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Planta Med 2004; 70(8): 728-735
DOI: 10.1055/s-2004-827203
Original Paper
Pharmacology
© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Estrogenic Activity of Isolated Compounds and Essential Oils of Pimpinella Species from Turkey, Evaluated using a Recombinant Yeast Screen

Nurhayat Tabanca1 , 2 , Shabana I. Khan2 , Erdal Bedir2 , 5 , Srinivas Annavarapu3 , Kristine Willett3 , Ikhlas A. Khan2 , 4 , Nese Kirimer1 , K. Husnu Can Baser1
  • 1Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Anadolu University, Eskisehir, Turkey
  • 2National Center for Natural Products Research, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Mississippi, University, MS, USA
  • 3Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, MS, USA
  • 4Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, MS, USA
  • 5Department of Bioengineering, Faculty of Engineering, Ege University, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey
Further Information

Publication History

Received: December 29, 2003

Accepted: April 24, 2004

Publication Date:
24 August 2004 (online)

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Abstract

Several plants and plant-derived pure compounds, designated as phytoestrogens, have been reported to cause estrogenic effects. They have been used for alleviation of menopausal symptoms, prevention of osteoporosis, heart disease and cancer. There is an increased interest in studying phytoestrogens such as isoflavones and lignans for their use as replacements for synthetic estrogens. In this study, the estrogenic activity of essential oils of eleven Pimpinella species and the compounds isolated from these species were evaluated using the yeast estrogen screen (YES) assay. The essential oils containing (E)-anethole as major compound showed estrogenic activity in the YES assay, except for the aerial parts without fruits of P. anisetum and P. flabellifolia. The percent maximal response produced by most anethole-containing oils was 30 - 50 %. Fruits of P. isaurica and P. peucedanifolia were estrogenic in spite of the absence or trace amount of anethole, respectively. This study indicates that the estrogenic activity of Pimpinella oils is not solely due to the presence of anethole. Components other than anethole may be responsible for contributing towards the estrogenic activity. The essential oils from different species varied in their estrogenic potencies (relative potency from 8.3 × 10 - 8 to 1.2 × 10 - 6 compared to 17β-estradiol) and among the different plant parts, the fruit oils of most species were estrogenic followed by the aerial parts without fruits and the root oils and their EC50 values varied from 45 μg/mL to 650 μg/mL.

Key words

Pimpinella species - Apiaceae - (E)-anethole - phenylpropanoid - essential oil, GC and GC/MS - estrogenic activity

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Shabana I. Khan, Ph. D.

National Center for Natural Products Research

University of Mississippi

University

MS 38677

USA

Phone: +1-662-915-1041

Fax: +1-662-915-7062

Email: skhan@olemiss.edu