activities of Sonchus arvensis L. leaf extracts both in vitro and in vivo.

METHODS

The extracts from S. arvensis L. leaf were prepared by successive maceration with n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and ethanol, and then subjected to quantitative phytochemical analysis using standard methods. The antimalarial activities of crude extracts were tested in vitro against Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 strain while the Peter's 4-day suppressive test model with P. berghei-infected mice was used to evaluate the in vivo antiplasmodial, hepatoprotective, nephroprotective, and immunomodulatory activities. The cytotoxic tests were also carried out using human hepatic cell lines in [3(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] (MTT) assay.

RESULT

The n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and ethanolic extracts of S. arvensis L. leaf exhibited good in vitro antiplasmodial activity with IC₅₀ values 5.119 ± 3.27, 2.916 ± 2.34, and 8.026 ± 1.23 μg/mL, respectively. Each of the extracts also exhibited high antioxidant with low cytotoxic effects. Furthermore, the ethyl acetate extract showed in vivo antiplasmodial activity with ED₅₀ = 46.31 ± 9.36 mg/kg body weight, as well as hepatoprotective, nephroprotective, and immunomodulatory activities in mice infected with P. berghei.

CONCLUSION

This study highlights the antiplasmodial activities of S. arvensis L. leaf ethyl acetate extract against P. falciparum and P. berghei as well as the antioxidant, nephroprotective, hepatoprotective, and immunomodulatory activities with low toxicity. These results indicate the potential of Sonchus arvensis L. to be developed into a new antimalarial drug candidate. However, the compounds and transmission-blocking strategies for malaria control of S. arvensis L. extracts are essential for further study.

In silico anti-SARS-CoV-2, antiplasmodial, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities of crude extracts and homopterocarpin from heartwood of Pterocarpus macrocarpus Kurz

Natural products play an essential role in new drug discovery. In the present study, we determined the anti-SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus-2), antioxidant, antiplasmodial, and antimicrobial activities of Pterocarpus macrocarpus Kurz. heartwood and structurally characterized the bioactive compounds. P. macrocarpus Kurz. heartwood was macerated with n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and ethanol, respectively, for 7 days, three times. The compounds were isolated by recrystallization with n-hexane and evaluated by thin-layer chromatography (TLC), gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry (GC-MS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FITR), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Ethyl acetate, ethanol, n-hexane extracts, and homopterocarpin exhibited antiplasmodial activity at 1.78, 2.21, 7.11, and 0.52 μg/ml, respectively, against P. falciparum 3D7 with low toxicity (selectivity index/SI ≥ 28.46). GC-MS identified compound showed in silico anti-SARS-CoV-2 binding affinity with stigmasterol and SARS-CoV-2 helicase of -8.2 kcal/mol. Ethyl acetate extract exhibited the best antioxidant activity against DPPH (0.76 ± 0.92 μg/ml) and ABTS (0.61 ± 0.46 μg/ml). They also demonstrated antimicrobial activity against B. subtilis, ethanol and ethyl acetate extracts against E. coli and C. albicans, and ethanol extract against S. aureus with diameter zone of inhibition of more than 1 cm. The results highlighted antiplasmodial activity of extracts and homopterocarpin from P. macrocarpus Kurz. heartwood and its potent binding in silico to anti-SARS-CoV-2 proteins with low toxicity. This study also confirmed that extracts exhibited antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Further studies are needed to assess the safety and clinical trial of P. macrocarpus Kurz. for development as new drug candidate.

In vitro antiplasmodial activity and cytotoxicity of extracts and chromatographic fractions of twigs from Pappea capensis EckI & Zeyh. (Sapindaceae)

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

The Vha-Venda people of South Africa use Pappea capensis EckI & Zeyh. (Sapindaceae) twigs to treat malaria and its related symptoms.

AIM OF STUDY

The main aim of this study was to evaluate the antiplasmodial and cytotoxic activity of P. capensis extracts and chromatographic fractions. Spectroscopy analysis was conducted using ¹H NMR and GC-MS to tentatively identify the major classes of compounds and phytoconstituents that can be attributed to the observed antiplasmodial bioactivity.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Pappea capensis twigs were dried and then ground to fine powder. A solvent mixture of dichloromethane: methanol: water (1:0.5:0.5, v/v) was used to extract. The polar extract was separated from the non-polar. The organic extract was dried to yield a DCM (I = 60 g) extract. The methanol in the aqueous extract was evaporated using a rotary vapour and the remaining water freeze dried to yield a water extract (II = 287 g). Extract I was further partitioned using a solvent mixture of DCM: MeOH (1:1, v/v), separated and concentrated under vacuum to yield dichloromethane (III = 40 g) and methanol (IV = 15 g) extracts. A water-based decoction (V = 10 g) was also prepared to establish the clinical relevance of the preparation administered by Vha-Venda people in South Africa. Extracts II, III and IV were further subjected to silica column chromatography, eluting with a series of different solvents with increasing polarity to yield a total of 25 fractions (A - Y). In vitro antiplasmodial tests on Plasmodium falciparum (NF54) and cytotoxicity screens on mammalian L-6 rat skeletal myoblast cells were performed on all extracts and fractions. Selectivity indices (SI) were also computed for all tested extracts and fractions which were further subjected to ¹H NMR spectroscopy and GC-MS analysis for the identification of the major classes of compounds present in the extracts.

RESULTS

From the assayed extracts, only extract I (IC₅₀ = 2.93 μg/ml; SI = 14), III (IC₅₀ = 2.59 μg/ml; SI = 21) and IV (IC₅₀ = 3.56 μg/ml; SI = 13) demonstrated the best antiplasmodial activity and selectivity. Of all assayed fractions, only N (0.6 μg/ml; SI = 91), D (0.85 μg/ml; SI = 37) and E (0.91 μg/ml; SI = 30) depicted the best antiplasmodial activity and selectivity. The ¹H NMR analysis of the extracts and fractions identified the prominent class of constituents to be aliphatic based which was tentatively identified as terpenoids. When further GC-MS analysis was conducted, the presence of lupin-3-one, lupeol acetate, α-amyrin, and β-amyrin phytoconstituents were tentatively confirmed. These constituents are triterpenoids with established antiplasmodial activity which can be tentatively attributed to the bioactivity observed in P. capensis twigs.

CONCLUSION

The study validates the ethnomedicinal use of P. capensis for malaria treatment. It demonstrated the potential of discovering novel antiplasmodial constituents that could serve as drug hits through dereplication approaches where known compounds with established antimalarial activity can be bypassed to focus on the unknown.

Advances in Plant Metabolomics and Its Applications in Stress and Single-Cell Biology

In the past two decades, the post-genomic era envisaged high-throughput technologies, resulting in more species with available genome sequences. In-depth multi-omics approaches have evolved to integrate cellular processes at various levels into a systems biology knowledge base. Metabolomics plays a crucial role in molecular networking to bridge the gaps between genotypes and phenotypes. However, the greater complexity of metabolites with diverse chemical and physical properties has limited the advances in plant metabolomics. For several years, applications of liquid/gas chromatography (LC/GC)-mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) have been constantly developed. Recently, ion mobility spectrometry (IMS)-MS has shown utility in resolving isomeric and isobaric metabolites. Both MS and NMR combined metabolomics significantly increased the identification and quantification of metabolites in an untargeted and targeted manner. Thus, hyphenated metabolomics tools will narrow the gap between the number of metabolite features and the identified metabolites. Metabolites change in response to environmental conditions, including biotic and abiotic stress factors. The spatial distribution of metabolites across different organs, tissues, cells and cellular compartments is a trending research area in metabolomics. Herein, we review recent technological advancements in metabolomics and their applications in understanding plant stress biology and different levels of spatial organization. In addition, we discuss the opportunities and challenges in multiple stress interactions, multi-omics, and single-cell metabolomics.

Soybean Callus—A Potential Source of Tocopherols

In vitro cultures have been used as an effective means to achieve a high level of secondary metabolites in various plants, including soy. In this study, the contents of α-, γ-, and δ- tocopherol were quantified in soybean callus, and their amounts were compared to those of soybeans cultivated using the conventional tillage system with three weed controls (respectively without herbicide and with two variants of herbicide). Soybean callus was produced using Murashige and Skoog 1962 (MS) medium supplemented with 0.1 mg/L 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP) and 0. 1 mg/L Thidiazuron (TDZ). The highest amount of fresh callus was obtained from soybeans from the conventional tillage system with second weed control (S-metolachlor 960 g/L, imazamox 40 g/L, and propaquizafop 100 g/L) respectively 13,652.4 ± 1177.62 mg. The analyzed tocopherols were in much higher content in soy dry callus than the soybean seeds (5.63 µg/g compared with the 0.35 α-toco in soybean, 47.57 µg/g compared with 18.71 µg/g γ-toco or, 5.56 µg/g compared with 1.74 µg/g β-toco). The highest content of the three analyzed tocopherols was γ -tocopherol, both in callus and soybeans. Furthermore, the data showed that herbicides used in soybean culture significantly influenced both the in vitro callus production and the tocopherol callus content (p ˂ 0.05). Altogether, soybean callus can be an important source of tocopherols, and herbicides significantly influence in vitro callus production and the tocopherol callus content.