0000000000429695
AUTHOR
Domenico Trombetta
The problem of misidentification between edible and poisonous wild plants: Reports from the Mediterranean area
Abstract Today, in many European countries, people are looking for wild edible plants to experience new tastes and flavors, by following the new trend of being green and environmentally friendly. Young borage and spinach leaves can be easily confused by inexpert pickers with those of other plants, including poisonous ones, such as Mandragora autumnalis Bertol. (mandrake) or Digitalis purpurea L. (foxglove), common in southern and northern Italy respectively. In the last twenty years, several cases of intoxication by accidental ingestion of mandrake and foxglove have been reported. The purpose of this work was to perform a pharmacognostic characterization of young leaves from borage, mandrak…
Biomolecular characterization of wild sicilian oregano: phytochemical screening of essential oils and extracts, and evaluation of their antioxidant activities.
An extensive survey of wild Sicilian oregano was made. A total of 57 samples were collected from various sites, followed by taxonomic characterization from an agronomic perspective. Based on morphological and production characteristics obtained from the 57 samples, cluster analysis was used to divide the samples into homogeneous groups, to identify the best biotypes. All samples were analyzed for their phytochemical content, applying a cascade-extraction protocol and hydrodistillation, to obtain the non volatile components and the essential oils, respectively. The extracts contained thirteen polyphenol derivatives, i.e., four flavanones, seven flavones, and two organic acids. Their qualitat…
Wild Sicilian Rosemary: Phytochemical and Morphological Screening and Antioxidant Activity Evaluation of Extracts and Essential Oils
To identify the best biotypes, an extensive survey of Sicilian wild rosemary was carried out by collecting 57 samples from various sites, followed by taxonomic characterization from an agronomic perspective. All the biotypes collected were classified as Rosmarinus officinalis L. A cluster analysis based on the morphological characteristics of the plants allowed the division of the biotypes into seven main groups, although the characteristics examined were found to be highly similar and not area-dependent. Moreover, all samples were analyzed for their phytochemical content, applying an extraction protocol to obtain the nonvolatile components and hydrodistillation to collect the essential oil…
Polyphenol Characterization, Antioxidant and Skin Whitening Properties of Alnus cordata Stem Bark
In this study, we investigated the phenolic composition of the crude extract (MeOH 80 %) of Alnus cordata (Loisel.) Duby stem bark (ACE) and its antioxidant and skin whitening properties. RP-LC-DAD analysis showed a high content of hydroxycinnamic acids (47.64 %), flavanones (26.74 %) and diarylheptanoids (17.69 %). Furthermore, ACE exhibited a dose-dependent antioxidant and free-radical scavenging activity, expressed as half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50 ): Oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC, IC50 1.78 μg mL-1 )>Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC, IC50 3.47 μg mL-1 )>2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH, IC50 5.83 μg mL-1 )>β-carotene bleaching (IC50 11.58 μg mL-1 )…
Essential oil of Citrus lumia Risso: Phytochemical profile, antioxidant properties and activity on the central nervous system
Citrus lumia Risso Essential oil Antioxidant properties Anti-cholinesterase activity Cytotoxicity Neuroactive effects 1. Introduction Plants that produce essential oils (EOs) represent a large part of natural flora and an important resource in various fields such as pharmaceutical, food and cosmetic industries, due to their flavor, fra- grance and biological activity (Swamy et al., 2016). EOs play a pivotal role in the growth and colonization of plants, giving color and scent to reproductive organs, attracting pollinators, favoring seed dispersion (Sharifi-Rad et al., 2017), and defending the plant against abiotic (light, temperature, etc.) and biotics (herbivores, harmful insects and pa- t…
Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn. and Alnus cordata (Loisel) Duby as new sources of safe cosmetic and pharmacological anti-melanogenic agents
The genus Alnus (Betulaceae) comprises many species with a long history in traditional medicines. The crude extracts and isolated compounds from Alnus species exhibit a wide spectrum of in vitro and in vivo pharmacological activities (1). Phytochemical investigations revealed the presence of diarylheptanoids, a class of natural products typically found in Alnus genus with two aryl groups joined by a heptane chain in the main skeleton that have drawn attention due to their multiple biological properties and their therapeutic potential (2). A previous study reported that oregonin and other structurally analogous diarylheptanoids isolated from the bark of A. hirsuta showed inhibitory effects o…
Phytochemical, ecological and antioxidant evaluation of wild Sicilian thyme: Thymbra capitata (L.) Cav.
In a broad survey conducted throughout the Sicily region, 45 different sites were identified where thyme grows wild. All the biotypes collected were classified as Thymbra capitata (L.) Cav. (syn. Thymus capitatus (L.) Hoffmanns. & Link). Cluster analysis based on the main morphological characteristics of the plant led to the division of the biotypes into 3 major groups. All samples were analyzed for their secondary phytochemical metabolites identified in the extracts and the essential oils. LC-UV-DAD/ESI-MS and GC-FID/GC-MS have been applied to characterize the extracts and the essential oils, respectively. In the extracts, 15 flavonoid derivatives with taxifolin-di-O-glucoside and thymusin…