Abstract
Justicia pectoralis Jacq. (Acanthaceae) leaves currently found in the Brazilian north-east are widely used to treat diabetes, menstrual pains, asthma, and other disorders. This work aimed to identify the phytochemical characterization and biological activities of J. pectoralis leaf extracts. The plant material was ground and the crude extracts were obtained with water or acetone: water (7:3 v/v), yielding aqueous (JPA), and organic (JPO) extracts. Phytochemical characterization was performed by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Cytotoxicity was assessed by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) (MTT) assay and trypan blue (TB) exclusion assay in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), BALB/c splenocytes, and neoplastic cells (TOLEDO, K562, DU-145, and PANC-1) at 1, 10, and 100 μg/mL. Antibacterial activity was evaluated using the microdilution test to obtain the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). Cytokines, IFN-γ, and IL-17A from culture supernatants of BALB/c mice splenocytes were measured by sandwich ELISA. In the TLC analysis, both JPA and JPO extracts presented coumarin and flavonoids. In addition, HPLC was able to identify coumarin, apigenin, and ellagic acid in both extracts. JPO IC50 was 57.59 ± 1.03 μg/mL (MTT) and 69.44 ± 8.08 μg/mL (TB) in TOLEDO. MIC value of JPO against Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae was 500 μg/mL. JPO (100 μg/mL) significantly inhibited IFN-γ levels (p=0.03). J. pectoralis is a potential candidate to be further investigated as an IFN-γ inhibitory agent and against Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae.
Highlights
Justicia pectoralis Jacq. belongs to the family Acanthaceae [1] and in Brazilian north-east it is popularly known as chamba, chachamba, anador, clover-tree, or clover-cumaru
Phytochemical characterization by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) indicated the presence of coumarin, characteristic of the species, in both JPA and JPO extracts, with flavonoid compounds in JPA, due to the presence of yellow/orange bands
Other phytochemical studies of J. pectoralis leaves revealed the presence of compounds such as coumarin, umbelliferone, ortho-methoxylated glycosyl flavones, justicidin B, saponins, and tannins [20, 21]
Summary
Justicia pectoralis Jacq. belongs to the family Acanthaceae [1] and in Brazilian north-east it is popularly known as chamba, chachamba, anador, clover-tree, or clover-cumaru. Belongs to the family Acanthaceae [1] and in Brazilian north-east it is popularly known as chamba, chachamba, anador, clover-tree, or clover-cumaru. Few authors have described its antineoplastic activity, with most studies about this plant concentrating on its use for treatment of respiratory tract disorders and its anti-inflammatory potential [10]. Some of these anti-inflammatory studies include clinical trials with J. pectoralis syrups for treatment of asthmatic patients [11,12,13]. Only one study has reported the cytokines modulation, showing exclusively the modulations of IL-1β and TNF-α cytokines [2]
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