Psychoactive Plant Database - Neuroactive Phytochemical Collection

1. Fitoterapia. 2024 Jan;172:105749. doi: 10.1016/j.fitote.2023.105749. Epub 2023
 Nov 14.

Bioactive compounds from Retama raetam (Forssk.) Webb & Berthel. and their 
insecticidal activity against cotton pests Aphis gosspyii and Amrasca biguttula.

Kamel AI(1), El-Rokh AR(2), Dawidar AM(3), Abdel-Mogib M(3).

Author information:
(1)Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, New Mansoura University, New 
Mansoura, Egypt.
(2)Plant Protection Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, Giza 12618, 
Egypt. Electronic address: ahmed.elrokh@arc.sci.eg.
(3)Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Mansoura University, Mansoura 
35516, Egypt.

Cotton aphids, Aphis gosspyii and cotton jassids, Amrasca biguttula are 
destructive piercing sucking pests to many strategic crops, especially cotton, 
not only in Egypt but also all over the world. Using synthetic pesticides to 
control these pests led to several deleterious impacts. Natural pesticides can 
be used as a harmless alternative. Nine compounds were isolated from different 
fractions of Retama raetam using chromatographic techniques and identified by 
spectroscopic methods as eugenol (1), alpinumisoflavone (2), licoflavone C (3), 
ephedroidin (4), anagyrine (5), spartiene (6), genistein-8β-C-glucoside (7), 
isoprunetin (8) and isoprunetin 7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (9). The methanol crude 
extract and its fractions (hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and butanol), as 
well as the isolated compounds were examined against A. gosspyii and A. 
biguttula as insecticides. The results showed that chloroform fraction was the 
most potent fraction against A. gosspyii and A. biguttula, with LC50 values of 
65.66 and 64.43 ppm, respectively. As well, compounds 1, 5 and 6 were found to 
be more active, with LC50 values of 69.84, 25.49 and 27.22 ppm for A. gosspyii 
and 65.17, 24.07 and 24.78 ppm for A. biguttula, respectively. The most potent 
compounds (1, 5 and 6) exhibited AChE inhibition toward A. gosspyii compared 
with the control. So, it can be concluded that the isolated compounds eugenol 1, 
anagyrine 5 and spartiene 6 are the active principles due to their capability to 
inhibit AchE activity.

Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

DOI: 10.1016/j.fitote.2023.105749
PMID: 37972716 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

Conflict of interest statement: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors 
declare no competing interests.


2. Antioxidants (Basel). 2022 Dec 23;12(1):29. doi: 10.3390/antiox12010029.

A Comparative Study on Improving Streptozotocin-Induced Type 2 Diabetes in Rats 
by Hydrosol, Extract and Nanoemulsion Prepared from Cinnamon Leaves.

Huang YC(1), Chen BH(1)(2).

Author information:
(1)Department of Food Science, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City 
24205, Taiwan.
(2)Department of Nutrition, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.

Erratum in
    Antioxidants (Basel). 2023 Sep 25;12(10):1799. doi: 10.3390/antiox12101799.

Cinnamomoum osmophloeum Kanehira (C. osmophloeum) contains various biologically 
active antioxidant compounds such as flavonoids, phenolic acids and 
cinnamaldehyde. Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease of metabolic 
abnormality caused by insulin deficiency or resistance. The objectives of this 
study were to analyze various bioactive compounds in C. osmophloeum leaves by 
ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry 
(UPLC-MS/MS), and compare the effects of hydrosol, extract and nanoemulsion 
prepared from C. osmophloeum leaves on improving type 2 diabetes in rats. Our 
results show that a total of 15 bioactive compounds in C. osmophloeum leaves, 
including quercetin, quercetin-3-O-galactoside, quercetin-3-O-glucoside, rutin, 
caffeic acid, benzoic acid, 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid, kaempferol 
3-β-D-glucopyranoside, trans-cinnamic acid, coumarin, cinnamyl alcohol, 
p-coumaric acid, eugenol, kaempferol and cinnamaldehyde, were separated within 
14 min for subsequent identification and quantitation by UPLC-MS/MS. The 
nanoemulsion was successfully prepared by mixing C. osmophloeum leaf extract, 
soybean oil, lecithin, Tween 80 and deionized water in an appropriate proportion 
with a mean particle size, polydispersity index, zeta potential and 
encapsulation efficiency of 36.58 nm, 0.222, -42.6 mV and 91.22%, respectively, 
while a high storage and heating stability was obtained. The animal experiment 
results reveal that the high-dose nanoemulsion was the most effective in 
reducing both fasting blood glucose and oral glucose tolerance test value, 
followed by low-dose nanoemulsion, high-dose extract, low-dose extract and leaf 
powder in hydrosol. A similar trend was shown in reducing serum insulin and the 
homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance index. In addition, the 
contents of serum biochemical parameters, including total cholesterol, 
triglyceride, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, uric acid, 
urea nitrogen and creatinine, were reduced, with the high-dose nanoemulsion 
showing the most pronounced effect. Collectively, the high-dose nanoemulsion may 
possess great potential to be developed into a hypoglycemic health food or 
botanic drug.

DOI: 10.3390/antiox12010029
PMCID: PMC9855112
PMID: 36670891

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


3. J Anal Methods Chem. 2018 Feb 1;2018:1794650. doi: 10.1155/2018/1794650. 
eCollection 2018.

Nonvolatile Chemical Constituents from the Leaves of Ligusticopsis wallichiana 
(DC.) Pimenov & Kljuykov and Their Free Radical-Scavenging Activity.

Devkota HP(1)(2), Adhikari B(1)(2), Watanabe T(1), Yahara S(1).

Author information:
(1)Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kumamoto University, 5-1 
Oe-honmachi, Chuo ku, Kumamoto 862-0973, Japan.
(2)Program for Leading Graduate Schools, Health Life Science: Interdisciplinary 
and Glocal Oriented (HIGO) Program, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.

Different plant parts of Ligusticopsis wallichiana (family: Apiaceae) are widely 
used as traditional medicines. Although many volatile constituents are already 
identified from the leaves of L. wallichiana, there is no detailed report on the 
nonvolatile constituents. In the present study, we aimed to isolate and identify 
the major chemical constituents from the leaves. Bhutkesoside A (1), 
falcarindiol (2), ferulic acid (3), cnidioside A (4), quercetin 
3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (5), rutin (6), 4'-O-methylquercetin 
3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (7), scopoletin (8), umbelliferone (9), eugenol 
4-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (10) and pumilaside A (11) were isolated from the 70% 
MeOH extract. The structures of isolated compounds were elucidated on the basis 
of 1H- and 13C-NMR spectroscopic data. Compounds 4-11 are reported for the first 
time from L. wallichiana. Compounds 5 and 6 showed potent free 
radical-scavenging activity.

DOI: 10.1155/2018/1794650
PMCID: PMC5816836
PMID: 29484213


4. Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi. 2013 Nov;38(21):3696-701.

[Chemical studies on roots of Ficus hirta].

[Article in Chinese]

Zheng RR(1), Ya J(2), Wang WJ(2), Yang HB(2), Zhang QW(3), Zhang XQ(2), Ye 
WC(2).

Author information:
(1)Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Natural Products, Jinan 
University, Guangzhou 510632, China. zhengrongrong11@163.com
(2)Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Natural Products, Jinan 
University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
(3)State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of 
Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Macao, China.

Seventeen compounds were isolated from the 95% ethanolic extract of the root of 
Ficus hirta. Their structures were identified on the basis of physicochemical 
properties and spectral data analysis. The structures were elucidated as 
cyclomorusin (1), 3-O-[(6-O-E-sinapoyl)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl]-(1 --> 
2)-beta-D-glucopyranoside (2), 3,5,4'-trihydroxy-6,7,3'-trimethoxyflavone (3), 
quercetin (4), tricin (5), acacetin (6), luteolin (7), apigenin (8), (E) 
-suberenol (9), meranzin hydrate (10), methyl eugenol (11), 
3-methoxy-4-hydroxybenzoic acid (12), p-hydroxybenzoic acid (13), methyl 
chlorogenate (14), emodin (15), alpha-amyrin acetate (16), and beta-sitosterol 
emodin (17), respectively. Compounds 1-6, 9-15 were isolated from this plant for 
the first time.

PMID: 24494557 [Indexed for MEDLINE]


5. World J Microbiol Biotechnol. 2010 Jul;26(7):1201-5. doi: 
10.1007/s11274-009-0289-7. Epub 2009 Dec 30.

Biotransformation of eugenol by suspension cultures of transgenic crown galls of 
Panax quinquefolium and suspension cultures of Nicotiana tabacum.

Yang L(1), Yan C, Zhu J, Song L, Yu R.

Author information:
(1)Department of Pharmacy, Fujian Tumor Hospital, 350014, Fuzhou, China, 
apera@163.com.

The biocatalytic ability of transgenic crown galls of Panax quinquefolium was 
evaluated by using eugenol (1) as a substrate and suspension cultures of 
Nicotiana tabacum as control system. Three biotransformed products, namely: 
2-methoxy-4-(2-propenyl)phenyl-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (2, 67.11%), 
2-methoxy-4-(2-propenyl)phenyl-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl (6' → 1″)-β-D-xylopyranoside 
(3, 2.85%) and methyl eugenol (4, 14.30%) were obtained after 5 days of 
administration of eugenol to the suspension cultures of transgenic crown galls 
of P. quinquefolium. In contrast, only one product, compound 2 (15.41%), was 
obtained in suspension cultures of N. tabacum after 5 days of incubation. The 
results indicated that the glycosylation ability of transgenic crown galls of P. 
quinquefolium was much higher than that of the cultured cells of N. tabacum.

DOI: 10.1007/s11274-009-0289-7
PMID: 24026924