Artemisia sphaerocephala Krasch

Fiorito, Serena, Epifano, Francesco, Preziuso, Francesca, Taddeo, Vito Alessandro & Genovese, Salvatore, 2018, Selenylated plant polysaccharides: A survey of their chemical and pharmacological properties, Phytochemistry 153, pp. 1-10 : 5

5.8.1. Artemisia sphaerocephala Krasch

A. sphaerocephala is a plant endemic of Mongolia and widely used in this area as food. Polysaccharides from this plant have been reported to possess anti-oxidant activity ( Wang et al., 2009). In 2012 Wang and coworkers synthesized a library of 6 Se-Ps using the extract of the whole plant as starting material with a Se content ranging from 0.17 mg /g to 1.7 mg /g. These samples were preliminarily tested in vitro as scavengers of DPPH radical and superoxide anions and for their reducing power, and ability to chelate ferrous ions. All Se-Ps synthesized showed a dose-dependent anti-oxidant capacity in the range 0.1–10 mg /mL. The native polysaccharide exhibited much lower values. On the other hand, a low chelating ability and reducing power were observed. These results were complemented by anti-tumor studies accomplished in 2016 by the same research group ( Wang et al., 2016). The Se-P exhibiting the highest effect in in vitro assays was selected and seen to effectively inhibit the growth of HeLa (cervical cancer), A549 (lung carcinoma), and HepG2 (human hepatoma) cancer cell lines in a dose dependent-manner in the concentration range 25–500 μg/mL. Finally, in 2017 Wang and coworkers reported the first synthesis of Se-Ps from A. sphaerocephala assisted by microwaves. However, although yields were very high (72.1%–94.9%), the Se content was rather low (<264 μg/g). The 7 samples obtained were then screened as growth inhibitory agents against H1650 cancer cell line (human non-small cell lung cancer), but the best effect recorded was modest (32.4% and 39.8% growth inhibition at 100 μg/mL and 200 μg/mL respectively).