Exploring promising electron-shuttling characteristics of Perilla frutescens and potential anti-viral activity via bioenergy generation in microbial fuel cells

Abstract

To decipher synergistic interactions of herbal medicine for disease treatment, prior studies showed that electron-shuttling catalysis and bioenergy-generating stimulation endow immense significance to the efficacy of herbal medicines on disease treatment. In fact, the electrochemical activity of these herbal medicines is even associated with the antiviral capabilities of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), making it an effective preventive remedy against virus-caused infections (e.g., COVID-19). Formerly screened Perilla frutescens was thus explored for its electron shuttling capability and bioenergy generation performance to confirm its potential for anti-COVID19 treatment. To evaluate the bioenergy-generating and electron-mediating characteristics of P. frutescens, microbial fuel cells (MFCs) were used as the platform of evaluation. The different extraction process was performed to determine the most promising ES-abundant herbal extract that exhibited maximum bioenergy production and significant antioxidant activity. The findings indicated that the essential oil-removed P. frutescens water extract (GPF-S-H2O) performed the optimal stimulating bioenergy generation and antioxidant activity, as revealed by power density measurement, DPPH, and FRAP assay. The removal of volatile compounds from the herb significantly improved its electrochemical activity. GPF-S-H2O in appropriate amount could generate the maximal bioenergy expression and efficient electron transfer.