The Relationship of Nitrogen and C/N Ratio with Secondary Metabolites Levels and Antioxidant Activities in Three Varieties of Malaysian Kacip Fatimah (Labisia Pumila Blume)

Overview

Journal Molecules

Publisher MDPI

Specialty Biology

Date 2011 Jul 1

PMID 21716173

Citations 22

Authors

Mohd Hafiz Ibrahim

Hawa Z E Jaafar

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Kacip Fatimah (Labisia pumila Blume), one of the most famous and widely used herbs, especially in Southeast Asia, is found to have interesting bioactive compounds and displays health promoting properties. In this study, the antioxidant activities of the methanol extracts of leaves, stems and roots of three varieties of L. pumila (var. alata, pumila and lanceolata) were evaluated in an effort to compare and validate the medicinal potential of this indigenous Malaysian herb species. The antioxidant activity determined by the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, as well as the total amount of phenolics and flavonoids were the highest in the leaves, followed by the stems and roots in all the varieties. A similar trend was displayed by the ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP) activity, suggesting that the L. pumila varieties possess high foliar antioxidant properties. At low FRAP activity concentrations, the values of the leaves' inhibition activity in the three varieties were significantly higher than those of the stems and roots, with var. alata exhibiting higher antioxidant activities and total contents of phenolics and flavonoids compared to the varieties pumila and lanceolata. The high production of secondary metabolites and antioxidant activities in var. alata were firmly related to low nitrogen content and high C/N ratio in plant parts. The study also demonstrated a positive correlation between secondary metabolite content and antioxidant activities, and revealed that the consumption of L. pumila could exert several beneficial effects by virtue of its antioxidant activity.

Citing Articles

Nitrogen Sources Reprogram Carbon and Nitrogen Metabolism to Promote Andrographolide Biosynthesis in (Burm.f.) Nees Seedlings.

Jian S, Wan S, Lin Y, Zhong C Int J Mol Sci. 2024; 25(7).

PMID: 38612797 PMC: 11012798. DOI: 10.3390/ijms25073990.

Mechanisms governing the impact of nitrogen stress on the formation of secondary metabolites in Artemisia argyi leaves.

Wang Z, Zhao T, Ma L, Chen C, Miao Y, Guo L Sci Rep. 2023; 13(1):12866.

PMID: 37553416 PMC: 10409738. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-40098-5.

High nitrogen inhibits biomass and saponins accumulation in a medicinal plant .

Cun Z, Wu H, Zhang J, Shuang S, Hong J, An T PeerJ. 2023; 11:e14933.

PMID: 36846464 PMC: 9951802. DOI: 10.7717/peerj.14933.

Adaptive responses of carbon and nitrogen metabolisms to nitrogen-deficiency in Citrus sinensis seedlings.

Huang W, Zheng Z, Hua D, Chen X, Zhang J, Chen H BMC Plant Biol. 2022; 22(1):370.

PMID: 35879653 PMC: 9316421. DOI: 10.1186/s12870-022-03759-7.

The Edible Gray Oyster Fungi Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacq. ex Fr.) P. Kumm a Potent Waste Consumer, a Biofriendly Species with Antioxidant Activity Depending on the Growth Substrate.

Mihai R, Melo Heras E, Florescu L, Catana R J Fungi (Basel). 2022; 8(3).

PMID: 35330276 PMC: 8956126. DOI: 10.3390/jof8030274.

References

Shaheen S, Sterne J, Thompson R, Songhurst C, Margetts B, Burney P . Dietary antioxidants and asthma in adults: population-based case-control study. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2001; 164(10 Pt 1):1823-8. DOI: 10.1164/ajrccm.164.10.2104061. View

Serafini M, Bellocco R, Wolk A, Ekstrom A . Total antioxidant potential of fruit and vegetables and risk of gastric cancer. Gastroenterology. 2002; 123(4):985-91. DOI: 10.1053/gast.2002.35957. View

Benzie I, Strain J . The ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) as a measure of "antioxidant power": the FRAP assay. Anal Biochem. 1996; 239(1):70-6. DOI: 10.1006/abio.1996.0292. View

Ferry D, Smith A, Malkhandi J, Fyfe D, deTakats P, Anderson D . Phase I clinical trial of the flavonoid quercetin: pharmacokinetics and evidence for in vivo tyrosine kinase inhibition. Clin Cancer Res. 1996; 2(4):659-68. View

Galati G, OBrien P . Potential toxicity of flavonoids and other dietary phenolics: significance for their chemopreventive and anticancer properties. Free Radic Biol Med. 2004; 37(3):287-303. DOI: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2004.04.034. View

Gil M, Tomas-Barberan F, Hess-Pierce B, Kader A . Antioxidant capacities, phenolic compounds, carotenoids, and vitamin C contents of nectarine, peach, and plum cultivars from California. J Agric Food Chem. 2002; 50(17):4976-82. DOI: 10.1021/jf020136b. View

Enkhmaa B, Shiwaku K, Katsube T, Kitajima K, Anuurad E, Yamasaki M . Mulberry (Morus alba L.) leaves and their major flavonol quercetin 3-(6-malonylglucoside) attenuate atherosclerotic lesion development in LDL receptor-deficient mice. J Nutr. 2005; 135(4):729-34. DOI: 10.1093/jn/135.4.729. View

Karimi E, Oskoueian E, Hendra R, Jaafar H . Evaluation of Crocus sativus L. stigma phenolic and flavonoid compounds and its antioxidant activity. Molecules. 2010; 15(9):6244-56. PMC: 6257777. DOI: 10.3390/molecules15096244. View

Ibrahim M, Jaafar H, Rahmat A, Rahman Z . The relationship between phenolics and flavonoids production with total non structural carbohydrate and photosynthetic rate in Labisia pumila Benth. under high CO2 and nitrogen fertilization. Molecules. 2010; 16(1):162-74. PMC: 6259453. DOI: 10.3390/molecules16010162. View

10.

McCall M, Frei B . Can antioxidant vitamins materially reduce oxidative damage in humans?. Free Radic Biol Med. 1999; 26(7-8):1034-53. DOI: 10.1016/s0891-5849(98)00302-5. View

11.

Lindroth R . Impacts of elevated atmospheric CO2 and O3 on forests: phytochemistry, trophic interactions, and ecosystem dynamics. J Chem Ecol. 2010; 36(1):2-21. DOI: 10.1007/s10886-009-9731-4. View

12.

Devasagayam T, Tilak J, Boloor K, Sane K, Ghaskadbi S, Lele R . Free radicals and antioxidants in human health: current status and future prospects. J Assoc Physicians India. 2005; 52:794-804. View

13.

Tsao R, Deng Z . Separation procedures for naturally occurring antioxidant phytochemicals. J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci. 2004; 812(1-2):85-99. DOI: 10.1016/j.jchromb.2004.09.028. View

14.

Gulcin I . The antioxidant and radical scavenging activities of black pepper (Piper nigrum) seeds. Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2006; 56(7):491-9. DOI: 10.1080/09637480500450248. View

15.

Arai Y, Watanabe S, Kimira M, Shimoi K, Mochizuki R, Kinae N . Dietary intakes of flavonols, flavones and isoflavones by Japanese women and the inverse correlation between quercetin intake and plasma LDL cholesterol concentration. J Nutr. 2000; 130(9):2243-50. DOI: 10.1093/jn/130.9.2243. View

16.

Karimi E, Jaafar H, Ahmad S . Phytochemical analysis and antimicrobial activities of methanolic extracts of leaf, stem and root from different varieties of Labisa pumila Benth. Molecules. 2011; 16(6):4438-50. PMC: 6264691. DOI: 10.3390/molecules16064438. View

17.

Bravo L . Polyphenols: chemistry, dietary sources, metabolism, and nutritional significance. Nutr Rev. 1998; 56(11):317-33. DOI: 10.1111/j.1753-4887.1998.tb01670.x. View

18.

Argolo A, Santana A, Pletsch M, Coelho L . Antioxidant activity of leaf extracts from Bauhinia monandra. Bioresour Technol. 2004; 95(2):229-33. DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2003.12.014. View

19.

Luximon-Ramma A, Bahorun T, Soobrattee M, Aruoma O . Antioxidant activities of phenolic, proanthocyanidin, and flavonoid components in extracts of Cassia fistula. J Agric Food Chem. 2002; 50(18):5042-7. DOI: 10.1021/jf0201172. View

20.

Zhang Q, Ye M . Chemical analysis of the Chinese herbal medicine Gan-Cao (licorice). J Chromatogr A. 2008; 1216(11):1954-69. DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2008.07.072. View