Abstract
Medicinal plants are widely used in folk medicine but quite often their composition and biological effects are hardly known. Our study aimed to analyze the composition, cytotoxicity, antimicrobial, antioxidant activity and cellular migration effects of Anthyllis vulneraria, Fuchsia magellanica, Fuchsia triphylla and Lysimachia nummularia used in the Romanian ethnomedicine for wounds. Liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was used to analyze 50% (v/v) ethanolic and aqueous extracts of the plants’ leaves. Antimicrobial activities were estimated with a standard microdilution method. The antioxidant properties were evaluated by validated chemical cell-free and biological cell-based assays. Cytotoxic effects were performed on mouse fibroblasts and human keratinocytes with a plate reader-based method assessing intracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP), nucleic acid and protein contents and also by a flow cytometer-based assay detecting apoptotic–necrotic cell populations. Cell migration to cover cell-free areas was visualized by time-lapse phase-contrast microscopy using standard culture inserts. Fuchsia species showed the strongest cytotoxicity and the highest antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. However, their ethanolic extracts facilitated cell migration, most probably due to their various phenolic acid, flavonoid and anthocyanin derivatives. Our data might serve as a basis for further animal experiments to explore the complex action of Fuchsia species in wound healing assays.
Highlights
Nowadays, the investigation of natural extracts from medicinal plants has been increased due to their rich content of bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, vitamins and proteins, which are found in different parts of plants [1]
We evaluated the antimicrobial properties by determination of the inhibitory effect of the leaf extracts against several Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains
Eighty-two gallic acid derivatives, hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives and flavonoid glycosides were detected altogether in the samples; eight anthocyanins were described in Fuchsia samples
Summary
The investigation of natural extracts from medicinal plants has been increased due to their rich content of bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, vitamins and proteins, which are found in different parts of plants [1]. Phenolic compounds (flavonoids, phenolic acids, anthocyanins, tannins) are secondary metabolites, which play a crucial role in the pharmaceutical sciences, thanks to their extensive biological effects (antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticancer properties). These bioactive substances have diverse basic structures but possess an aromatic ring bearing one or more hydroxyl groups, which can be related to different biological impacts [2,3]. Four plants were selected according to the previously described ethnomedicinal and phytochemical data. These medicinal plants are widely used in Transylvania, part of Romania.
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