METHODS: The N. oleracea fractions were obtained using solid phase extraction (SPE). A metabolomics approach that coupled the use of proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) with multivariate data analysis (MVDA) was applied to distinguish the metabolite variations among the N. oleracea fractions, as well as to assess the correlation between metabolite variation and the studied bioactivities (DPPH free radical scavenging and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities). The bioactive fractions were then subjected to ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) analysis to profile and identify the potential bioactive constituents.
RESULTS: The principal component analysis (PCA) discriminated EF and MF from the other fractions with the higher distributions of phenolics. Partial least squares (PLS) analysis revealed a strong correlation between the phenolics and the studied bioactivities in the EF and the MF. The UHPLC-MS/MS profiling of EF and MF had tentatively identified the phenolics present. Together with some non-phenolic metabolites, a total of 37 metabolites were tentatively assigned.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this work supported that N. oleracea is a rich source of phenolics that can be potential antioxidants and α-glucosidase inhibitors for the management of diabetes. To our knowledge, this study is the first report on the metabolite-bioactivity correlation and UHPLC-MS/MS analysis of N. oleracea fractions.
AIM OF THE STUDY: To evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity as well as the preliminary mechanism of S. ferruginea parasitizing on Tecoma stans.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The anti-inflammatory capability of freeze-dried stem aqueous extract was assessed via inhibition of inflammatory cytokines interleukin- (IL-) 1β, IL-6, IL-10, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. The underlying anti-inflammatory mechanism was deciphered through reverse transcriptase and real time quantitative polymerase chain reactions (RT-PCR and qPCR) for inducible NO synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), IL-1β, and TNF-α mRNA expression.
RESULTS: The results exhibited that aqueous extract of freeze-dried S. ferruginea stem sample concentration-dependently inhibited IL-1β protein production along with the down regulation of iNOS and IL-1β mRNA expression. Moreover, it significantly suppressed the protein release of IL-6 and IL-10 in a concentration-dependent manner. However, it slightly reduced TNF-α at higher sample concentration (250 μg/mL) without affecting the mRNA expression levels of COX-2 and TNF-α.
CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that S. ferruginea parasitizing on Tecoma stans exerted anti-inflammatory capability attributed to inhibition of iNOS and IL-1β mRNA expression, NO creation, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α protein production, indicating this plant might be a useful plant-derived candidate against inflammation.
RESULTS: A total of 31 constituents comprising primary and secondary metabolites belonging to the chemical classes of fatty acids, amino acids, sugars, terpenoids and phenolic compounds were identified. Shade-dried leaves were identified to possess the highest concentrations of bioactive secondary metabolites such as chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, luteolin, orthosiphol and apigenin, followed by microwave-dried samples. Freeze-dried leaves had higher concentrations of choline, amino acids leucine, alanine and glutamine and sugars such as fructose and α-glucose, but contained the lowest levels of secondary metabolites.
CONCLUSION: Metabolite profiling coupled with multivariate analysis identified shade drying as the best method to prepare OS leaves as Java tea or to include in traditional medicine preparation. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.