Psychoactive Plant Database - Neuroactive Phytochemical Collection

1. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2024 Sep 30;17(10):1301. doi: 10.3390/ph17101301.

Comparative Biochemical and Pharmacodynamic Analyses of Asarum heterotropoides 
Fr. Schmidt var. Mandshuricum (Maxim) Kitag and Asarum sieboldii Miq var. 
Seoulense Nakai Roots.

Li H(1), Wang Z(1), Zhao G(1), Wang Y(2), Xu X(2), Wang Y(3), Zhang Z(1), Wang 
G(1).

Author information:
(1)College of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Jilin Agricultural University, 
Changchun 130118, China.
(2)Ginseng and Antler Product Quality and Safety Risk Assessment Laboratory, 
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Jilin Agricultural University, 
Changchun 130118, China.
(3)State & Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Ginseng Breeding and 
Application, College of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Jilin Agricultural 
University, Changchun 130118, China.

Background:Asarum heterotropoides and Asarum sieboldii are commonly used in 
traditional Chinese medicine. However, little is known about how they differ in 
terms of essential oil (EO) and ethanol extract (EE) content and composition. 
Moreover, the effect of various geographical locations on the essential oil 
(EO), ethanol extract (EE), and asarinin content of different Asarum samples 
remains unknown. We tested four root-drying methods, i.e., soil removal and 
shade drying (P1), water washing and shade drying (P2), and water washing and 
drying at 30 °C (P3) and 40 °C (P4). We used LC-MS and GC-MS to investigate 
these differences. We also investigated the pharmacodynamic effects of EO and 
EE. Results: Overall, the EO, EE and asarinin contents of the analysed samples 
were 19.21-51.53 μL.g-1, 20.00-45.00 μL.g-1, and 1.268-2.591 mg.g-1, 
respectively. P1 treatment yielded the lowest volatile oil content compared to 
the other three treatments. GC-MS analysis revealed 78 EO components. Among the 
six major EO components, eucarvone, 3,5-dimethoxytoluene, and methyl eugenol 
were higher in A. heterotropoides than in A. sieboldii. However, the latter had 
a higher myristicin content. LC-MS analysis identified 888 EE components in 
roots and leaves of A. heterotropoides and A. sieboldii; 317 differentially 
accumulated metabolites were identified. EO and EE showed a dose-dependent 
reduction in the degree of swelling and an increase in the inhibition rate of 
drug concentration on acetic acid writhing in mice. Asarum EO proved to be more 
effective than EE in the pharmacodynamic study. Conclusions: We conclude that 
Asarum species show inter- and intra-specific differences in EO and EE content 
and composition, which may influence the pharmacodynamics of Asarum root 
extracts.

DOI: 10.3390/ph17101301
PMCID: PMC11509884
PMID: 39458942

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.


2. J Med Chem. 2024 Oct 23. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c01612. Online ahead of 
print.

Enhancing Aromaticity of Alkenylbenzenes May Decrease Their Metabolic Activation 
and Reduce Their Potential Cytotoxicity: Lessons Learnt from the Investigation 
of Myristicin and Elemicin.

Zhao G(1), Hu Z(1), Zheng J(1), Wu J(1), Chen Y(1), Liu T(2), Li W(2), Peng 
Y(1), Zheng J(1)(2).

Author information:
(1)Wuya College of Innovation, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, 
Liaoning 110016, P. R. China.
(2)State Key Laboratory of Functions and Applications of Medicinal Plants, Key 
Laboratory of Pharmaceutics of Guizhou Province, Guizhou Medical University, 
Guiyang, Guizhou 550025, P. R. China.

Metabolic activation studies of lead compounds are a crucial step in drug 
development and offer a key consideration during rational drug design. 
Myristicin (MRS) and elemicin (ELM), natural products belonging to 
alkenylbenzenes, share the backbone of 1-allyl-3-methoxybenzene. The backbone 
fuses with a methylenedioxy five-membered ring in MRS, while ELM is connected 
with two adjacent methoxy groups. ELM displayed powerful ability to induce 
cytotoxicity in cultured primary hepatocytes relative to MRS. Additionally, ELM 
exhibited superior efficiency in metabolic activation by CYP3A4, resulting in 
the formation of reactive metabolites carbonium ion, epoxides, and 
α,β-unsaturated ketone. Quantum chemical calculation and molecular dynamic 
studies revealed that the fused methylenedioxy 5-membered ring enhances the 
aromaticity of MRS, which affects the interaction between the allyl side chain 
and the heme for metabolic activation by the π-π stacking interaction with the 
aromatic amino acid residues of the host enzyme.

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c01612
PMID: 39442078


3. J Food Sci Technol. 2024 Nov;61(11):2121-2132. doi:
10.1007/s13197-024-05982-6.  Epub 2024 May 4.

Optimization of vacuum impregnated nutmeg rind candy using RSM modeling: effect 
on functional and nutritional properties.

Saleena P(1), Jayashree E(2), Neethu KC(3), Bhuvaneswari S(4), Alfiya PV(2), 
Anees K(2).

Author information:
(1)Department of Food Science and Technology, Kerala University of Fisheries and 
Ocean Studies, Cochin, 682506 Kerala India.
(2)Crop Production and Post Harvest Technology, ICAR-Indian Institute of Spices 
Research, Kozhikode, 673012 Kerala India.
(3)Engineering Division, ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Cochin, 
682029 Kerala India.
(4)Post Harvest Technology and Agricultural Engineering, ICAR-Indian Institute 
of Horticultural Research, Bengaluru, 560089 Karnataka India.

Vacuum impregnation (VI) stands as an innovative technique, used to create novel 
food formulations by impregnating vital nutritive compounds into natural food 
matrices. Process variables were syrup temperature ranging from (50 to 70 °C), 
syrup concentration (60° to 80° Brix), and VI duration (10 to 20 min). The 
optimal conditions emerged at 66.81 °C for syrup temperature, 71.58° Brix for 
syrup concentration, and a precise 11.59 min for the VI duration. At these 
paramount conditions, the candy exhibited striking attributes such as 50.0% 
water loss, 12.23% sugar gain, chewiness of 9 N, and lightness value of 22.17. 
The predicted values using the developed model were validated with experimental 
data and indicated the adequacy of the generated model. The functional 
characterization of the optimized nutmeg rind candy showcased a marked reduction 
in myristicin content, signifying an augmented level of safety for consumption. 
Furthermore in-vitro anti-bacterial assay, total phenolics, flavonoids and 
tannin content, anti-oxidant potential, proximate composition and microstructure 
of the optimized candy were analysed.

© Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) 2024. Springer Nature 
or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this 
article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other 
rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of 
this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and 
applicable law.

DOI: 10.1007/s13197-024-05982-6
PMCID: PMC11464730
PMID: 39397833

Conflict of interest statement: Conflict of interestThere are no conflicts of 
interest associated with this publication.


4. Heliyon. 2024 Aug 30;10(17):e36866. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e36866. 
eCollection 2024 Sep 15.

Hepato-renal protective impact of nanocapsulated Petroselinum crispum and 
Anethum graveolens essential oils added in fermented milk against some food 
additives via antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects: In silico and in vivo 
studies.

Mohamed RS(1), Fouda K(1), Maghraby AS(2), Assem FM(3), Menshawy MM(4), Zaghloul 
AH(3), Abdel-Salam AM(3).

Author information:
(1)Nutrition and Food Sciences Department, National Research Centre, Dokki, 
Cairo, Egypt.
(2)Department of Therapeutic Chemistry, research group immune-and bio-markers 
for infection, the Center of Excellent for Advanced Science (CEAS), National 
Research Centre, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt.
(3)Dairy Science Department, National Research Centre, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt.
(4)College of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Drug Manufacturing, Misr University 
for Science and Technology, 6th October City, Egypt.

The study assessed the efficacy of parsley and dill essential oils (EOs) 
nanocapsules incorporated into fermented milk in hepato-renal protection against 
specific food additives. A molecular docking assay was conducted between parsley 
and dill EOs bioactive molecules and inflammatory cytokines. Freeze-dried 
parsley and dill EOs nanocapsules were developed, characterized for their 
morphological structure, particle size, zeta potential, polydispersity index and 
encapsulation efficiency and assessed in fast green dye and sodium benzoate (SB) 
combination-treated rats. The docking results revealed that the primary 
constituents of parsley and dill EOs (apiol, myristicin, α-pinene, (-)-carvone, 
and d-limonene) interacted with the active sites of TNF-α, IL-1β and TGF-1β 
cytokines with hydrophobic and hydrogen bond interactions. D-limonene had the 
highest binding affinity (6.4 kcal/mol) for the TNF-α. Apiol and myristicin had 
the highest binding affinity (5.1, 5.0, 5.0 and 5.0 kcal/mol, respectively) for 
the IL-1β and TGF-β1 receptors. Biochemically and histopathologically, the 
excessive co-administration of fast green and SB revealed adverse effects on the 
liver and the kidney. Whereas the treatment with parsley and dill EOs 
nanocapsules afford hepato-renal protective effects as manifested by suppression 
the elevated liver and kidney functions. Parsley and dill EOs nanocapsules 
showed a significant reduction of the liver (64.08 and 80.5 pg/g, respectively) 
and kidney (59.3 and 83.6 pg/g, respectively) ROS. Moreover, parsley and dill 
EOs nanocapsules down-regulated the liver and the kidney inflammatory cytokines 
(IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β and TGF-1β) and lipid peroxidation and up-regulated the 
antioxidant enzymes. In conclusion, the data suggest a potential hepato-renal 
protective effects of parsley and dill EOs nanocapsules.

© 2024 The Author(s).

DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e36866
PMCID: PMC11403541
PMID: 39286161

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare that they have no known 
competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared 
to influence the work reported in this paper.


5. Curr Res Microb Sci. 2024 Aug 23;7:100270. doi: 10.1016/j.crmicr.2024.100270. 
eCollection 2024.

Integrating In-silico and In-vitro approaches to identify plant-derived 
bioactive molecules against spore coat protein CotH3 and high affinity iron 
permease FTR1 of Rhizopus oryzae.

Gupta L(1), Kumar P(2), Sen P(1), Sharma A(1)(3), Kumar L(1), Sengupta A(1), 
Vijayaraghavan P(1).

Author information:
(1)Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Sector-125, 
Noida, 201301, Uttar Pradesh, India.
(2)School of Computational and Integrative Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru 
University, New Delhi, India.
(3)Department of Animal Science, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, 82071, USA.

Rhizopus oryzae is one of the major causative agents of mucormycosis. The 
disease has a poor prognosis with a high mortality rate, and resistance towards 
current antifungal drugs poses additional concern. The disease treatment is 
complicated with antifungals; therefore, surgical approach is preferred in many 
cases. A comprehensive understanding of the pathogenicity-associated virulence 
factors of R. oryzae is essential to develop new antifungals against this 
fungus. Virulence factors in R. oryzae include cell wall proteins, spore 
germination proteins and enzymes that evade host immunity. The spore coat 
protein (CotH3) and high-affinity iron permease (FTR1) have been identified as 
promising therapeutic targets in R. oryzae. In-silico screening is a preferred 
approach to identify hit molecules for further in-vitro studies. In the present 
study, twelve bioactive molecules were docked within the active site of CotH3 
and FTR1. Further, molecular dynamics simulation analysis of best-docked 
protein-ligand structures revealed the dynamics information of their stability 
in the biological system. Eugenol and isoeugenol exhibited significant binding 
scores with both the protein targets of R. oryzae and followed the Lipinski rule 
of drug-likeness. To corroborate the in-silico results, in-vitro studies were 
conducted using bioactive compounds eugenol, isoeugenol, and myristicin against 
R. oryzae isolated from the soil sample. Eugenol, isoeugenol exhibited 
antifungal activity at 156 µg/mL whereas myristicin at 312 µg/mL. Hence, the 
study suggested that eugenol and isoeugenol could be explored further as 
potential antifungal molecules against R. oryzae.

© 2024 The Authors.

DOI: 10.1016/j.crmicr.2024.100270
PMCID: PMC11401113
PMID: 39280237

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare that they have no known 
competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared 
to influence the work reported in this paper.