Abstract
This study focused on the biological evaluation and chemical characterization of Geranium pyrenaicum Burm. f. Different solvent extracts (hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol, and water extracts) were prepared. The phytochemical profile, antioxidant, and enzyme inhibitory activity were investigated. Cytotoxicity was assessed using VERO, FaDu, HeLa and RKO cells. The antiviral activity was carried out against HSV-1 (Herpes simplex virus 1) propagated in VERO cell line. The aqueous extract, possessing high phenolic content (170.50 mg gallic acid equivalent/g extract), showed the highest reducing capacity (613.27 and 364.10 mg Trolox equivalent/g extract, for cupric reducing antioxidant capacity and ferric reducing antioxidant power, respectively), radical scavenging potential (469.82 mg Trolox equivalent/g extract, against 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)), metal chelating ability (52.39 mg ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid equivalent/g extract) and total antioxidant capacity (3.15 mmol Trolox equivalent/g extract). Liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-quadrupole time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS) alloved to tentatively identify a total of 56 compounds in the extracts, including ellagitannins, gallic acid and galloyl derivatives amongst others. The ethyl acetate extracts substantially depressed cholinesterase enzymes (4.49 and 12.26 mg galantamine equivalent/g extract against AChE and BChE, respectively) and α-amylase enzyme (1.04 mmol acarbose equivalent/g extract). On the other hand, the methanolic extract inhibited tyrosinase (121.42 mg kojic acid equivalent/g extract) and α-glucosidase (2.39 mmol acarbose equivalent/g extract) activities. The highest selectivity towards all cancer cell lines (SI 4.5–10.8) was observed with aqueous extract with the FaDu cells being the most sensitive (CC50 40.22 µg/mL). It can be concluded that the presence of certain bioactive antiviral molecules may be related to the high anti HSV-1 activity of the methanolic extract. This work has generated vital scientific data on this medicinal plant, which is a prospective candidate for the creation of innovative phyto-pharmaceuticals.
Highlights
The investigation of phytochemical profiles and biological properties of medicinal plants is an important step in determining whether the plant in question can reach production systems and use its bioactive compounds in the pharmaceutical industry
Higher concentrations of polyphenolic complex exerted virucidal effects, resulting in reduction of HA titer 4-fold and plaque infectious titer by 1 log at the dose of 100 μg/mL, whereas at 200 μg/mL, the biological activity of the virus was abolished. These results suggest that early events during influenza virus replication cycle are the most probable target for polyphenolic complex isolated from Geranium sanguineum L. and their inhibition is responsible for the reported activity [14]
Investigation of the bio compounds of G. pyrenaicum presented in this paper contributes to the knowledge on the phytochemistry of this plant and advances the knowledge on its antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory effects
Summary
The investigation of phytochemical profiles and biological properties of medicinal plants is an important step in determining whether the plant in question can reach production systems and use its bioactive compounds in the pharmaceutical industry. In this line of thought, our aim with this research paper is to screen a medicinally important plant Geranium pyrenaicum Burm. Several studies revealed antimicrobial activity of essential oils isolated from different parts of Geranium species against several microorganisms, which could prospect their potential use as natural antimicrobial agents. Antimicrobial properties along with observed antioxidant effects, indicate their potential application as natural food preservatives [1]. From G. pyrenaicum, which exhibits antileishmanial activity, a new glycosylate flavonoid, 3-O-(2”,3”-di-O-galloyl)-O-D-glucopyranoside of kaempferol was identified [2]
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