In this study, a phytochemical analysis was performed, for the first time, on Iris marsica I. Ric... more In this study, a phytochemical analysis was performed, for the first time, on Iris marsica I. Ricci e Colas. In particular, the attention was focused on the constituents of the roots. Twenty-one compounds were isolated by column chromatography and were analyzed/identified by NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. They all own chemotaxonomic, ethno-pharmacological and nutraceutical relevance which allowed us to provide a phytochemical rationale, for the correct botanical classification of this species, for the employment of its roots in folk medicine like for all the other species belonging to the Iris genus and, lastly, for their further uses as food with important healthy benefits. All of these parts were broadly discussed about within the text.
Dihydrostilbene derivatives plus kinsenoside from the roots of the rare species Bipinnula fimbria... more Dihydrostilbene derivatives plus kinsenoside from the roots of the rare species Bipinnula fimbriata (Poepp.) I.M.Johnst.
A re-examination of Scrophularia canina L. confirmed the presence of iridoid glucosides considere... more A re-examination of Scrophularia canina L. confirmed the presence of iridoid glucosides considered as chemotaxonomic markers for the Scrophulariaceae family, like aucubin, harpagide and 8-O-acetylharpagide, besides the further presence of 8-epiloganic acid, which is, indeed, considered the biogenetic precursor of iridoids normally found in Scrophulariaceae, and was recognized here for the first time in the studied species. Also verbascoside and (E)-phytol were evidenced for the first time in S. canina. The former compound is an almost ubiquitous glycosidic phenyl-ethanoid, which attains systematic importance when in co-occurrence with iridoids, and its taxonomical implications were discussed. The latter compound, even though it is omnipresent, is interestingly endowed with several biological activities, which may give an additional reason for the traditional uses of this plant.
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
In this work, a phytochemical study performed on the leaves of the rare species, Wollemia nobilis... more In this work, a phytochemical study performed on the leaves of the rare species, Wollemia nobilis W.G. Jones, K.D. Hill & J.M. Allen, is reported. By means of classical column chromatography and NMR Spectroscopy and Mass Spectrometry, nine compounds were evidenced. These were: pheophorbide a (1), isocupressic acid (2), acetyl-isocupressic acid (3), sandaracopimaric acid (4), agathic acid (5), 7e4 0-4 000-triO methyl -agathisflavone (6), 7e4 0-7 00-4 000-tetra-O-methyl-agathisflavone (7), caffeic acid (8) and shikimic acid (9). Compared to our previous phytochemical analysis on the male cones, some further compounds were identified i.e. compounds 1, 5, 6, 7 and 8. This confirmed the previous chemotaxonomic considerations of the species but also added new ones which were discussed within the text. In addition, a possible different accumulation of secondary metabolites in the tissues and organs of this plant was even noticed.
In this work, the first phytochemical analysis on Cephalanthus glabratus (Spreng.) K.Schum. regar... more In this work, the first phytochemical analysis on Cephalanthus glabratus (Spreng.) K.Schum. regarding its composition in iridoids was reported. The analysis was carried out by following current usual methodologies in the extraction, separation and identification procedures. Four compounds were isolated, i.e., the iridoid loganin (1) and the seco-iridoids sweroside (2), secologanin (3) and secoxyloganin (4). Their presence allowed to provide important confirmations about the chemotaxonomy of the genus and the family this species belongs to.
In this review article, the occurrence of harpagide in the plant kingdom and its associated biolo... more In this review article, the occurrence of harpagide in the plant kingdom and its associated biological activities are presented and detailed for the first time. The presence of harpagide has been reported in several botanical families within Asteridae, and harpagide has been observed to exert a wide number of biological activities such as cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective. These results show how harpagide can be recovered from several natural sources for several pharmacological purposes even if there is a lot to still be studied. Nowadays, the interest is related to its presence in phytomedicines. Threfore, these studies are useful to support and validate the large use of several plants in the folklore medicine.
The phytochemical analysis on the aerial parts of Teucrium capitatum L. collected from a new popu... more The phytochemical analysis on the aerial parts of Teucrium capitatum L. collected from a new population in Central Italy, led to the identification of eight compounds i.e., pheophytin a (1), poliumoside (2), apigenin (3), luteolin (4), cirsimaritin (5), cirsiliol (6), 8-O-acetyl-harpagide (7) and teucardoside (8) belonging to four different classes of secondary metabolites. Pheophytin a (1) represents a newly identified compound in the genus whereas compounds (7-8) are newly identified compound in the species. The chemotaxonomic and ethnobotanical aspects relative to the presence of these compounds were widely discussed suggesting important conclusions for both.
Painting and body art are increasing their utilization as well as their cultural impact, since pi... more Painting and body art are increasing their utilization as well as their cultural impact, since piercing and tattoos are expanding social phenomena, involving many young people. However, the utilized materials often enter the market with insufficient control and several cases of skin damages are reported. Safety of the utilized products must be ensured by adequate quality controls which must be easily made, rapid, low cost, clear and persuasive.
Helichrysum stoechas (L.) Moench is one of the scientific names of everlasting flower, which has ... more Helichrysum stoechas (L.) Moench is one of the scientific names of everlasting flower, which has traditionally been used as an ornamental, medicinal and food plant. The aim of this study was to identify the main phytochemical constituents as well as to evaluate the potential of this plant in terms of antioxidant, antidiabetic and neuroprotective activities. The phytochemical analysis of the methanolic extract allowed for the identification of ten constituents mainly of phenolic nature and with chemosystematic relevance: two heterodimeric phloroglucinols, arzanol (1) and compound (3), one homodimeric α-pyrone, helipyrone (2), three phenolic acids, p-hydroxybenzoic (4), caffeic (5) and neochlorogenic (6) acids, one polymethoxylated and two glycosidic flavonoids, 5,7-dihydroxy-3,6,8-trimethoxyflavone (7), isoquercitrin (8) and quercetagetin-7-O-glucopyranoside (9) together with santinol B (10). Bioassays showed significant antioxidant and antiproliferative effects and for the first time the potential of Helichrysum stoechas to inhibit the MAO-A, AChE and TYR enzymes, as well as to exert anti-α-glucosidase and anti-dipeptidyl peptidase-4 activities.
In this work, the fifth part of an ongoing phytochemical study on Wollemia nobilis was reported. ... more In this work, the fifth part of an ongoing phytochemical study on Wollemia nobilis was reported. The attention was now focused on the male reproduction organs of which the content in both primary and secondary metabolites was analyzed. Twenty compounds, belonging to seven different classes of natural compounds, were identified from the ethanolic extract by means of Column Chromatography and NMR and MS Spectroscopy. They all represent new compounds for the studied organ whereas some of them are also new constituents of the genus or even previously undescribed phytochemicals. Their presence was able to display a general overview of these organs from the phytochemical standpoint and to provide more elements in confirmation with the current botanical classification of the species. Moreover, they add a further experimental evidence of the tendency of this species to accumulate different metabolites in different organs. This characteristic as well as the occurrence of several compounds with added value, make this plant a possible candidate for large scale cultivation with extractive purposes to obtain useful phytochemicals for botanicals and pharmaceutical fields. Moreover, they offer the opportunity to develop an additional method of conservation and protection for this endangered and very rare species.
In this work, an interesting potential application of phytochemistry is reported. In particular, ... more In this work, an interesting potential application of phytochemistry is reported. In particular, we employed the Sporne diagrams to provide information about the evolution of some different Lamiaceae species in relation to their content in secondary metabolites. In more details, fifteen species belonging to six different genera were studied i.e. Ajuga L., Galeopsis L., Melittis L., Sideritis L., Stachys L. and Teucrium L. The selected secondary metabolites were iridoids because of their wide occurrence and distribution within all the family, thus providing a more accurate and general overview. Nineteen different compounds of this class were identified in the studied species. The aim of this work was to verify if the evolutionary data available in literature for the studied species and based on molecular studies, matched with those obtained from a more phytochemical approach or not. The final objective was to ascertain a correspondence between these two opposite methods. The results of this study clearly showed that, only in some cases, this correspondence was present. This may suggest the possibility to use both methods for drawing phylogenetic trees of plants. Anyway, this study is not general and is quite limited in studied species and in collection areas and does not intend to affirm its absolute accuracy even though it may be a good starting point for future researches in this field.
Teucrium polium L. is a species with ancient ethno-botanical uses for its anti-inflammatory actio... more Teucrium polium L. is a species with ancient ethno-botanical uses for its anti-inflammatory action which is mainly due to the phenolics content. On the other side, the presence of neo-clerodanes, which exert hepatotoxic action, may explain why in recent years the medicinal uses of this species have drastically diminished. In this paper we report on the isolation of a new natural neo-clerodane diterpenoid, namely 20-O-acetyl-teucrasiatin (2), together with other twelve relevant compounds in the fields of chemotaxonomy and ethnomedicine. Nevertheless, the total absence of iridoids and in particular of the chemotaxonomic markers of the family and of the genus itself, may reveal an intraspecific variability of T. polium with different chemotypes which may contain or not iridoids.
Electrophoretic tests on esterase using the conventional buffer have revealed in O. montanum a mo... more Electrophoretic tests on esterase using the conventional buffer have revealed in O. montanum a monomorphic locus. The use of a different buffer system and/or tests of thermostability have shown a more complex enzymatic system. These results may be considered in neutralist-selectionist controversy, that implies estimation of genetic variability for its solution.
The ethanolic extract derived from the whole plant of Pardoglossum cheirifolium was submitted to ... more The ethanolic extract derived from the whole plant of Pardoglossum cheirifolium was submitted to phytochemical investigation. A new pyrrolizidine alkaloid, 3′-O-acetylleptanthine N-oxide (1), was isolated together with three known compounds of the same class, i.e., heliosupine N-oxide (2), heliosupine (3), and heliovicine (4). The structure of the new compound was elucidated after extensive mono- and bidimensional NMR experiments and confirmed by a MS experiment.
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
In this study, a phytochemical analysis was performed, for the first time, on Iris marsica I. Ric... more In this study, a phytochemical analysis was performed, for the first time, on Iris marsica I. Ricci e Colas. In particular, the attention was focused on the constituents of the roots. Twenty-one compounds were isolated by column chromatography and were analyzed/identified by NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. They all own chemotaxonomic, ethno-pharmacological and nutraceutical relevance which allowed us to provide a phytochemical rationale, for the correct botanical classification of this species, for the employment of its roots in folk medicine like for all the other species belonging to the Iris genus and, lastly, for their further uses as food with important healthy benefits. All of these parts were broadly discussed about within the text.
Dihydrostilbene derivatives plus kinsenoside from the roots of the rare species Bipinnula fimbria... more Dihydrostilbene derivatives plus kinsenoside from the roots of the rare species Bipinnula fimbriata (Poepp.) I.M.Johnst.
A re-examination of Scrophularia canina L. confirmed the presence of iridoid glucosides considere... more A re-examination of Scrophularia canina L. confirmed the presence of iridoid glucosides considered as chemotaxonomic markers for the Scrophulariaceae family, like aucubin, harpagide and 8-O-acetylharpagide, besides the further presence of 8-epiloganic acid, which is, indeed, considered the biogenetic precursor of iridoids normally found in Scrophulariaceae, and was recognized here for the first time in the studied species. Also verbascoside and (E)-phytol were evidenced for the first time in S. canina. The former compound is an almost ubiquitous glycosidic phenyl-ethanoid, which attains systematic importance when in co-occurrence with iridoids, and its taxonomical implications were discussed. The latter compound, even though it is omnipresent, is interestingly endowed with several biological activities, which may give an additional reason for the traditional uses of this plant.
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
In this work, a phytochemical study performed on the leaves of the rare species, Wollemia nobilis... more In this work, a phytochemical study performed on the leaves of the rare species, Wollemia nobilis W.G. Jones, K.D. Hill & J.M. Allen, is reported. By means of classical column chromatography and NMR Spectroscopy and Mass Spectrometry, nine compounds were evidenced. These were: pheophorbide a (1), isocupressic acid (2), acetyl-isocupressic acid (3), sandaracopimaric acid (4), agathic acid (5), 7e4 0-4 000-triO methyl -agathisflavone (6), 7e4 0-7 00-4 000-tetra-O-methyl-agathisflavone (7), caffeic acid (8) and shikimic acid (9). Compared to our previous phytochemical analysis on the male cones, some further compounds were identified i.e. compounds 1, 5, 6, 7 and 8. This confirmed the previous chemotaxonomic considerations of the species but also added new ones which were discussed within the text. In addition, a possible different accumulation of secondary metabolites in the tissues and organs of this plant was even noticed.
In this work, the first phytochemical analysis on Cephalanthus glabratus (Spreng.) K.Schum. regar... more In this work, the first phytochemical analysis on Cephalanthus glabratus (Spreng.) K.Schum. regarding its composition in iridoids was reported. The analysis was carried out by following current usual methodologies in the extraction, separation and identification procedures. Four compounds were isolated, i.e., the iridoid loganin (1) and the seco-iridoids sweroside (2), secologanin (3) and secoxyloganin (4). Their presence allowed to provide important confirmations about the chemotaxonomy of the genus and the family this species belongs to.
In this review article, the occurrence of harpagide in the plant kingdom and its associated biolo... more In this review article, the occurrence of harpagide in the plant kingdom and its associated biological activities are presented and detailed for the first time. The presence of harpagide has been reported in several botanical families within Asteridae, and harpagide has been observed to exert a wide number of biological activities such as cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective. These results show how harpagide can be recovered from several natural sources for several pharmacological purposes even if there is a lot to still be studied. Nowadays, the interest is related to its presence in phytomedicines. Threfore, these studies are useful to support and validate the large use of several plants in the folklore medicine.
The phytochemical analysis on the aerial parts of Teucrium capitatum L. collected from a new popu... more The phytochemical analysis on the aerial parts of Teucrium capitatum L. collected from a new population in Central Italy, led to the identification of eight compounds i.e., pheophytin a (1), poliumoside (2), apigenin (3), luteolin (4), cirsimaritin (5), cirsiliol (6), 8-O-acetyl-harpagide (7) and teucardoside (8) belonging to four different classes of secondary metabolites. Pheophytin a (1) represents a newly identified compound in the genus whereas compounds (7-8) are newly identified compound in the species. The chemotaxonomic and ethnobotanical aspects relative to the presence of these compounds were widely discussed suggesting important conclusions for both.
Painting and body art are increasing their utilization as well as their cultural impact, since pi... more Painting and body art are increasing their utilization as well as their cultural impact, since piercing and tattoos are expanding social phenomena, involving many young people. However, the utilized materials often enter the market with insufficient control and several cases of skin damages are reported. Safety of the utilized products must be ensured by adequate quality controls which must be easily made, rapid, low cost, clear and persuasive.
Helichrysum stoechas (L.) Moench is one of the scientific names of everlasting flower, which has ... more Helichrysum stoechas (L.) Moench is one of the scientific names of everlasting flower, which has traditionally been used as an ornamental, medicinal and food plant. The aim of this study was to identify the main phytochemical constituents as well as to evaluate the potential of this plant in terms of antioxidant, antidiabetic and neuroprotective activities. The phytochemical analysis of the methanolic extract allowed for the identification of ten constituents mainly of phenolic nature and with chemosystematic relevance: two heterodimeric phloroglucinols, arzanol (1) and compound (3), one homodimeric α-pyrone, helipyrone (2), three phenolic acids, p-hydroxybenzoic (4), caffeic (5) and neochlorogenic (6) acids, one polymethoxylated and two glycosidic flavonoids, 5,7-dihydroxy-3,6,8-trimethoxyflavone (7), isoquercitrin (8) and quercetagetin-7-O-glucopyranoside (9) together with santinol B (10). Bioassays showed significant antioxidant and antiproliferative effects and for the first time the potential of Helichrysum stoechas to inhibit the MAO-A, AChE and TYR enzymes, as well as to exert anti-α-glucosidase and anti-dipeptidyl peptidase-4 activities.
In this work, the fifth part of an ongoing phytochemical study on Wollemia nobilis was reported. ... more In this work, the fifth part of an ongoing phytochemical study on Wollemia nobilis was reported. The attention was now focused on the male reproduction organs of which the content in both primary and secondary metabolites was analyzed. Twenty compounds, belonging to seven different classes of natural compounds, were identified from the ethanolic extract by means of Column Chromatography and NMR and MS Spectroscopy. They all represent new compounds for the studied organ whereas some of them are also new constituents of the genus or even previously undescribed phytochemicals. Their presence was able to display a general overview of these organs from the phytochemical standpoint and to provide more elements in confirmation with the current botanical classification of the species. Moreover, they add a further experimental evidence of the tendency of this species to accumulate different metabolites in different organs. This characteristic as well as the occurrence of several compounds with added value, make this plant a possible candidate for large scale cultivation with extractive purposes to obtain useful phytochemicals for botanicals and pharmaceutical fields. Moreover, they offer the opportunity to develop an additional method of conservation and protection for this endangered and very rare species.
In this work, an interesting potential application of phytochemistry is reported. In particular, ... more In this work, an interesting potential application of phytochemistry is reported. In particular, we employed the Sporne diagrams to provide information about the evolution of some different Lamiaceae species in relation to their content in secondary metabolites. In more details, fifteen species belonging to six different genera were studied i.e. Ajuga L., Galeopsis L., Melittis L., Sideritis L., Stachys L. and Teucrium L. The selected secondary metabolites were iridoids because of their wide occurrence and distribution within all the family, thus providing a more accurate and general overview. Nineteen different compounds of this class were identified in the studied species. The aim of this work was to verify if the evolutionary data available in literature for the studied species and based on molecular studies, matched with those obtained from a more phytochemical approach or not. The final objective was to ascertain a correspondence between these two opposite methods. The results of this study clearly showed that, only in some cases, this correspondence was present. This may suggest the possibility to use both methods for drawing phylogenetic trees of plants. Anyway, this study is not general and is quite limited in studied species and in collection areas and does not intend to affirm its absolute accuracy even though it may be a good starting point for future researches in this field.
Teucrium polium L. is a species with ancient ethno-botanical uses for its anti-inflammatory actio... more Teucrium polium L. is a species with ancient ethno-botanical uses for its anti-inflammatory action which is mainly due to the phenolics content. On the other side, the presence of neo-clerodanes, which exert hepatotoxic action, may explain why in recent years the medicinal uses of this species have drastically diminished. In this paper we report on the isolation of a new natural neo-clerodane diterpenoid, namely 20-O-acetyl-teucrasiatin (2), together with other twelve relevant compounds in the fields of chemotaxonomy and ethnomedicine. Nevertheless, the total absence of iridoids and in particular of the chemotaxonomic markers of the family and of the genus itself, may reveal an intraspecific variability of T. polium with different chemotypes which may contain or not iridoids.
Electrophoretic tests on esterase using the conventional buffer have revealed in O. montanum a mo... more Electrophoretic tests on esterase using the conventional buffer have revealed in O. montanum a monomorphic locus. The use of a different buffer system and/or tests of thermostability have shown a more complex enzymatic system. These results may be considered in neutralist-selectionist controversy, that implies estimation of genetic variability for its solution.
The ethanolic extract derived from the whole plant of Pardoglossum cheirifolium was submitted to ... more The ethanolic extract derived from the whole plant of Pardoglossum cheirifolium was submitted to phytochemical investigation. A new pyrrolizidine alkaloid, 3′-O-acetylleptanthine N-oxide (1), was isolated together with three known compounds of the same class, i.e., heliosupine N-oxide (2), heliosupine (3), and heliovicine (4). The structure of the new compound was elucidated after extensive mono- and bidimensional NMR experiments and confirmed by a MS experiment.
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
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