Centaurea

The antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities of chloroform extracts from the weeds Centaurea tweediei and C. diffusa, and the main sesquiterpene lactones isolated from these species, onopordopicrin and cnicin, respectively, were assayed. Results show that the chloroform extracts from both Centaurea species possess antibacterial activities against a panel of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Remarkable antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was also measured. Both the extracts and the purified sesquiterpene lactones show high cytotoxicity against human-derived macrophages. Despite this cytotoxicity, C. diffusa chloroform extract and cnicin are attractive candidates for evaluation as antibiotics in topical preparations against skin-associated pathogens.

In this study, composition of essential oil and antioxidant capacity of Centaurea drabifolia subsp. detonsa were investigated. The antioxidant capacity of the methanolic extract was evaluated by various methods including measuring the total phenolic content, total antioxidant capacity, free radical scavenging activity (DPPH assay), β-carotene/linoleic acid bleaching assay and ferric and cupric ion reducing power assay. The composition of essential oil was identified by using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Totally, 41 compounds were described in the essential oil. Germacrene D (44.829%) was determined as the major compound of the essential oil. The total phenolic content, total antioxidant capacity, inhibition rate of oxidation of linoleic acid, IC50 (in DPPH assay) and EC50 (in reducing power) value were found to be 40.454 mg GAE/g, 100.840 mg AAE/g, 65.639%, 39.584 µg mL−1 and 0.603 mg mL−1, respectively. The results indicated that the extract of C. drabifolia subsp. detonsa has strong antioxidant properties and this species can be used as a natural antioxidant in food processing and pharmaceutical industries.

In this study, fatty acid compositions of six Centaurea species growing in the Konya region were determined. The fatty acid composition of Centaurea balsamita, Centaurea calolepis, Centaurea carduiformis subsp. carduiformis, Centaurea cariensis subsp. maculiceps, C. cariensis subsp. microlepis and Centaurea iberica were analysed. Four species of these six Centaurea are endemic to Turkey. The endemic Centaurea species are C. calolepis, C. carduiformis subsp. carduiformis, C. cariensis subsp. maculiceps and C. cariensis subsp. microlepis. Generally, C 18:2 ω6 linoleic acid, C 16:0 palmitic acid, C 18:3 ω3 linolenic acid and C 18:1 oleic acid were found to be the major fatty acids in all species. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) were found in higher amounts than saturated fatty acids and monounsaturated fatty acids in all species. PUFAs were determined at 55.10%, 50.25%, 51.41%, 41.02%, 46.18% and 58.80% in C. balsamita, C. calolepis, C. carduiformis subsp. carduiformis, C. cariensis subsp. maculiceps, C. cariensis subsp. microlepis and C. iberica, respectively.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Atractylis gummifera L. and Centaurea ornata Willd. are locally marketed herbal remedies, even though in Spain it is forbidden to sell toxic plants like Atractylis gummifera. Intoxications in Spain are mainly due to accidental substitution of Centaurea ornata with Atractylis gummifera which may be fatal. AIM OF STUDY: The aim of this article is to analyse the current use and marketing of Atractylis gummifera and Centaurea ornata in Badajoz and analyse the ethnopharmacological ...

This paper presents a bioeconomic model for two agents, a cattle rancher and a non-rancher, with interdependencies between their individual effort of invasive weed management and profitability. Dynamic simulations allow us to find numerically the optimal effort of weed control over a 5-year time horizon under a variety of beginning infestation levels. In a base-case scenario without governmental cost-share of control costs, we find that efforts to control the weed are not profitable. The base-case scenarios also indicate that grazing contributes to giving the invasive weed a competitive edge. A second series of simulations include incentive payments for weed control which are set at the minimum level required to have a net positive impact on the rancher's profitability. From these simulations, we find that the level of infestation impacts the size of the incentive necessary to get the agent to control the weeds and that the incentive payments impact the level of effort of the ra...

The volatile oils obtained from the leaves and flowers of the Croatian endemic plant Centaurea ragusina L. were evaluated for antimicrobial activity. The chemical compositions, determined by GC and GC-MS, were complex, with sesquiterpenes the most abundant class of compound. Nonterpene hydrocarbons were also identified in high quantities, while acids and ketones were found in high quantities only in the leaf volatile oil. Aldehydes, alcohols, esters and other compounds were identified in lower quantities. Antimicrobial effects of the volatile samples were investigated by using the disc diffusion and microdilution assays. They were found to inhibit a wide range of bacteria and fungi, causing in vitro growth inhibition at a concentration of 250 μg/mL. The volatile oils displayed great antibacterial potential with MIC values ranging from 16 to 128 μg/mL against the Gram-positive bacteria Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens, Enterococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus aureus, and less...

Two elemanolide sesquiterpenes and two eudesmane-type sesquiterpene glycosides named hierapolitanins A-D, were isolated, together with five known compounds, two flavones; hispidulin and jaceosidin, a flavon-C-glycoside, shaftoside, a flavonol glycoside, kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside and a neolignan, dehydrodiconiferyl alcohol from the aerial parts of Centaurea hierapolitana Boiss. (Asteraceae). Structure elucidations were based on spectroscopic evidence.

In the present study the chemical compositions of the essential oils from aerial parts of Centaurea davidovii Urum. and C. parilica Stoj. & Stef., both endemic to Bulgaria, were evaluated by GC and GC-MS. The main components of C. davidovii were β-eudesmol (13.9%), spathulenol (13.3%), caryophyllene oxide (10.1%) and (Z)-phytol (5.4%). The main components of Cparilica were hexadecanoic acid (39.2%), (Z,Z)-9,12-octadecadienoic acid (11.9%), caryophyllene oxide (6.8%) and spathulenol (6.6%). In order to compare the essential oils composition of these taxa and of related species a PCA analysis was carried out.

This study aimed to investigate the potential antitoxoplasma activities of extracts of the endemic plants Centaurea lydia and Phlomis nissolii in a fibroblast cell culture infected with T. gondii trophozoites. WI-38 cell lines treated with plant extracts (55 μg/mL each) and an untreated control were infected with 5×105 T. gondii trophozoites, and the number of parasites in the medium was determined on days 7, 14, and 24. No cytotoxic effects of C. lydia and P. nissolii extracts were detected at concentrations of 0.86-55 μg/mL in the WI-38 cell line, and the absence of the cytotoxicity of these extracts on the fibroblast cell line was considered as a positive effect. C. lydia extract at 55 μg/mL had marked activity against T. gondii trophozoites. A 47.5-fold increase was observed in the number of trophozoites in the control group, while a 84-fold decrease was found in the C. lydia extract group. However, a 36-fold increase was detected in the P. nissolii extract group, indicating no ...

Chronic ingestion of yellow star thistle ( Centaurea solstitialis) or Russian knapweed ( Acroptilon repens) causes nigropallidal encephalomalacia (NPE) in horses with an abrupt onset of neurologic signs characterized by dystonia of lips and tongue, inability to prehend food, depression, and locomotor deficits. The objectives of this study were to reexamine the pathologic alterations of NPE and to conduct an immunohistochemistry study using antibodies to tyrosine hydroxylase and α-synuclein, to determine whether NPE brains show histopathologic features resembling those in human Parkinson disease. Results confirm that the NPE lesions are located within the substantia nigra pars reticulata, sparing the cell bodies of the dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta, and in the rostral portion of the globus pallidus, with partial disruption of dopaminergic (tyrosine hydroxylase–positive) fibers passing through the globus pallidus. No abnormal cytoplasmic inclusions like th...

This study aimed to investigate the potential antitoxoplasma activities of extracts of the endemic plants Centaurea lydia and Phlomis nissolii in a fibroblast cell culture infected with T. gondii trophozoites. WI-38 cell lines treated with plant extracts (55 μg/mL each) and an untreated control were infected with 5×105 T. gondii trophozoites, and the number of parasites in the medium was determined on days 7, 14, and 24. No cytotoxic effects of C. lydia and P. nissolii extracts were detected at concentrations of 0.86-55 μg/mL in the WI-38 cell line, and the absence of the cytotoxicity of these extracts on the fibroblast cell line was considered as a positive effect. C. lydia extract at 55 μg/mL had marked activity against T. gondii trophozoites. A 47.5-fold increase was observed in the number of trophozoites in the control group, while a 84-fold decrease was found in the C. lydia extract group. However, a 36-fold increase was detected in the P. nissolii extract group, indicating no ...

In this study, fatty acid compositions of six Centaurea species growing in the Konya region were determined. The fatty acid composition of Centaurea balsamita, Centaurea calolepis, Centaurea carduiformis subsp. carduiformis, Centaurea cariensis subsp. maculiceps, C. cariensis subsp. microlepis and Centaurea iberica were analysed. Four species of these six Centaurea are endemic to Turkey. The endemic Centaurea species are C. calolepis, C. carduiformis subsp. carduiformis, C. cariensis subsp. maculiceps and C. cariensis subsp. microlepis. Generally, C 18:2 ω6 linoleic acid, C 16:0 palmitic acid, C 18:3 ω3 linolenic acid and C 18:1 oleic acid were found to be the major fatty acids in all species. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) were found in higher amounts than saturated fatty acids and monounsaturated fatty acids in all species. PUFAs were determined at 55.10%, 50.25%, 51.41%, 41.02%, 46.18% and 58.80% in C. balsamita, C. calolepis, C. carduiformis subsp. carduiformis, C. cariensis subsp. maculiceps, C. cariensis subsp. microlepis and C. iberica, respectively.