In Vitro and In Vivo Survey of Ethyl Acetate Extract of Acorus calamus (Sweet Flag) Rhizome on Toxoplasma gondii.

BACKGROUND: Toxoplasmosis is a zoonosis disease that can cause a variety range of manifestations in human specially fetus duration and immunodeficiency conditions. Due to toxicity and side effects of current treatment, we evaluated in vivo and in vitro effects of ethyl acetate extract of Acorus calamus rhizomes (rootstocks) on Toxoplasma gondii. METHODS: The plant, Acorus calamus, was collected from Sari, North of Iran in spring season. Ethyl acetate extract was provided from plant rhizomes using Soxhlet apparatus. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents of the extract were measured by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. The mortality effect of different concentrations (1-256 µg/ml) of the extract on Toxoplasma tachyzoites was assessed by flowcytometry and propidium iodide staining. For the therapeutic effect assessment, the tachyzoites were inoculated intraperitoneally to mice, and then these mice were orally and intraperitoneally administered different concentrations (32, 64, 128, and 256 mg/kg) of the extract. Also, an infected group received PBS including DMSO 1% as negative control, and an infected group administered sulfadiazine as positive control. For toxicity evaluation of this extract, a group only received dose 256 mg/kg. RESULTS: The plant extract was rich of phenolic compounds (41.27 ± 0.21 mg/g), whereas it contained fewer amounts of flavonoids (4.79 ± 0.01 mg/g). Results of in vitro experiments showed that there is an inverse relationship between the concentrations and the mortality of the parasites (IC50 = 200.01 ± 7.74 µg/ml). The highest percentage (62%) of dead tachyzoites was seen at maximum concentration of the extract. A significant longevity (8.9 days) was belonged to mice orally administered extract dose (256 mg/kg/day). CONCLUSION: The ethyl acetate extract of A. calamus rhizomes had significant anti-Toxoplasma activities either in vitro or in vivo. It may be connected to high amount of phenolic compounds. We suggest that the effects of different fractions and the admin types of the extract will be evaluated on the parasite.

Essential oil composition of Dracocephalum kotschyi Boiss. from Iran.

Dracocephalum kotschyi is one of the medicinal and fragrant herbs that can be found in natural locations of mountainous areas. In this investigation the hydrodistilled essential oils obtained from aerial parts of two populations of D. kotschyi collected from Siahbisheh and Baladeh were analysed by capillary GC-FID and GC-MS. Essential oil analysis led to the identification of 48 compounds that represented 85.9 and 90.0% of the total oil compositions, respectively. As the major group of compounds, oxygenated monoterpens comprised 45.5 and 57.4% in the essential oils of compounds as the main group in the essential oils of Siahbisheh and Baladeh samples, respectively. Disagreement in the major contents of the essential oils of these two samples may be ascribed to differences in the ecological, climatic and genetically factors.

Metabolism and resistance of Fusarium spp. to the manzamine alkaloids via a putative retro pictet-spengler reaction and utility of the rational design of antimalarial and antifungal agents.

As a part of our continuing investigation of the manzamine alkaloids we studied the in vitro activity of the ß-carboline containing manzamine alkaloids against Fusarium solani, Fusarium oxysporium, and Fusarium proliferatum by employing several bioassay techniques including one-dimensional direct bioautography, dilution, and plate susceptibility, and microtiter broth assays. In addition, we also studied the metabolism of the manzamine alkaloids by Fusarium spp. in order to facilitate the redesign of the compounds to prevent resistance of Fusarium spp. through metabolism. The present research reveals that the manzamine alkaloids are inactive against Fusarium spp. and the fungi transform manzamines via hydrolysis, reduction, and a retro Pictet-Spengler reaction. This is the first report to demonstrate an enzymatically retro Pictet-Spengler reaction. The results of this study reveal the utility of the rational design of metabolically stable antifungal agents from this class and the development of manzamine alkaloids as antimalarial drugs through the utilization of Fusarium's metabolic products to reconstruct the molecule.

Antibacterial activity of the essential oil and main components of two Dracocephalum species from Iran.

The antibacterial activity of Dracocephalum polychaetum and D. surmandinum essential oils and two main components were investigated. Essential oils of the plants were analysed by GC and GC-MS. Twenty-three components were characterised in the essential oil of D. polychaetum. The oil was rich in oxygenated (73.1%) and hydrocarbon (25.0%) monoterpenes including perilla aldehyde (63.4 %) and limonene (22.1%) as the major constituents. From 25 identified compounds (97.8%) in the oil of D. surmandinum perilla aldehyde (54.3%) and limonene (30.1%) were the main constituents. The bioassays exhibited that all of the Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria tested were highly inhibited in the presence of the oils and main components investigated. The most sensitive microorganism to the oils was found to be Staphylococcus epidermidis with the lowest MIC value of 0.3 mgmL(-1). The resistant Gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa was highly inhibited by the oil of D. polychaetum with MIC value of 2.4 mgmL(-1).

Composition, cytotoxicity and antioxidant activity of the essential oil of Dracocephalum surmandinum from Iran.

The composition of the hydrodistilled essential oil from the aerial parts of Dracocephalum surmandinum was analyzed by GC and GC-MS. Monoterpenoids, including oxygenated compounds and hydrocarbons, comprising 63.4 and 33.9%, respectively, were the principal compound groups of the essential oil. In total, 25 constituents accounting for 97.8% of the oil were identified. Perilla aldehyde (54.3%) and limonene (30.1%) were characterized as the main components. The essential oil of D. surmandinum and its two main constituents showed a marked antioxidant and radical scavenging activity using different model systems, including 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) and beta-carotene-linoleic acid blenching assays. The results of cytotoxicity activity using the MTT assay exhibited that the oil of D. surmandinum has a good effect against human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) and erythromyeloblastoid leukemia cell lines (K562) with IC50 values of 14 and 16 microg/mL, respectively. The cytotoxic potential of D. surmandinum oil against rat adrenal pheochromocytoma cell line (PC 12) was weak (IC50 of >100 microg/mL). Perilla aldehyde and limonene, the main constituents of D. surmandinum essential oil, inhibited all investigated cell growth in a dose- and time-dependent manner with IC50 values ranged from 0.25-5.0 mmol/L.

Antibacterial activity and composition of the essential oil of Nepeta menthoides from Iran.

The antibacterial activity and chemical composition of the essential oil obtained from the aerial flowering parts of Nepeta menthoides were analyzed by GC and GC-MS. Twenty-nine compounds representing 97.6% of the total oil were identified. Oxygenated monoterpenes (71.9%) were the principal fraction of the oil with 1,8-cineole (33.8%) and 4aa-7alpha-7aalpha-nepetalactone (23.2%) as the main constituents. The antibacterial activity of the oil and its two main constituents were tested against seven bacteria. High activity of the oil and its two main constituents was demonstrated against all the tested bacteria with MIC values in the range of 1.8 - 7.2, 0.9 - 7.2 and 1.8 - 15 mg/mL, respectively.