J Agric Food Chem. 2002 Sep 25;50(20):5533-8. |
Constituents in evening primrose oil with radical scavenging, cyclooxygenase, and neutrophil elastase inhibitory activities.[Pubmed: 12236675] |
Cold-pressed, non-raffinated evening primrose oil was found to contain lipophilic radical scavengers.
METHODS AND RESULTS:
A highly enriched fraction of these compounds could be obtained from the oil by extraction with aqueous ethanol and subsequent liquid-liquid partitioning with petroleum. LC-DAD-MS analysis revealed that the fraction contained three aromatic compounds with identical UV and ESI-MS spectra. The compounds were isolated by RP-HPLC and their structures established by chemical and spectroscopic means as 3-O-trans-caffeoyl derivatives of betulinic, morolic, and oleanolic acid. The morolic acid derivative was a new compound.
CONCLUSIONS:
The three esters exhibited pronounced radical scavenging activity against the stable 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical and were potent inhibitors of neutrophil elastase and cyclooxygenase-1 and -2 in vitro. Commercial samples of evening primrose oils contained only traces of these lipophilic antioxidants. |
Planta Med. 2002 Apr;68(4):311-5. |
Anti-inflammatory triterpenes from Pistacia terebinthus galls.[Pubmed: 11988853 ] |
From the galls of Pistacia terebinthus we obtained an extract that proved to be effective against chronic and acute inflammation.
METHODS AND RESULTS:
Now we report on the isolation and identification of three triterpenes: two tirucallane-type lanostanoids and one oleanane, which we have identified as masticadienonic acid (1), masticadienolic acid (2), and morolic acid (3), respectively.
CONCLUSIONS:
All of them showed effectiveness on the mouse ear inflammation induced by repeated applications of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate and on the phospholipase A2-induced foot paw edema.
The pharmacological activity of the compounds was ratified by a histological study of the ear samples. In addition, they inhibited leukotriene B4 production in rat polymorphonuclear leukocytes stimulated with calcium ionophore A 23187. |