Marie-France Herent

• PhD
• Catholic University of Louvain

Parasitic diseases such as trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis pose significant health challenges in Africa. The Senegalese Pharmacopoeia, known for its many medicinal plants with anti‐infectious properties, can be a source of antiparasitic natural products. This study aimed to evaluate the in vitro antiparasitic activities of 33 methanolic extracts...

Morinda lucida Benth (Rubiaceae) is a medicinal plant traditionally used to treat malaria and digestive parasitosis. In vitro pharmacological studies have shown that extracts of the plant were very active against nematodes. The aim of our work was to identify the compounds responsible for the anthelmintic activity of M. lucida. To achieve this, the...

Introduction Alkanna tinctoria Tausch. is a medicinal plant well-known to produce important therapeutic compounds, such as alkannin/shikonin and their derivatives (A/Sd). It associates with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), which are known, amongst others beneficial effects, to modulate the plant secondary metabolites (SMs) biosynthesis. However,...

This study investigated the effect of the catechins profile on the antioxidant activity of green tea extracts (GTEs) by comparing the antioxidant activity of an EGC-rich GTE (GTE1, catechin content: 58% EGC, 30.1% EGCG, 7.9% EC, and 3.9% ECG) and an EGCG-rich GTE (GTE2, catechin content: 60.6% EGCG, 17.7% EGC, 11.8% ECG, and 9.8% EC) in a DHA-rich...

The aim of this study is first to identify the major phenolic compound of a crude ethanol extract of Psidium guajava leaves collected in Vietnam and to develop validated methods for quantification of phenolic and triterpenic components by HPLC-PDA-HRMS. The major phenolic compound was determined as quercetin-3-O-sulfate which is isolated and quanti...

Root extracts of a Cameroon medicinal plant, Dorstenia psilurus, were purified by screening for AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation in incubated mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs). Two isoprenylated flavones that activated AMPK were isolated. Compound 1 was identified as artelasticin by high resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrome...

Many plants require animal pollinators for successful reproduction; these plants provide pollinator resources in pollen and nectar (rewards) and attract pollinators by specific cues (signals). In a seeming contradiction, some plants produce toxins such as alkaloids in their pollen and nectar, protecting their resources from ineffective pollinators....

The aim of this study is to develop validated methods for the extraction and quantification of antimalarial triterpene esters from Keetia leucantha and from plasma samples. These compounds, showing in vitro and in vivo antiplasmodial activities, were optimally extracted from Keetia leucantha twigs using ultrasounds with dichloromethane and from pla...

To investigate whether Tilia trees are poisonous or valuable resources for bee visitors, we determined the nectar and pollen quantities and composition of the four main Tilia species planted in Western Europe (T. cordata, T. platyphyllos, T. tomentosa, and T. × europaea). We developed a new method to detect nicotine in nectars. We observed insect v...

Background Considering the need for new anti-malarial drugs, further investigations on Keetia leucantha (Rubiaceae), an in vitro antiplasmodial plant traditionally used to treat malaria, were carried out. This paper aimed to assess the in vivo anti-malarial efficacy of K. leucantha triterpenic esters previously identified as the most in vitro activ...

This work focuses on the physico-chemical characterization of kernels and oil of Terminalia catappa L. from Benin. The detailed physico-chemical properties are given including the nutritional composition and fatty acid profile, but also the phenolic content, phytochemical screening and antioxidant capacity which were determined for the first time....

RationaleHirsutinolide-type sesquiterpene lactones (SLs) are natural biologically active compounds mainly found in the genus Vernonia. Very few studies have been published about the fragmentation mechanisms of SLs generally and none about hirsutinolides, although they have drawn attention through their biological and taxonomical interest. This work...

Diels—Alder reactions between the diene (I) and dienophiles (II) and (IV) give access to phosphonated bicyclic adducts bearing a N—N junction.

Rationale: A considerable fraction of atmospheric particulate fine matter consists of organosulfates, with some of the most polar ones originating from the oxidation of isoprene. Their structural characterization provides insights into the nature of gas-phase precursors as well as into formation pathways. Methods: The structures of unknown polar...

Phosphonated benzoxazole derivatives are good candidates as ligands for metal complexes. Two regioisomers were synthesized with the phosphonate function at the C-4 and C-7 positions. Different alkyl chains were also introduced at the C-2 position to functionalize these two regioisomers and increase their complexation properties. The formation of co...

Keetia leucantha is a West African tree used in traditional medicine to treat several diseases among which parasitic infections. The dichloromethane extract of leaves was previously shown to possess growth-inhibitory activities on Plasmodium falciparum, Trypanosoma brucei brucei and Leishmania mexicana mexicana with low or no cytotoxicity (>100μg/m...

The Diels-Alder reaction between diethyl 1-phosphono-1,3-butadiene and cyclic azo dienophiles, such as 4-phenyl- and 4-methyl-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5- diones and phthalazine-1,4-dione gave access to phosphonated bicyclic cycloadducts bearing a N-N junction. Various functionalizations (dihydroxylation, hydrogenation and phosphonic ester deprotection) h...

Phosphonated molecules, featuring a half-cage structure and a N-lateral chain with additional metal coordinating groups were designed as ligands of metal cations. These compounds were synthesized by a Diels–Alder (DA) strategy, using 1-diethoxyphosphoryl-1,3-butadiene and a series of N-substituted maleimides as dienophiles. Two cycloadducts, bearin...

This study aimed at evaluating the anti-inflammatory properties of a pomegranate fruit husk (PomH) polyphenolic extract, rich in punicalagin, using Caco-2 cells, an in vitro model of human intestinal epithelium. Differentiated cells in bicameral inserts were pretreated or not with a PomH extract or punicalagin, as reference, at the apical side, rep...

The aim of the study was to evaluate the in vitro antitrypanosomal and antileishmanial activity of crude extracts of 10 plant species traditionally used in Benin to treat parasitic infections. For each species, dichloromethane, methanol and aqueous extracts were tested. Their antitrypanosomal and antileishmanial activities were evaluated in vitro o...

To date, GC-MS and LC-tandem MS techniques emerged quite frequently in laboratory medicine. However, high-resolution mass spectrometric (HRMS) analyzers remain almost ignored, even though in academic environment, they become more largely used. The main objective of this work is to present and illustrate with several applications, current high resol...

After irradiation at 254 nm of aqueous solutions of the antipsychotic drug flupentixol, the structures of the photodegradation products were determined by ultra high performance liquid-chromatography linked to mass spectrometry. Fragmentation patterns of the parent ions were established on a hybrid linear ion trap–orbitrap mass spectrometer allowin...

The microbiological contamination of raw plant materials is common and may be adequately reduced by radiation processing. This study evaluated the effects of gamma- and e-beam ionizing radiations (25 kGy) on three plants used as food or as medicinal products (Thymus vulgaris L., Eucalyptus radiata D.C., and Lavandula angustifolia Mill.) as well as...

The classical methods of chromatographic identification of compounds were based on calculation of retention indices by using different stationary phases. The aim of the work was to differentiate essential oils extracted from different plant species by identification of some of their major compounds. The method of identification was based on the cal...

The composition of the essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation of the leaves of Strychnos spinosa (Loganiaceae) was analysed by GC-FID and GC-MS. Out of twenty-two compounds identified in the oil, the main constituents were palmitic acid (34.3%), linalool (16.0%), and (E)-phytol (6.7%). Since the leaves of this plant are used in African traditi...

Essential oils of Helichrysum faradifani were isolated from fresh or dry plant parts by steam distillation with yields from 0.1–0.8%. Analysis of the oils by GC and GC/MS enabled the identification of 49 components, of which α-fenchene (trace-27.3%), β-caryophyllene (14.8–29.2%) and β-himachalene (15.7–36.6%) were most predominant.

This work aims to provide better knowledge of pyrazine and thiazole structural properties, exploitable in aroma extraction. An optimized extraction method including steam-vacuum distillation and liquid/ liquid extractions of the aqueous distillate followed by gas chromatography-nitrogen-phosphorus detector analysis enabled us to quantify 50 ppt of...

Interactions between lipids and several aroma compounds (aldehydes, methylketones, esters, and dimethyldisulfide) were studied in a real food system composed of fresh cheese, triolein, and water. The concentration of ‘free’ ligands was measured with a dynamic headspace-gas chromatographic system. From our results, we conclude that retention of all...

Held every two years, the European Brewery Convention draws together experts from around the world to exchange the latest information about the art and science of their trade. This volume collects a wealth of current research, with topics ranging from hop varieties to brewery automation.

Thirty-two green- and/or nutty-smelling compounds, most of them pyrazine and thiazole derivatives, were tested in ligand binding assays with purified 19 kDa bovine and 22 kDa porcine olfactive binding proteins (OBPs). Unlike the nutty ones, all the green odorants were found to be good ligands for both proteins. Lipophilicity appears as an interesti...