Natural products of wild, cultivated and edible plants: structure and bioactivity determination

We plan targeted collection of wild-growing medicinal plants, based on chemotaxonomic and ethnomedicinal information regarding the corresponding genera, on localities of Serbia and the region. The emphasis will be on the following families (genera): ASTERACEAE (Achillea, Amphoricarpos, Anthemis, Centaurea, Senecio, Helichrysum), APIACEAE (Seseli), GENTIANACEAE (Gentiana), BORAGINACEAE (Rindera), EUPHORBIACEAE (Euphorbia), DIPSACACEAE (Cephalaria) and BETULACEAE (Alnus). We plan investigation of some other sources of pharmacologically active compounds such as edible berries from wild-grown and cultivated plant material (current, raspberries, blackberries, mulberries and grape) known on the bases of published data for their high content of bioactive substances, among which polyphenols (powerful antioxidants) have prominent position. Separation of pure compounds will be achieved using different chromatographic techiques. Next crucial step will be structural elucidation and c?aracterisation of the pure compounds by spectroscopic means (IR, NMR, LC/DAD/MS, GC, GC/MS, UV). The emphasis will be on 2D NMR and tandem mass spectrometry LC/MS/MS and GC/MS/MS. The selection of isolated and characterized compounds will be subjected to biological activity tests: antioxidative, antibacterial, antifungal, brine shrimp toxicity, cytotoxicity, (tubulin, human cancer cell lines), potential for reversion of "multidrug" resistance, and chromosomal aberations.