The antioxidant features, polyphenolic composition and chromatographic fingerprints of the aerial parts from three Chilean endemic plants from the Paposo Valley located on the cost of the Atacama Desert were investigated for the first time using high pressure liquid chromatography coupled with photodiode array detector and electrospray ionization mass analysis (HPLC-PDA-ESI-MS) and spectroscopic methods. The phenolic fingerprints obtained for the plants were compared and correlated with the antioxidant capacities measured by the bleaching of the DPPH radical, the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and quantification of the total content of phenolics and flavonoids measured by spectroscopic methods. Thirty phenolics were identified for the first time for these species, mostly phenolic acids, flavanones, flavonols and some of their glycoside derivatives, together with three saturated fatty acids (stearic, palmitic and arachidic acids). Nolana ramosissima showed the highest antioxidant activity (26.35 ± 1.02 μg/mL, 116.07 ± 3.42 μM Trolox equivalents/g dry weight and 81.23% ± 3.77% of inhibition in the DPPH, FRAP and scavenging activity (SA) assays, respectively), followed by N. aplocaryoides (85.19 ± 1.64 μg/mL, 65.87 ± 2.33 μM TE/g DW and 53.27% ± 3.07%) and N. leptophylla (124.71 ± 3.01, 44.23 ± 5.18 μM TE/g DW and 38.63% ± 1.85%).

Vascular endothelium plays a key role in regulating cardiovascular homeostasis by controlling the vascular tone. Variations in sex hormones during the reproductive cycle of females affect the homeostasis of the cardiovascular system. Also, the evidence shows that estrogens show a cardioprotective effect. On this basis, this study describes some vascular responses induced by vasoactive substances during the estrous cycle in rats. We obtained the information available on this topic from the online databases that included scientific articles published in the Web of Science, PubMed, and Scielo. Many investigations have evaluated the vasoactive response of substances such as acetylcholine and norepinephrine during the estrous cycle. In this review, we specifically described the vascular response to vasoactive substances in rats during the estrous cycle, pregnancy, and in ovariectomized rats. In addition, we discussed the existence of different signaling pathways that modulate vascular function. The knowledge of these effects is relevant for the optimization and development of new treatments for some vascular pathologies.

A variety of aminoisoquinoline-5,8-quinones bearing α-amino acids moieties were synthesized from 3-methyl-4-methoxycarbonylisoquinoline-5,8-quinone and diverse l- and d-α-amino acid methyl esters. The members of the series were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against normal and cancer cell lines by using the (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) (MTT) assay. From the current investigation, structure–activity relationships demonstrate that the location and structure of the amino acid fragment plays a significant role in the cytotoxic effects. Moderate to high cytotoxic activity was observed and four members, derived from l-alanine, l-leucine, l-phenylalanine, and d-phenylalanine, were selected as promising compounds by their IC₅₀ ranging from 0.5 to 6.25 μM and also by their good selectivity indexes (≥2.24).

Valeriana pilosa is usually employed in Peruvian folk medicine in the form of infusion to treat stomach pain, and has antispasmodic, relaxing, sleep-promoting, and sedative properties, as well as is an anti-inflammatory. In this study, Valeriana pilosa essential oil (VPEO) was obtained by hydrodistillation, analyzed by GC and GC/MS, and 47 compounds were identified. Major oil components were α-patchoulene (5.8%), α-humulene (6.1%), seychellene (7.6%), and patchoulol (20.8%). Furthermore, we assessed the in vitro antioxidant activities, molecular docking, and Ligand Efficiency studies on enzymes involved in cellular redox pathways such as CYP2C9, catalase, superoxide dismutase, and xanthine oxidase. Essential oil antioxidant activities were assessed by FRAP, ABTS^•+, and DPPH^• radical scavenging activity. VPEO displays high antioxidant activity as compared to essential oils of Valeriana jatamansi and Valeriana officinalis oil roots. In addition, molecular docking and ADMET prediction was employed to compare the absorption, metabolism, and toxicity properties of Valeriana pilosa compounds. In the molecular docking studies, limonene, p-cimene, carvone, α-cubebene, cyclosativene, α-guaiene, allo-aromadendrene, valencene, and eremophyllene were the compounds with the best docking score on CYP2C9 and xanthine oxidase. Thus, volatile components of Valeriana pilosa could be associated with the detected antioxidant activity, acting as putative inhibitors of CYP2C9 and xanthine oxidase.

A broad variety of oxygen-substituted diaryl ketones has been synthesized by solar energy-induced Friedel Crafts acylations of 1,4-benzo- and 1,4-naphthoquinones with benzaldehydes. The in vitro antiproliferative properties of the photoproducts were assessed on prostate (DU-145), bladder (T24) and breast (MCF7) human-derived tumor cell lines and compared to non-tumor mouse fibroblasts (Balb/3T3). Among the tested compounds, it was found that those containing a 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl A-ring, such as 12 and 22 are more active on DU-145, with EC₅₀ values of 1.2 and 5.9 μM, respectively. By comparing their effects on the three cancer cell lines, the analogue 22 has the best mean selective index (2.4).