Natural Products Journal, The - Volume 15, Issue 7, 2025

The prevalence of parasites in Thailand, primarily transmitted through contaminated vegetables, poses a significant public health concern. Ensuring the safety of natural produce from both parasites and chemical residues necessitates robust sanitation measures.

This study aims to develop effective vegetable-washing solutions using papaya seed extract with potent anti-parasitic properties contamination in fresh vegetables.

Fresh vegetables contaminated with Strongyloides stercoralis larvae, Ascaris lumbricoides, and Taenia spp. eggs were subjected to various treatments: distilled water, tap water, vinegar (5%), papaya seeds extract (200 mg/L), lauryl glucoside (1%) from coconut oil, papaya seeds extract combined with lauryl glucoside, and Albendazole as a standard drug. Immersion for 5 minutes was followed by parasite observation using the sedimentation method over 60 minutes, examining inhibitory effects on parasite larvae movement.

Papaya seed extract achieved the most rapid cessation within 10 minutes for larvae movement, followed by vinegar and papaya seed extract combined with lauryl glucoside. Furthermore, papaya seed extract combined with lauryl glucoside exhibited the highest efficacy in the sedimentation larval and parasite eggs, followed by lauryl glucoside solution and papaya seed extract, surpassing the control group.

Papaya seeds extract immobilized larvae, while lauryl glucoside effectively eliminated parasite eggs from vegetables. Natural and organic compounds derived from papaya and coconut oil exhibit inherent diversification in their properties. These compounds originate from natural sources, showcasing distinct characteristics attributed to their organic nature. These results indicate the potential for developing natural extract-based products as future vegetable-washing solutions, emphasizing their significance against parasitic efficacy.

Recently, Boswellia gum resin extract has been shown to exhibit therapeutic properties against multiple inflammatory illnesses, comprising arthritis, asthma, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and different malignancies. There are growing shreds of evidence that Boswellia extracts and their phytoconstituents could be used in adjuvant and combinatorial chemotherapeutic approaches for the management and prevention of cancer.

The principal objective of this comprehensive investigation is to offer up-to-date and in-depth insights into the anticancer potential of boswellic acids along with their semisynthetic analog that are novel and preventive/therapeutic substitutes for the management of cancer and inflammatory diseases due to their strong potential.

In the course of this review, a comprehensive compilation of In-vitro, In-vivo, and clinical evidence on the antineoplastic potential of boswellic acids was assembled through systematic computerized searches utilizing platforms such as Google Scholar, PubMed, Sci-Hub, and Research Gate.

Boswellic acids, the key compounds found in the resin of nearly all the species of the Boswellia plant, have been reported to exhibit therapeutic effects by modulating various targets in different disease conditions. Moreover, semisynthetic derivatives of boswellic acids show strong cytotoxic effects, particularly those with cyanoenone moieties, endoperoxides, and hybrids, which exhibit enhanced potency.

In this review, we have sincerely highlighted the effectiveness of novel boswellic acids as alternative preventive and therapeutic agents for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory conditions. Their strong anticancer potential could provide a basis for promising future direction to develop potent anticancer drugs for human malignancies.

Silymarins are the main active ingredient in milk thistle extract, reflecting the quality of extract products. The detection methods for silymarins in different pharmacopoeia standards may vary, which may lead to inconsistent detection results.

Due to the lack of research on related fingerprint spectra, its qualitative work is hard to carry out. Hence, based on existing standard methods, an HPLC method was established by optimizing the gradient program of the mobile phase.

The effectiveness of this method and the fingerprint was also studied. The similarity of 31 batches of samples ranged from 0.791 to 1.000, indicating the characteristic spectrum formed can be well used for qualitative analysis.

Under optimal analytical conditions, the six silymarin compounds in the samples can achieve good baseline separation from the matrix with good resolution. At the same time, the LOD was 25 mg/kg, and the recovery rates at three levels ranged from 92% to 108%, with RSDs less than 4%. The fingerprint spectrum and content determination method established in this study had good repeatability and high accuracy, which can provide a new method for quality control of milk thistle extract.

One of the important medicinal plants and agricultural products in Asia, particularly in Iran, is barberry, and both salinity and drought can cause osmotic or ionic imbalance in plant cells. In order to study the impacts of D-Mannitol and gibberellic acid on seed germination, physiological parameters, early seedling growth characteristics, and some of the most important chemical ingredients of barberry, one experiment is designed.

The experimental design was Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with three replicates, and drought stress was done by D-mannitol at various stress levels, namely, 0 MPa, 40 MPa, and 80 MPa, and the reaction of studied cultivar was assessed on the basis of experimental characteristics associated to germination and seedling growth, and Gibberellic acid treatments were 0 mgL^-1, 300 mgL^-1, 600 mgL^-1, and 900 mgL^-1.

The effects of D-mannitol were significant in germination percentage, germination rate, seedling vigor index, chlorophyll a, total chlorophyll, leaf dry weight and total sugar. Experimental treatments such as germination percentage, germination rate, and total chlorophyll were also influenced by the application of gibberellic acid. The interaction between D-mannitol and gibberellic acid had significant effect on peroxidase activity. The highest germination percentage, germination rate, seedling vigor index, catalase activity, peroxide activity, and Chlorophyll a were obtained for 0 MPa application of D-Mannitol, followed by usage of 40 MPa, and 80 Mpa, respectively. The maximum total chlorophyll, relative water content, and leaf dry weight were also related to control treatment (0 MPa D-Mannitol), while the higher values of proline content, carotenoids and total sugar were obtained for 80 MPa application of D-Mannitol. The maximum values of germination rate, germination percentage, seedling vigor index, peroxidase activity, and chlorophyll a were related to control treatment (0 mgL^-1 gibberellic acid), and the highest CAT activity was related to the application of 300 mgL^-1 gibberellic acid. The highest total chlorophyll content and relative water content were related to 0 mgL^-1 gibberellic acid, while the maximum praline content and leaf dry weight were obtained for the application of 600 mgL^-1 and 0 mgL^-1 gibberellic acid. There was not any significant difference in carotenoids between gibberellic acid treatments, while the application of 900 mgL^-1 gibberellic acid obtained the highest value of total sugar of barberry.

Conclusively, on the basis of the results, the application of 80 MPa D-Mannitol and 600 mgL^-1 could be recommended as they can increase the absorption of nutrients and water.

The genus Teucrium L. is frequently employed in traditional medicine, primarily for addressing disorders of the digestive and respiratory systems. Biological investigations focused on essential oils have substantiated their antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-tumor, anti-diabetic, and anti-rheumatic properties.

The aim of the study was to assess the chemical composition and biological activities of the aerial parts of the endemic species Teucrium nuchense K. Koch.

The chemical composition of the essential oil was analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The antioxidant activity was evaluated through the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) assay and tested on normal skin fibroblasts (WS-1). Additionally, the anti-inflammatory efficacy was assessed by monitoring nitric oxide production. The total phenolic content in the aqueous, methanolic, and chloroformic extracts was quantified using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent. Individual compounds were isolated using preparative high-performance liquid chromatography. Their identification was accomplished using high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) with an ESI-Q-TOF detector in conjunction with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.

The essential oil yield was 0.32 ml/kg. Caryophyllene oxide, constituting 15.19%, and 1-octen-3-ol, constituting 8.75%, emerged as the primary components in the essential oil. Oxygenated sesquiterpenes dominated the terpenic compounds, representing 25.1% of the essential oil. The aqueous and methanolic extracts displayed a notable phenolic content, with percentages of 27 ± 2% and 35 ± 0.1%, respectively. Both the aqueous and methanolic extracts demonstrated robust antioxidant activity in the ORAC test and in vitro assessments using WS-1 cells. The methanolic extract, at a concentration of 160 μg/ml, inhibited NO formation by 90%, without toxicity in RAW 264.7. Individual compounds, teucrioside from the phenylethanoid glycoside class, two neo-clerodane diterpenes, teucrin A, and 6-alpha-hydroxyteuscordine, were isolated.

The essential oil extracted from the aerial parts of Teucrium nuchense is characterized by the presence of caryophyllene oxide and 1-octen-3-ol. The methanolic extract exhibits notable antioxidant as well as anti-inflammatory properties, whereas the aqueous extract demonstrates high antioxidant activity. Additionally, three compounds of teucrioside, teucrin A, and 6-α-hydroxyteuscordine have been isolated and characterized.

Cancer is defined as the most prevalent and deadly disease, characterized by the uncontrolled multiplication of abnormal cells and spreading to other body parts. Despite the presence of several antineoplastic drugs, their use is limited due to their severe toxic effects. Vitis vinifera L. or Grapes, one of the most cultivated fruits worldwide, have several pharmacological effects including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, etc. This study aims to review the anticancer property of Grapefruit as whole and several parts of the fruit and their respective phytochemicals are obtained from several previously conducted research.

A thorough literature review is performed via several online search engines like Google Scholar, Science Direct, Medline, PubMed, and Scopus, regarding the anticancer potential of Vitis vinifera and its phytoconstituents, possessing anticancer effect.

From several previous types of research conducted, a potent anticancer potential of Grapes was found. From leaves to grape pomace, seed and skin extracts to stems, many evidences were found for their anticancer activity. Other than the fruit or the plant as a whole, some individual active phytoconstituents like Resveratrol, Myricetin -3glucoside, Fisetin, etc., have a wide range of anticancer activity, which was tested against various ranges of cancer cell lines including breast, cervical, lungs, kidney, brain, etc. In the majority of cases, a proper mechanism of their respective anticancer activity was also established. Also, the safety profile of grapes is fantastic with no risk or toxic effect on the body.

Grape seeds, pomace, stems and other parts have shown positive potential for anticancer activity. Several studies signifying the individual pharmacological actions of phytochemicals against several carcinoma cell lines are the prime evidence for future work plans regarding the anti-cancer potential.

Peperomia pellucida is a medicinal and vegetable plant used worldwide, representing a multi-purpose vegetable with applications in the pharmaceutical, food and cosmetic industries.

This study evaluated the antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and antidiabetic potential of fractional extracts from P. pellucida plant derived from Can Tho City, Vietnam.

Four fractional extracts were prepared using different polarity solvents (hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate) and used to determine the best extract for each biological property. The fractions’ total alkaloid, phenolic, and flavonoid content were observed. The four extracts were evaluated for their potential bioactivities: antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and antidiabetic.

Correspond with the hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, and aqueous fractions, the total content of alkaloids was determined to be 255 ± 23.8; 157 ± 14.0; 219 ± 6.55; 221 ± 6.23 (mg AE/g extract), the total phenolic content was 112 ± 3.34; 141 ± 1.77; 234 ± 29.5; 123 ± 5.04 (mg GAE/g extract), whereas the total content of flavonoids was 84.49 ± 4.53; 33.77 ± 1.26; 367.8 ± 3.37; 34.49 ± 4.53 (mg QE/g extract), respectively. The ethyl acetate fraction gave the best efficiency in DPPH, ABTS, iron reduction, and TAC methods (IC50 = 334 ± 2.10 µg/mL; 51.4 ± 0.41 µg/mL; 79.1 ± 0.40 µg/mL; and 83.0 ± 0.17 µg/mL, respectively). Antibacterial activity was investigated on 5 strains of Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimunum, Pseudomonas aeruginosa; the results showed that the extracts were resistant to 5 strains of bacteria, especially best resistant in 2 fractions of ethyl acetate and aqueous. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value ranged from 0.5 to 32 mg/mL, while the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) value ranged from 16 to 64 mg/mL. The best anti-inflammatory activity was ethyl acetate with an IC50 value of 216.7 ± 7.2 µg/mL, close to that of Diclofenac at 205.4 ± 0.5. The antidiabetic activity was investigated based on the ability to inhibit α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes. The results showed that the best α-amylase inhibitors were hexane and dichloromethane (IC50 = 208.83 ± 2.41 and 191.60 ± 1.27 µg/mL, respectively), roughly equal to the acarbose (155.68 ± 2.59 µg/mL). The best α-glucosidase inhibitory fraction was ethyl acetate (IC50 of 157.04 ± 0.23 µg/mL), close to that of acarbose (116.45 ± 0.21 µg/mL).

Fractional extracts from P. pellucida distributed in gardens of Can Tho City, Vietnam, contain potential antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and antidiabetic bioactive compounds.

Arthrobacter is a genus of bacteria that has gained recent attention due to its unique ability to produce bioactive compounds that possess potential antimicrobial properties.

In this study, we isolated two cyclic dipeptides (CDPs) from Arthrobacter sp. obtained from a soil sample.

The isolated Arthrobacter sp. exhibited inhibitory activity against a filamentous indicator bacterium and a violacein-producing Janthinobacterium sp. Cultivation of Arthrobacter sp. TAJX1902 was carried out using rich medium broth and agar to facilitate the extraction of metabolites. The isolated compounds were characterized through spectroscopic techniques. GCMS analysis of the crude extract revealed the presence of bioactive cyclic dipeptides.

The structures of the isolated CDPs were determined as acylated cyclo(D-phenylalanine-4-hydroxy-D-proline) (1) and cyclo(D-phenylalanine-D-proline) (2). Furthermore, two additional metabolites, 2,4-dihydroxypyrimidine (3) and 2,4-dihydroxy-5-methylpyrimidine (4), were identified and verified through NMR spectral analysis.