Phenolic characterization, antimutagenic, antioxidant and antibacterial capacities of seven endemic Dianthus species from Turkey

Abstract

Dianthus genus, belonging to the family Caryophyllaceae, encompasses over 300 species. Various Dianthus spp. have long been utilized in traditional medicine for the treatment of a wide range of conditions including chronic pain, urinary infections, carbuncles, menostasis, gonorrhea, cough, liver diseases, and certain types of cancer. The objective of this study was to determine the biological activities (antimutagenicity, antibacterial and antioxidant), total phenol-flavonoid content and individual phenolic constituents of methanolic extracts of two different parts [FC (flower+capitulum) and LS (leaf+stem)] of seven different endemic Dianthus spp. (D. ancyrensis, D. aticii, D. balansae, D. carmelitarum, D. kastembeluensis, D. lydus and D. leucophaeus) found in Bolu, Turkey. In the antimutagenicity tests, D. carmelitarum, D. ancyrensis. D. kastembeluensis and D. lydus demonstrated higher inhibition effect against the mutagenic activity of sodium azide (NaN3) and 4-nitro-o-phenylene diamine (NPD) on Salmonella typhimurium TA 100 and TA 98 strains, respectively. D. carmelitarum-LS displayed the highest antimutagenic effect against the mutagen (base-substitution) on the TA 100 strain, while D. carmelitarum-FC exhibited the highest inhibition against mutagenic activity (frame-shift mutagenesis) by 4-nitro-o-phenylene diamine (NPD) on S. typhimurium TA98 strain. Among the tested 17 bacteria, only 4 bacteria (Staphylococcus epidermidis, S. aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes and Klebsiella pneumonia) demonstrated sensitivity to five different Dianthus spp. D. leucophaeus exhibited moderate antibacterial activity against S. epidermidis. Furthermore, S. pyogenes was quite susceptible to D. kastembeluensis, D. aticii and D. lydus. The most powerful radical scavenging activity was observed with D. balansae-LS. Consistent with this result, D. balansae-LS showed the highest total phenolic content. D. aticii-LS had the highest content of total flavonoid. U-HPLC analysis revealed that rutin, phloridzin, ferulic acid and chlorogenic acid were the most dominant compounds in endemic Dianthus spp. These findings highlight the potential of these plants as valuable natural sources for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical applications.