Biological Activities of Four Adaptogenic Plant Extracts and Their Active Substances on a Rotifer Model.

Lilla Mácsai,Attila Horváth,Zsolt L Datki,Zoltán P Zomborszki,Dezső Csupor

doi:10.1155/2018/3690683

Lilla Mácsai, Attila Horváth + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/3690683

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Abstract

Rotifers have been widely used as well-characterized models of aging, since their multiorgan character makes them suitable as in vivo toxicological and lifespan models. Here we report the assessment of four adaptogenic plants and their extracts for the first time in this model. The effects on rotifer viability of extracts and characteristic active markers of Panax ginseng, Withania somnifera, Leuzea carthamoides, and Rhodiola rosea were tested in vivo. The crude extracts were nontoxic to Philodina acuticornis bdelloid rotifers; however, the pure substances of the plants influenced negatively the viability. Ginsenoside Rb1 and secondary metabolites of Withania somnifera exerted deleterious effect on the animals. The aglycone tyrosol and cinnamyl alcohol (from Rhodiola rosea) were more toxic than their glycosides salidroside and rosavin. Although the 20-OH-ecdysone and ajugasterone C (from Leuzea carthamoides) are chemically very similar, the latter was less toxic.

Highlights

Panax ginseng Meyer, Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal, Leuzea carthamoides Willd., and Rhodiola rosea L. have been widely used in the folk medicine for their adaptogenic properties, to maintain physical and mental health
Ginsenoside Rb1 was purchased from HWI Analytik Gmbh (Tubingen, Germany), withanolide A, withanolide B, and withaferin A were purchased from Phytolab (Vestenbergsgreuth, Germany), rosavin, salidrosid, tyrosol, and cinnamyl alcohol were purchased from SigmaAldrich (Dusseldorf, Germany), rhodiosin was purchased from Carbosynth (Compton-Burkshire, UK), and 20-OHecdysone and ajugasterone were isolated in our Department
HPLC analysis of the extracts revealed that the extract of W. somnifera contained 8.75±0.02 mg/g withaferin A, 0.17±0.01 mg/g withanolide A, and 0.17±0.01 mg/g withanolide B, whereas from R. rosea 8.26±0.13 mg/g salidroside, 1.78±0.14 mg/g tyrosol, 9.55±0.02 mg/g rosavin, and 6.28±0.05 mg/g cinnamyl-alcohol, from P. ginseng 5.81±0.15 mg/g ginsenosid Rb1, from

Summary

Introduction

Panax ginseng Meyer, Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal, Leuzea carthamoides Willd., and Rhodiola rosea L. have been widely used in the folk medicine for their adaptogenic properties, to maintain physical and mental health. Rotifers (phylum Rotifera) are widely used research models in the fields of ecotoxicology and aging [2, 3] The bdelloids, with their multiorgan characters and sensitivity for chemicals [4], together with the short lifespan and specific measurable phenotypic features and viability markers [5] are useful as in vivo toxicological and lifespan models. Due to their size, these animals have outstanding advantages in terms of culturing and are rather easy to work with [5, 6]. The aim of our work was to study the biological effect of the above-mentioned four adaptogenic plants on rotifers in order to reveal their toxic and pharmacologically perspective effects in this model

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