Botanical description, phytochemical constituents, ethnobotany, traditional medicinal use, and pharmacological activities of Stachys lavandulifolia Vahl.

Stachys lavandulifolia Vahl known as "mountain tea", is a perennial flowering plant belonging to the Lamiaceae family and is widespread in Iran, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Turkey and Turkmenistan. S. lavandulifolia is widely used in traditional medicine for its analgesic, anti-inflammatory and anxiolytic properties. This plant has different chemical compounds classes including terpenoids, iridoids, flavonoids and phenylethanoids that have been isolated from the aerial parts of it. This review covers the plant botany, traditional medicinal uses and chemical composition of S. lavandulifolia, along with its biological and pharmacological activities including clinical trial data. The information of this review article was obtained from different scientific databases such as Google scholar, Science Direct, Hindawi, SID, Scopus, PubMed, and ACS as well as traditional Persian books. Pharmacological and clinical studies, especially Anxiolytic activity and anti-inflammatory on the plant are relatively low, so these studies are suggested in the future. Also, phytochemical investigation on root of the plant is necessary.

Taxonomical Investigation, Chemical Composition, Traditional Use in Medicine, and Pharmacological Activities of Boswellia sacra Flueck.

Aromatic oleo-gum-resin secreted from B. sacra, reputed as frankincense, is widely used in traditional medicine to treat Alzheimer's disease, gastric disorders, hepatic disorders, etc. Frankincense is also used in the cosmetic, perfume, and beverage and food industries. Frankincense is a rich resource for bioactive compounds, especially boswellic acids and derivatives. Although several reports have described frankincense's constituents and pharmacological activities, there is no comprehensive study that covers the valuable information on this species. Therefore, the current review will focus on the phytochemistry, traditional uses, and pharmacological activities of B. sacra.

Diterpenoids from Zhumeria majdae roots as potential heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) modulators.

Four undescribed and 17 known diterpenoids were isolated from the roots of Zhumeria majdae Rech.f. & Wendelbo. Using 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy, ECD spectroscopy, and HRESIMS data analysis, the structures of the undescribed compounds were elucidated. The anti-proliferative activity of isolated compounds was evaluated against HeLa and MCF7 cancer cell lines. The binding affinity of all compounds to HSP90, one of the targets for the modern anticancer therapy, was investigated using surface plasmon resonance. The results demonstrated that lanugon Q interacted with the chaperone. To explain its mechanism of action, experimental and computational tests were also conducted.

Antiprotozoal activity of diterpenoids isolated from Zhumeria majdae- absolute configuration by circular dichroism.

PURPOSE: Zhumeria majdae, a unique species of the Zhumeria genus, is an endemic Iranian plant in the Lamiaceae family. Phytochemical investigation and biological activity of this plant are rarely reported. The current study aimed to find new antiprotozoal compounds from the roots of Z. majdae and to determine the absolute configuration of isolated compounds by circular dichroism. METHODS: The extraction process from roots and aerial parts of Z. majdae was carried out by hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol followed by testing their antiprotozoal effects against Leishmania donovani, Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, T. cruzi, and Plasmodium falciparum, respectively. Structure elucidation was done using 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy and HREIMS spectrometry. In addition, experimental and theoretical circular dichroism spectroscopy was used to establish absolute configuration. RESULTS: In comparison with aerial parts, the hexane extract from roots showed superior activity against T. b. rhodesiense, L. donovani and P. falciparum with IC50 values of 5.4, 1.6 and 2.1 µg/ml, respectively. From eight abietane-type diterpenoids identified in roots, six were reported for the first time in the genus Zhumeria. 11,14-dihydroxy-8,11,13-abietatrien-7-one (6) exhibited a promising biological activity against P. falciparum (IC50 8.65 µM), with a selectivity index (SI) of 4.6, and lanugon Q (8) showed an IC50 value of 0.13 µM and SI of 15.4 against T. b. rhodesiense. CONCLUSION: Altogether, according to the results, of 8 isolated compounds, dihydroxy-8,11,13-abietatrien-7-one (6) and lanugon Q (8) exhibited a promising activity against T. b. rhodesiense and P. falciparum. In conclusion, these compounds could be potential candidates for further analysis and may serve as lead compounds for the synthesis of antiprotozoal agents. Graphical abstract.

Cytotoxic activity of abietane diterpenoids from roots of Salvia sahendica by HPLC-based activity profiling

ABSTRACT Screening of medicinal plants from Iranian flora against human cancer cell-lines have shown that an hexane extract from roots of Salvia sahendica Boiss. & Buhse, Lamiaceae, is active against human cervical cancer (HeLa) and colorectal adenocarcinoma (Caco-2) cell-lines at the test concentration of 100 µg/ml (100% inhibition). Cytotoxicity of the extract was localized with the aid of HPLC-time-based activity profiling adapted to the tetrazolium colorimetric bioassay. Four abietane-type diterpenoids in active time-windows were identified as cytotoxic compounds namely: sahandone (1), sahandol (2), 12-deoxy-salvipisone (3) and sahandinone (4). Compound 1 showed the highest toxicity against HeLa cells (IC50 = 5.6 ± 0.1 µg/ml), which was comparable with betulinic acid (IC50 = 4.3 ± 1.2 µg/ml), the positive control. Compound 2 was active against the HeLa cells (IC50 = 8.9 ± 0.7 µg/ml) but not the Caco-2 cell-line. Compounds 1, 3 and 4 exhibited moderate activity (IC50 = 22.9-41.4 µg/ml) against the Caco-2 cells. This study reveals that the HeLa cells are more sensitive to all tested compounds than the Caco-2 cells. In silico molecular docking study showed a rigid binding of the compounds to tyrosine kinase pp60src, and proved their cytotoxic activity.