0000000000025332
AUTHOR
Alessandra Guerrini
showing 6 related works from this author
Phytochemical and pharmacological properties of essential oils from Cedrus species
2017
Natural products frequently exert pharmacological activities. The present review gives an overview of the ethnobotany, phytochemistry and pharmacology of the Cedrus genus, e.g. cytotoxic, spasmolytic immunomodulatory, antiallergic, anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities. Cancer patients frequently seek remedies from traditional medicinal plants that are believed to exert less side effects than conventional therapy with synthetic drugs. A long-lasting goal of anti-cancer and anti-microbial therapy research is to find compounds with reduced side effects compared to currently approved drugs. In this respect, Cedrus species might be of interest. The essential oil isolated from Cedrus libani…
Phytochemical profile and bioactivity of traditional ayurvedic decoctions and hydro-alcoholic macerations of Boerhaavia diffusa L. and Curculigo orch…
2015
Decoctions (DECs) and hydro-alcoholic extracts (HEs) prepared from roots of Boerhaavia diffusa L. (Nyctaginaceae) and Curculigo orchioides Gaertn. (Hypoxidaceae) were phytochemically characterised by HPLC-DAD and profiled for their antioxidant, antigenotoxic and cytotoxic activities. B. diffusa DEC was rich in ferulic acid and vanillin, while the HE also contained boeravinone B and eupalitin. Both C. orchioides HE and DEC displayed the main occurrence of orcinol-β-d-glucoside and curculigoside A. Antioxidant activity was assayed through spectrophotometric DPPH, ABTS and β-carotene bleaching test, and using (HP)TLC bioautographic strategies. For both crude drugs, HE was the best performing p…
In Vitro Study of the Cytotoxic, Cytostatic, and Antigenotoxic Profile of Hemidesmus indicus (L.) R.Br. (Apocynaceae) Crude Drug Extract on T Lymphob…
2018
In traditional Indian medicine, the crude drug Hemidesmus indicus rootâcommonly known as Indian sarsaparillaâis used alone or in poly-herbal preparations for the treatment of a wide range of diseases. The present study focuses on the cancer chemopreventive and therapeutic potential of H. indicus extracts on an acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell line (CCRF-CEM). With this aim in mind, we subjected H. indicus roots to two subsequent extractions (hydro-alcoholic extraction and soxhlet extraction). As DNA damage is an important prerequisite for the induction of mutations/cancer by genotoxic carcinogens, cancer chemoprevention may be achieved by preventing genotoxicity. Through an integrated …
Phytochemical Analysis and Cytotoxicity Towards Multidrug-Resistant Leukemia Cells of Essential Oils Derived from Lebanese Medicinal Plants
2012
Juniperus excelsa fruit essential oil as well as J. oxycedrus, Cedrus libani, and Pinus pinea wood essential oils have been obtained with yields between 2.2 ± 0.3 % to 3.4 ± 0.5 % and analyzed by gas chromatography. Sesquiterpenes mainly characterized C. libani and J. oxycedrus essential oils, while in P. pinea and J. excelsa, monoterpenes were the most abundant compounds. In J. oxycedrus, cis-calamenene (7.8 %), cuparene (3.8 %), and cis-thujopsenal (2.0 %) have been detected for the first time. The cytotoxic activity of these essential oils against drug-sensitive CCRF-CEM and multidrug-resistant P-glycoprotein-expressing CEM/ADR5000 leukemia cells has been investigated (IC₅₀ values: 29.46…
Laurus nobilis L. Seed Extract Reveals Collateral Sensitivity in Multidrug-Resistant P-Glycoprotein-Expressing Tumor Cells.
2015
The frequent failure of standard cancer chemotherapy requires the development of novel drugs capable of killing otherwise drug-resistant tumors. Here, we have investigated a chloroform extract of Laurus nobilis seeds. Fatty acids and 23 constituents of the volatile fraction were identified by gas chromotography/flame ionization detection (GC/FID) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), in good agreement with (1)H NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) spectrum. Multidrug-resistant P-glycoprotein-expressing CEM/ADR5000 leukemia cells were hypersensitive (collaterally sensitive) toward this extract compared to drug-sensitive CCRF-CEM cells, whereas CEM/ADR5000 cells were 2586-fold resista…