abstract
Salicornia ramosissima J. Woods is a salt tolerant plant currently used in the human diet, whose genus not only displays great potential as a crop plant in deserts and highly saline soils, but also has value in traditional medicine and exhibits promising biological activities. The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of S. ramosissima ethanolic extract on carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced testicular damage in a mouse model and identify secondary metabolites present in the tested extract. The histopathological analysis showed that the treatment with the ethanolic extract prior to CCl4 administration prevented significantly the architectural disorder of seminiferous epithelium and germ cell exfoliation. The phytochemical study allowed the identification of known phenolic and aliphatic compounds [ethyl linolenoate (1), sitostanol (2), octadecyl (3) and eicosanyl (4) (E)-ferulates, ethyl (E)-2-hydroxycinnamate (5), scopoletin (6), a triacylglycerol of tetracosanoic acid (7)], and three new compounds: saliramoester, a long chain triester (8), saliram-ophenone, a propiophenone derivative (9) and saliramopyrrole a pyrrole-3-carbaldehyde derivative (10). Their chemical structures were elucidated using detailed spectroscopic studies (1D and 2D NMR and MS). These results enhance the value of S. ramosissima as an excellent source of structurally interesting phytochemicals and as protective agent against testicular toxicity. (C) 2016 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University.
keywords
MALE REPRODUCTIVE-SYSTEM; ACID ALKYL ESTERS; FERULIC ACID; STRUCTURAL ELUCIDATION; ANTIOXIDANT; SPERMATOGENESIS; RAT; MICE; OIL
subject category
Chemistry
authors
Ferreira, D; Isca, VMS; Leal, P; Seca, AML; Silva, H; Pereira, MD; Silva, AMS; Pinto, DCGA
our authors
Maria de Lourdes Gomes Pereira
Associate Professor with Aggregationacknowledgements
Thanks are due to the University of Aveiro and Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT) FCT/MEC for the financial support of the QOPNA research Unit (FCTUID/QUI/00062/2013) CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007679 and CESAM, through national founds and, where applicable, co-financed by the FEDER, within the PT2020 Partnership Agreement; FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-037271 and Portuguese National NMR Network (RNRMN).