Natural products of mineral origin (alum, bismuth, calcium, magnesium, silicates and zinc compounds) have maintained their popularity as drugs over the course of time. Some evidence still suggests potential benefit of these substances. Therefore, this paper reviews the characteristic features of the respective minerals and their salts along the course of studies on these products.

Glycyrrhizic acid (GA), belonging to a class of triterpenes, is a conjugate of two molecules, namely glucuronic acid and glycyrrhetinic acid. It is naturally extracted from the roots of licorice plants. With its more common uses in the confectionery and cosmetics industry, GA extends its applications as a herbal medicine for a wide range of ailments. At low appropriate doses, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, antioxidant, anti-tumor, antimicrobial and anti-viral properties have been reported by researchers worldwide. This review summarizes the effects of GA on metabolic syndrome, tumorigenesis, microbes and viruses, oxidative stress, and inflammation, as well as the reported side effects of the drug.

Aloe ferox is an important medicinal plant in Southern Africa whose seeds could be useful as a source of oil. The fatty acid composition of A. ferox seed oil was determined using gas chromatography. The physicochemical properties of the oil were analysed using standard methods. The seeds yielded 19.4% of a light textured oil using the Blight and Dyer's method and 12.3% using the Soxhlet extraction method. The saponification value of the seed oil was 241.9 mg KOH/g and the peroxide value was 8.9 meq/kg. The acid value of the seed oil was 51.5 mg KOH/g (25.9% free fatty acids). The major fatty acids found in the seed oil were linoleic acid (71.8%), oleic acid (12.0%), palmitic acid (11.2%) and stearic acid (2.9%). The results obtained suggest that as A. ferox seed oil is high in linoleic acid, it could be potentially exploited in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.

Aromatic plants can interfere in the Mediterranean ecosystem, mainly by the introduction in the environment of volatile compounds. For this reason, we studied the chemical composition and the possible phytotoxic and antimicrobial activities of the essential oil extracted from leaves of Tunisian Artemisia herba-alba Asso. The chemical composition of the essential oil, obtained by hydrodistillation, was analyzed by GC and GC-MS. In all, 24 compounds were identified. The main components were camphor (39.1%), chrysanthenone (15.0%) and cis-thujone (7.8%). The essential oil was evaluated for its in vitro phytotoxic activity against germination and initial radical growth of Raphanus sativus L., Lepidium sativum L., Sinapis arvensis L., Triticum durum L. and Phalaris canariensis L. seeds. The radicle elongation of the five seeds was affected to different extents by the oil, while germination was not affected. The oil, when tested against eight selected bacterial strains, showed low antimicrobial activity. The chemical composition of the oil of A. herba-alba can help in the chemosystematics of this complex genus. However, the recorded biological activities seem to be neither ecologically nor medicinally significant.

Essential oils from leaves of Xylopia frutescens (XFMJ) and two specimens of Xylopia laevigata (XLMC and XLSI) were obtained by hydrodistillation using a Clevenger-type apparatus, and analyzed by GC-MS and GC-FID. Sesquiterpenes dominated the essential oils. The main constituents of XFMJ were (E)-caryophyllene (24.8%), bicyclogermacrene (20.8%), germacrene D (17.0%), beta-elemene (7.9%), and (E)-beta-ocimene (6.8%). XLMC contained significant quantities of germacrene D (18.9%), bicyclogermacrene (18.4%), beta-elemene (9.5%), delta-selinene (9.2%), (E)-caryophyllene (8.5%), germacrene B (5.7%) and gamma-muurolene (5.7%), while germacrene D (27.0%), bicyclogermacrene (12.8%), (E)-caryophyllene (8.6%), gamma-muurolene (8.6%), delta-cadinene (6.8%), and germacrene B (6.0%) were the main components of XLSI. The essential oils had trypanocidal activity against the Y strain of Trypanosoma cruzi, with IC50 values lower than 30 microg x mL(-1) and 15 microg x mL(-1) against epimastigote and trypomastigote forms of T. cruzi, respectively, and were also able to reduce the percentage in vitro of T. cruzi-infected macrophages and the intracellular number of amastigotes at concentrations that were non-cytotoxic to macrophages.

The essential oil composition from the aerial parts of Baccharoides lilacina (Dalzell & A. Gibson) M. R. Almeida was analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). A total of 41 compounds have been identified, representing 97.4% of the total oil. The main constituents were identified as beta-caryophyllene (27.7%), epi-alpha-cadinol (25.1%), caryophyllene oxide (9.9%), alpha-muurolol (7.6%), alpha-cadinene (6.1%) and alpha-cadinol 4.5%). The oil was found to be rich in oxygenated sesquiterpenes (47.1%) and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (46.2%).

The expression of defensive compounds derived from secondary metabolism in plants of Eucalyptus globulus Labill, and the persistence of these in vegetative propagation was evaluated by gas chromatography with flame ionization (GC-FID) and mass spectrometry (MS). The plants were induced by attack from the insect Ctenarytaina eucalypti ("blue gum psyllid") and by mechanical damage. Defense responses were activated in plants for the different types of tested induction. We identified four defensive compounds present in the leaves of plants induced in entomological form (beta-terpineol, aromadendrene, caryophyllene-oxide and eremophilene); all remained in the vegetative propagation. After mechanical induction, we identified three compounds (beta-terpineol, aromadendrene and ledol), of which ledol and aromadendrene persisted in the vegetative propagation. Virtually all the compounds detected, in addition to persisting in the vegetative propagation, showed specificity for the induction type, whether entomological or mechanical, except for aromadendrene, which was expressed in both types of induction.

Attraction of the soybean pod borer, Leguminivora glycinivorella (Matsumura), an economically important pest of soybean, to nine plant volatiles, alone or combined with two kinds of synthetic sex pheromone, ((E,E)-8,10-dodecadienyl acetate (EE8,10-12:Ac), or a blend of EE8,10-12:Ac and (E)-10-dodecenyl acetate in a 10:1 ratio), was evaluated in field trapping experiments in a soybean field in Harbin, China. By themselves, the plant volatiles (dose) linalool (0.1 mg), (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate (0.1 mg), and geraniol (0.1 mg, 1.0 mg) were weakly attractive to L. glycinivorella males, but significantly reduced mean catches when higher doses were combined with pheromones. Conversely, (E)-2-hexenal, benzaldehyde, and phenylacetaldehyde were not attractive to L. glycinivorella males at any dose tested, but significantly increased mean catch when certain doses were combined with the binary pheromone blend. Other plant volatiles, such as (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol, (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, and (E)-2-hexenyl acetate, were unattractive on their own, but significantly reduced mean catch of L. glycinivorella males when certain doses were combined with the pheromones. These results suggest that efficacy of pheromone-baited traps for survey and monitoring of L. glycinivorella male moths may be enhanced by the addition of specific plant volatiles and that the relative dose is critical.

The Chinese herbal decoction formula Xiao Jian Zhong Tang (XJZT) is one of the classic formulas from the classic traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Previous studies on XJZT found that it is effective for treating peptic ulcer, irritable bowel syndrome, functional gastroenteritis and similar psychosomatic disorders of the digestive organs. It has also been shown that all the herbs used in XJZT contain antioxidants. In this study, we investigated the in vitro DNA protection effect of the individual herb extracts and the whole formula. Water extract of the herbs and XJZT were used to pre-treat human lymphocytes. The lymphocytes were then exposed to hydrogen peroxide. The in vitro DNA protection effect of the herbs was investigated by comet assay. No DNA protective effect (P < 0.05) was found for individual herb extracts, but XJZT showed protection of human lymphocytic DNA upon oxidative stress (P < 0.05). The in vitro DNA protection effect of XJZT was conferred by the synergistic effect of the herbs, while the individual herbs had no such effect.

Foodborne disease is a major public health problem. The present study examined Annona squamosa leaves, which are traditionally used to treat diarrhea and other infections, for their potential to be used in modern food safety or medicine. Active constituents were partially purified by ethanol extraction and column chromatography. MICs of the extract were 62.5 to 125 microg/mL against Bacillus cereus, Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus, and 250 microg/mL against Campylobacter jejuni. In time-kill assays, 500 microg/mL of the extract reduced colony forming unit numbers of C. jejuni almost 10 000-fold within 12 hours. Similar decreases were seen against B. cereus, but over a longer time-frame. LC-MS analysis indicated the presence of reticuline and oxophoebine. Assessment of stability by MIC assay showed activity was heat-labile, with loss of activity greatest following high temperature treatments. Activity was relatively stable at refrigeration temperature. These results indicate A. squamosa has broad-spectrum but heat-labile activity against foodborne bacterial pathogens, and bactericidal activity against B. cereus and C. jejuni. This bactericidal activity is not sufficiently rapid for A. squamosa to be used as a food sanitizer, but the extract could potentially be developed as an additive for refrigerated foods, or a modern treatment for foodborne illness.