Abstract
Mosses are mainly the object of ecological and taxonomic research. This group of plants are still underestimated by scientists in other aspects of research. Recent research has shown that these plants contain remarkable and unique substances with high biological activity. Five species of mosses from a large urban ecosystem were identified for present study. In order to determine their biological potential, multifaceted studies were carried out, including: total phenolics content, antioxidant activity, antimicrobial and antifungal study, cytotoxicity evaluation, and scratch assay to assess pro-regenerative effect in the context of their possible use as the ingredients of biologically active cosmetics. Additionally, determination of individual phenolic compounds in selected extracts of the tested mosses was made. Research showed that Ceratodon purpureus and Dryptodon pulvinatus extracts had the greatest potential as antioxidants and antimicrobial activity. The cytotoxicity assessment indicated that the extracts from Dryptodon pulvinatus and Rhytidiadelphus squarossus exerted the strongest negative effect on mouse fibroblast line L929 viability at higher concentrations. While, the extract from Tortulla muralis best stimulated human foreskin fibroblast line HFF-1 proliferation and wound healing. The research on individual phenolic compounds content in the extracts tested indicated over 20 peaks on UPLC chromatograms. The conducted study has shown that mosses, especially so far unexplored species of open ecosystems, and e.g. epilytic habitats, may be a valuable source of biologically active substances and thus may constitute important medical and cosmetic possibilities.
Highlights
Mosses are a group of plants widely distributed worldwide but still poorly researched
The species D. pulvinatus and R. squarossus had comparable concentration of phenolics, approximately by 60% lower than that obtained for C. purpureus
Our results indicates that both radical scavenging activity and reducing properties in analyzed extracts decreased in the following order: C. purpureus > D. pulvinatus > T. muralis > H. cupressiforme > R. squarrosus
Summary
Mosses are a group of plants widely distributed worldwide but still poorly researched. Bryophytes have rarely been the object of human interest. This is mainly due to their low calorific value and poor organoleptic properties, which makes them unusable as a food source [5]. Bryophytes are used as animal feed in the circumpolar regions [3]. Since these little plants require quite good optical equipment for proper identification, their common recognition, and learning about them seem to be hindered. Some species are considered to be outstanding indicators of the naturalness of plant ecosystems, mainly forest ecosystems [14,15,16]
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