Antioxidant activity, total phenol and total anthocyanin contents of Cornus sanguinea L subsp australis. [C.A. Mey.] Jav

Cornus sanguinea L subsp australis [C.A. Mey.] Jav. [Cornaceae] is a native species in north and northwest of Iran. It is locally named Siah-al. The genus Cornus is rich source of anthocyanins. In this study the antioxidant activity, total phenol and total anthocyanin contents of different extracts of C. sanguinea L subsp australis. were investigated for the first time. The fruits were extracted with ethyl acetate, methanol [1% HCl] and water. DPPH and FRAP assay were performed for investigation of antioxidant activity of each extract. The total phenols were measured by Folin-Ciocalteu method while total anthocyanins were detected by spectroscopic method modified by Peksel. The results showed that C. sanguinea L subsp australis methanol [1% HCl] extract [CME] had the highest amount of anthocyanins [12.56 +/- 0.01 micro mol/g extract] as well as the highest amount of total phenolics [88.56 +/- 0.04 mg GAE/ g dry extract]. The CME were found to have the highest antioxidant activity in DPPH assay [IC[50]=90.43 micro g/ml] and in FRAP method [1419.167 +/- 0.025mmol FeII / g dry extract]. Radical scavenger activity of CME at 100 micro g/ml was comparable with alpha -tocopherol [20 micro g/ml] and with BHA [200 micro g/ml], p>0.05. There was a significant correlation between the total phenolic content an antioxidant activity of CME as well as total anthocyanin and antioxidant activity in DPPH assay [R[2] = 0.99]. The results suggest that C. sanguinea L subsp australis is a natural sources of anthocyanin and have considerable antioxidant activity

Cytotoxicity of two species of Glaucium from Iran

Numerous molecules in Papaveraceae family display interesting cytotoxic activities against tumor cell lines in vitro and hints of anticancer activities in vivo have been reported in a few cases. Numerous molecules in this family display interesting cytotoxic activities against tumor cell lines in vitro and hints of anticancer activities in vivo have been reported in a few cases. In this study we evaluated the cytotoxic effects of total and alkaloid extracts of Glaucium flavum Crantz and Glaucium grandiflurom Boiss. andamp; Huet, the two species of this genus, on cell proliferation of HT-29, Caco-2, T47D, and NIH/3T3 cell lines by MTT method and their IC[50]s were determined. The aerial parts of G. grandiflurom and G. flavum were collected from Jajrud in Tehran Province in June 2011. The effect of total extract and alkaloid extract of then on HT-29, Ta7D, NIH/3T3 and Caco-2 cells was determined by MTT assay. Alkaloid extracts showed a moderate cytotoxic effect on the cell lines. IC[50] values confirmed that the growth and proliferation of NIH/3T3 cells were less affected in comparison to other cell lines. The effects of alkaloid extracts of both plants on human colon adenocarcinoma cell lines [HT-29, Caco-2], showed that these extracts contain certain compounds that can inhibit the proliferation of colon cancerous cells

17 Beta-estradiol and progesterone upregulate cyclooxygenase-2 expression in the human gingival fibroblasts

Gingivitis is associated with 60-75% of all pregnancies and elevated levels of 17beta -estradiol and progesterone is known to increase gingival inflammation and the proinflammatory prostaglandins in the human gingiva. Since cyclooxygenase-2 [COX-2] is an inducible enzyme responsible for the production of prostaglandins at the sites of inflammation, it is plausible to hypothesize that 17beta - estradiol and progesterone could contribute to gingival inflammation by upregulation of COX-2 expression and subsequent prostaglandin formation. To examine this hypothesis, primary cultures of human gingival fibroblasts [HGFs] from either sex were established. The cells were treated with different concentrations [10-5, 10-7, and 10-9 M] of 17beta -estradiol and progesterone, and expression of COX-2 protein was detected immunocytochemically. The growth potential and proliferation of these cells were studied using trypan blue exclusion method and MTT assay. The results show that both 17beta -estradiol and progesterone upregulate COX-2 expression in the HGFs significantly. In addition, progesterone is more effective than 17beta -estradiol to induce COX-2 expression at 10-5M but not at lower concentration [10-9M]. Furthermore, cells prepared from either sex do not show any difference in COX-2 expression following hormone treatment and neither hormones show any changes in proliferation of these cells. In conclusion, the results of this investigation clearly illustrate significant regulatory effects of 17beta -estradiol and progesterone on COX-2 expression in the cultured HGFs. Thus, one possible pathogenetic mechanism of the female sex hormone-associated gingivitis in vivo may be the synthesis of proinflammatory prostaglandins via upregulation of COX-2 expression by gingiva in response to elevated levels of circulating estrogens and progesterone