Worldwide, there are plants known as psychoactive plants that naturally contain psychedelic active components. They have a high concentration of neuroprotective substances that can interact with the nervous system to produce psychedelic effects. Despite these plants' hazardous potential, recreational use of them is on the rise because of their psychoactive properties. Early neuroscience studies relied heavily on psychoactive plants and plant natural products (NPs), and both recreational and hazardous NPs have contributed significantly to the understanding of almost all neurotransmitter systems. Worldwide, there are many plants that contain psychoactive properties, and people have been using them for ages. Psychoactive plant compounds may significantly alter how people perceive the world.
1. J Ethnopharmacol. 2025 Jan 10;336:118632. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2024.118632. Epub 2024 Jul 26. Exploring the wound healing potential of Lobostemon fruticosus using in vitro and in vivo bioassays. Kgosana MR(1), Sandasi M(2), Ncube E(1), Vermaak I(2), Gouws C(3), Viljoen AM(4). Author information: (1)Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa. (2)Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa; SAMRC Herbal Drugs Research Unit, Faculty of Science, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa. (3)Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharmacen™), North-West University, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom, 2520, South Africa. (4)Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa; SAMRC Herbal Drugs Research Unit, Faculty of Science, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa. Electronic address: viljoenam@tut.ac.za. ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Lobostemon fruticosus (L.) H.Buek is a perennial and woody shrub of the Boraginaceae family, found in the Cape region of South Africa. The leaves and twigs are used to treat dermatological conditions such as wounds, burns, ringworm, erysipelas and eczema. Anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral and anti-proliferative activities of L. fruticosus have been reported. However, there is a void in research which reports on the wound healing properties of this plant. AIM OF THE STUDY: Aligned with the traditional use of L. fruticosus, our study aimed to use in vitro and in vivo bioassays to confirm the wound healing potential of the plant. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An aqueous methanol extract (80% v/v) of L. fruticosus was prepared using a sample collected from the Western Cape Province of South Africa and chromatographically profiled by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS). The 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) cytotoxicity assay was performed to determine the non-toxic concentrations of the extract for subsequent use in the in vitro scratch assay. Both the human keratinocyte (HaCaT) and fibroblast (BJ-5ta) cell lines were employed in the in vitro scratch assay. The in vivo caudal fin amputation assay was used to assess the wound healing potential of L. fruticosus, by monitoring fin regeneration in zebrafish larvae treated with the plant extract at various concentrations. RESULTS: Six major compounds were tentatively identified in the L. fruticosus extract namely; globoidnan A, globoidnan B, rutin, rabdosiin, sagerinic acid and rosmarinic acid. The potentially toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids were also identified and quantitatively confirmed to be present at a low concentration of 119.58 ppm (m/m). Treatment of HaCaT and BJ-5ta cells with the plant extract in the scratch assay resulted in an increase in cell migration, which translates to accelerated wound closure. After 24 hr treatment with 100 μg/mL of extract, wound closure was recorded to be 91.1 ± 5.7% and 94.1 ± 1.3% for the HaCaT and BJ-5ta cells, respectively, while the untreated (medium) controls showed 72.3 ± 3.3% and 73.0 ± 4.3% for the two cell lines, respectively. Complete wound closure was observed between 24 and 36 hr, while the untreated control group did not achieve 100% wound closure by the end of the observation period (48 hr). In vivo, the crude extract at 100 μg/mL accelerated zebrafish caudal fin regeneration achieving 100.5 ± 3.8% regeneration compared to 68.3 ± 6.6% in the untreated control at two days post amputation. CONCLUSIONS: The study affirms the wound healing properties, as well as low toxicity of L. fruticosus using both in vitro and in vivo assays, which supports the traditional medicinal use. Other in vitro assays that target different mechanisms involved in wound healing should be investigated to support the current findings. Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2024.118632 PMID: 39069028 [Indexed for MEDLINE] Conflict of interest statement: Declaration of competing interest 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. No conflicts to declare. A Viljoen declares his role as Editor-in-Chief of JEP and the submission will obviously be handled completely by one of the associate editors. 2. Chem Biodivers. 2024 Apr;21(4):e202302109. doi: 10.1002/cbdv.202302109. Epub 2024 Mar 7. Variation in Phenolic Content, Antioxidant Activity and Alpha-amylase and Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitory Capacities of Different Extracts from Tunisian Satureja barceloi (Willk) L. Raadani A(1), Boulila A(2), Yangui I(1), Boussaid M(1), Messaoud C(1), Ben Elhadj Ali I(1)(3). Author information: (1)Laboratory of Nanobiotechnology and Valorisation of Medicinal Phytoresources, National Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology. Department of Biology, Carthage University B.P. 676, 1080, Tunis Cedex, Tunisia. (2)Laboratoire des Substances Naturelles, Institut National de Recherche et d'Analyse Physico-chimique, Biotechnopole of Sidi Thabet, 2020, Ariana, Tunisia. (3)Higher Institute of Biotechnology of Beja, Jendouba University., Tunisia. The antioxidant activity and the anti-α-amylase and anti-acetylcholinesterase capacities of secondary metabolites from different organs (roots, stems, leaves and flowers) of Tunisian Satureja barceloi were determined. The variation in the distribution of phenolic metabolites among roots, stems, leaves and flowers extracts of S. barceloi with various solvent systems (methanol, ethyl acetate, hexane and distilled water) has not been characterized before. Significant variation of phenolic compounds was observed according to organs rather than to extracting solvents. The analyzed organs show a high level of phenolic compounds although the stems contains the highest total polyphenols (132.53±0.48 mg AGE/g Ex), flavonoids (48.99±0.65 mg RE/g Ex) and flavonols (34.93±0.29 mg QE/g Ex) contents. The phenolic fraction was dominated by sagerinic acid, caffeic acid glucoside and epigallocatechin, detected using HPLC-PDA/ESI-MS. The antioxidant activity of all extracts, evaluated by four in vitro tests, was high and varied significantly according to the type of solvent used and the plant organ. The aqueous extracts of leaves exhibited the greatest inhibitory effect on alpha-amylase while the methanolic extract of leaves and stems revealed the most important acetylcholinesterase inhibitory effect. Hence, S. barceloi extracts could be used as a source of various bioactive molecules in pharmaceutical industry. © 2024 Wiley‐VHCA AG, Zurich, Switzerland. DOI: 10.1002/cbdv.202302109 PMID: 38379209 [Indexed for MEDLINE] 3. Molecules. 2024 Jan 25;29(3):590. doi: 10.3390/molecules29030590. The Effect of Salvia tomentosa Miller Extracts, Rich in Rosmarinic, Salvianolic and Lithospermic Acids, on Bacteria Causing Opportunistic Infections. Piątczak E(1), Kolniak-Ostek J(2), Gonciarz W(3), Lisiecki P(4), Kalinowska-Lis U(5), Szemraj M(4), Chmiela M(3), Zielińska S(6). Author information: (1)Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Lodz, Muszyńskiego 1, 90-151 Lodz, Poland. (2)Department of Fruit, Vegetable and Plant Nutraceutical Technology, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Chełmońskiego 37, 51-630 Wroclaw, Poland. (3)Department of Immunology and Infectious Biology, Faculty of Biology and Environment Protections, University of Lodz, Banacha 12/16, 90-237 Lodz, Poland. (4)Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology and Microbiological Diagnostics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Lodz, Muszyńskiego 1, 90-151 Lodz, Poland. (5)Department of Cosmetic Raw Materials Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Lodz, Muszyńskiego 1, 90-151 Lodz, Poland. (6)Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Wroclaw Medical University, Borowska 211, 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland. Methanolic-aqueous extracts of Salvia tomentosa Miller roots, aerial parts, and inflorescences were examined for their content of polyphenolic derivatives and the antimicrobial and cytotoxic effect. In the polyphenolic-rich profile, rosmarinic, salvianolic, and lithospermic acids along with various derivatives were predominant. A total of twenty phenolic compounds were identified using the UPLC/DAD/qTOF-MS technique. These were caffeic acid, rosmarinic acid derivatives, lithospermic acid derivatives, salvianolic acids B, F, and K derivatives, as well as sagerinic acid, although rosmarinic acid (426-525 mg/100 g of dry weight-D.W.) and salvianolic acid B (83-346.5 mg/100 g D.W.) were significantly predominant in the metabolic profile. Strong antibacterial activity of S. tomentosa extracts was observed against Staphylococcus epidermidis (MIC/MBC = 0.625 mg/mL) and Bacillus cereus (MIC = 0.312-1.25 mg/mL). The extracts showed low cytotoxicity towards the reference murine fibroblasts L929 and strong cytotoxicity to human AGS gastric adenocarcinoma epithelial cells in the MTT reduction assay. The observed cytotoxic effect in cancer cells was strongest for the roots of 2-year-old plant extracts. DOI: 10.3390/molecules29030590 PMCID: PMC10856039 PMID: 38338335 [Indexed for MEDLINE] Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest. 4. J Chromatogr A. 2023 Nov 8;1710:464425. doi: 10.1016/j.chroma.2023.464425. Epub 2023 Sep 29. Identification of variety-specific metabolites of basil by high performance thin layer chromatography-assisted metabolic profiling techniques. Wulandari WP(1), Ji Y(2), Erol Ö(3), Choi YH(1). Author information: (1)Natural Products Laboratory, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Leiden 2333 BE, the Netherlands. (2)Horticulture and Product Physiology, Department of Plant Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, PO Box 16, 6700 AA, Wageningen, the Netherlands. (3)Natural Products Laboratory, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Leiden 2333 BE, the Netherlands. Electronic address: o.erol@biology.leidenuniv.nl. The technological advances of analytical instrumentation and techniques has laid the ground for the rapid expansion of metabolomics or in a wider sense, untargeted analysis applied to life sciences themes. However, the objective of identifying all existing metabolites within organisms remains a daunting challenge. All analytical techniques exhibit varying degrees of sensitivity and versatility for the detection of metabolites and none of the existing analytical platforms can be expected to be ideal for exhaustive chemical profiling. Planar liquid chromatography, and in particular, high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC), has been used for chemical profiling of natural products in conjunction with metabolomics. HPTLC has specific advantages which include its ability to generate reliable chemical fingerprinting data and facilitate preparative work for metabolite isolation during later stages of metabolomics analysis. In this study, we investigated the chemical profiles of four commercially available basil cultivars, namely Dolly, Emily, Keira, and Rosie. We used HPTLC as the primary analytical tool for the separation of basil cultivars based on detected metabolites, and then compared the results with those obtained with other analytical platforms. We identified the characteristic marker compounds of each basil cultivar from the HPTLC plates and validated their potential using LC-MS and GC-MS analyses as a metabolomics tool. Firstly, we compared the HPTLC data of the four cultivars, obtained with two systems that used silica gel 60 and two mobile phases composed of toluene-EtOAc (8:2, v/v) and EtOAc-formic acid-acetic acid-water (100:11:11:27, v/v), with 1H NMR data to evaluate their separation power. Despite providing lower resolution and detecting fewer compounds, the HPTLC separation power was comparable, and in some cases even better than that of 1H NMR. Additionally, we investigated the potential of HPTLC as a tool for chemical fingerprinting and demonstrated its suitability for preparative purposes that are essential for identifying metabolites in mixture analysis. Metabolites were easily isolated from sample mixtures, and identified with the assistance of GC-MS, LC-MS, and TLC-densitometry.. Several marker compounds were thus identified, including 2,4 di-tertbutylphenol, palmitic acid, hexadecanamide, 9-octadecenamide, squalene, hentriacontane, methyl 3-(3,5-ditert‑butyl‑4-hydroxyphenyl)propanoic acid, sagerinic acid, and cyanidin-3-O-sophoroside. Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V. DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2023.464425 PMID: 37844367 [Indexed for MEDLINE] Conflict of interest statement: Declaration of Competing Interest 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. Phytochemistry. 2023 Sep;213:113777. doi: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2023.113777. Epub 2023 Jun 28. Methyl jasmonate elicitation effect on the metabolic profile of cambial meristematic cells culture derived from sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) in relation to antioxidant activity: Untargeted metabolomics study in a time-based approach. Zayed A(1), Farag MA(2), Mehring A(3), Salem MA(4), Ibrahim RM(5), Alseekh S(6), Fernie AR(7), Ulber R(8). Author information: (1)Institute of Bioprocess Engineering, Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau, Gottlieb-Daimler-Str. 49, 67663, Kaiserslautern, Germany; Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, Tanta University, Elguish street, 31527, Tanta, Egypt. Electronic address: ahmed.zayed1@pharm.tanta.edu.eg. (2)Pharmacognosy Department, College of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Kasr el Aini St., P.B. 11562, Cairo, Egypt. Electronic address: mohamed.farag@pharma.cu.edu.eg. (3)Institute of Bioprocess Engineering, Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau, Gottlieb-Daimler-Str. 49, 67663, Kaiserslautern, Germany. Electronic address: mehring@rhrk.uni-kl.de. (4)Department of Pharmacognosy and Natural Products, Faculty of Pharmacy, Menoufia University, Gamal Abd El Nasr st., Shibin Elkom, 32511, Menoufia, Egypt. Electronic address: mohamed.salem@phrm.menofia.edu.eg. (5)Pharmacognosy Department, College of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Kasr el Aini St., P.B. 11562, Cairo, Egypt. Electronic address: rana.mohamed@pharma.cu.edu.eg. (6)Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476, Potsdam, Golm, Germany; Center for Plant Systems Biology and Biotechnology, 4000, Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Electronic address: alseekh@mpimp-golm.mpg.de. (7)Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476, Potsdam, Golm, Germany; Center for Plant Systems Biology and Biotechnology, 4000, Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Electronic address: fernie@mpimp-golm.mpg.de. (8)Institute of Bioprocess Engineering, Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau, Gottlieb-Daimler-Str. 49, 67663, Kaiserslautern, Germany. Electronic address: roland.ulber@mv.rptu.de. The undifferentiated cambial meristematic cell (CMC) has been recognized as a value-added production platform for plant natural products in comparison to the dedifferentiated plant cell line (DDC). In a time-based approach at 0, 24, 48, and 72 h, the present study aimed at investigating the phytochemical metabolome of methyl jasmonate (MeJA)-elicited CMC cultures derived from sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), including primary and secondary metabolites analyzed using GC/TOF-MS post-silylation and RP-UPLC-C18-FT-MS/MS, respectively, as well as the analysis of aroma composition using headspace SPME-GC-MS. The results revealed a stress response in primary metabolism manifested by an increase in amino and organic acids reaching their maximum levels after 48 (1.3-fold) and 72 (1.7-fold) h, respectively. In addition, phenolic acids (e.g., sagerinic acid, rosmarinic acid, and 3-O-methylrosmarinic acid) followed by flavonoid aglycones (e.g., salvigenin and 5,6,4'-trihydroxy-7,3'-dimethoxyflavone) were the most abundant with prominent increases at 48 (1.2-fold) and 72 (2.1-fold) h, respectively. The aroma was intensified by the elicitation along the time, especially after 48 and 72 h. Furthermore, multivariate data analyses, including principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) confirmed elicitation effect, especially post 48 and 72 h. The study further assessed the effect of MeJA elicitation on the antioxidant and polyphenolic content. The cultures at 48 h demonstrated a significant (p < 0.05) antioxidant activity concurrently with correlation with total polyphenolic content using Pearson's correlation. Our study provides new insights to the elicitation impact on primary and secondary metabolism, in addition to aroma profile, to orchestrate the stress response and in relation to antioxidant effect. Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2023.113777 PMID: 37385363 [Indexed for MEDLINE] Conflict of interest statement: Declaration of competing interest 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.