Antibacterial and antioxidant activities of traditional medicinal plants from the Erzurum region of Turkey.

BACKGROUND: In this study, 13 different extracts were investigated which are grown in the region of Erzurum. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to screen various plant extracts that are known and used for medicinal purposes such as Ferula communis L., Rumex patientia L., Gundelia tournefortii L., Rheum ribes L., Asphodeline taurica, Polygonum arenastrum, Allium schoenoprasum L., and Ferula orientalis L. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Medicinal parts of plants such as leaves, flowers, and stems were investigated by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, ferric reducing antioxidant power, and cupric reducing antioxidant capacity assays: Centaury and Blackthorn. Total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, and antimicrobial properties were also determined. Antibacterial and antifungal activities were investigated by the microdilution method and the agar diffusion method respectively. RESULTS: Accordingly, the results of the Rheum ribes L. plant have the highest antioxidant activity among all analyses made. But in almost all antioxidant analysis methods, the lowest antioxidant activity was found in Ferula orientalis L. According to the antibacterial analysis applied, it was found that the plant extracts were generally more effective on yeast strains than the test bacteria used; that is, most of the plants have antifungal effect. CONCLUSIONS: Due to their antimicrobial, antifungal, and antioxidant properties, the extracts of these plants might be used as natural sources in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.

Cytotoxic, Antiproliferative and Apoptotic Effects of Perillyl Alcohol and Its Biotransformation Metabolite on A549 and HepG2 Cancer Cell Lines.

BACKGROUND: A monoterpene, perillyl alcohol, has attracted attention in medicinal chemistry since it exhibited chemo-preventive and therapeutic properties against a variety of cancers. OBJECTIVE: In the present work, it was aimed to obtain derivatives of perillyl alcohol through microbial biotransformation and investigate their anticancer activities against A549 and HepG2 cancer cell lines. METHOD: Biotransformation studies were carried out in a α-medium for 7 days at 25oC. XTT assay was performed to investigate the anticancer activities of perillyl alcohol and its biotransformation metabolite, dehydroperillic acid, against A549 and HepG2 cell lines and their selectivity using healthy cell line, NIH/3T3. Cell proliferation ELISA, BRDU (colorimetric) assay was used for measurement of proliferation in replicative cells in which DNA synthesis occurs. Flow cytometric analyses were also carried out for measuring apoptotic cell percentages, caspase 3 activation and mitochondrial membrane potential. RESULTS: Biotransformation of perillyl alcohol with Fusarium culmorum yielded dehydroperillic acid in a yield of 20.4 %. In in vitro anticancer studies, perillyl alcohol was found to exert cytotoxicity against HepG2 cell line with an IC50 value of 409.2 µg/mL. However, this effect was not found to be selective because of its higher IC50 (250 µg/mL) value against NIH/3T3 cell line. On the other hand, dehydroperillic acid was found to be effective and also selective against A549 cell line with an IC50 value of 125 µg/mL and a selectivity index (SI) value of 400. Apoptosis inducing effects of dehydroperillic acid was better in A549 cell line. CONCLUSION: Dehydroperillic acid may be a good candidate for therapy of lung adenocarcinoma and may show this anticancer activity by inducing apoptosis.

Microbial transformations of isophorone by Alternaria alternata and Neurospora crassa.

Isophorone (3,5,5-trimethyl-2-cyclohexen-1-one), a monoterpene, and the structurally related 1,8-cineole and camphor, have demonstrated a protective effect against cancer, biological activity against a variety of microorganisms, and anti-oxidant properties. The derivatization of isophorone is, therefore, an important field of xenobiochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology. The aim of this study was to obtain derivatives of isophorone through microbial biotransformation and evaluate the biotransformation metabolites as potential antimicrobial agents. Incubation of isophorone with the fungi Alternaria alternata and Neurospora crassa afforded 4a-hydroxy- and 7-hydroxy-isophorone as transformation metabolites. The antimicrobial activities of isophorone and the metabolites were evaluated in vitro both by using agar dilution and microdilution methods. However, no significant antibacterial activity was observed when compared with those of standard substances.