Stipa tenacissima L.: A New Promising Source of Bioactive Compounds with Antioxidant and Anticancer Potentials

Mehdi El Bouchti,Laila Benbacer,Riaz Ullah,Omar Cherkaoui,Kaoutar Aghmih,Mohammed Bourhia,Mounir El Achaby,Mina Oumam,Amal Alotaibi,Mohammed El Mzibri,Hassan Hannache,Ahmad Mohammad Salamatullah,Sanaa Majid,Said Gmouh

doi:10.3390/life11080757

Abstract

Background: Stipa tenacissima L. (S. tenacissima), called Esparto grass, is a cultivated species used for industrial purposes, including textile production. This species has never been studied for its medical potential before, nor has it been used in traditional medicines. It is thus fitting that the present study aimed to investigate the pharmacological potential of S. tenacissima. To achieve this goal, this work was conducted to study the chemical composition, antioxidant properties, and antiproliferative effects of S. tenacissima against cancerous cell lines, including the human colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line (HT-29) and human breast adenocarcinoma cell line (MDA-MB-231). Fractionation and characterization of S. tenacissima extract showed the presence of promising bioactive fractions. The fractions obtained from S. tenacissima extract exhibited interesting antioxidant properties, with IC50 values ranging from 1.26 to 1.85 mg/mL. All fractions, such as F1, F2, F3, and F4, induced an important antiproliferative effect on the cancer cell lines MDA-MB-231, scoring IC50 values ranging from 63.58 ± 3.14 to 99.880 ± 0.061 µg/mL. These fractions (F1, F2, F3, and F4) also exhibited a potent antiproliferative effect versus HT-29 cell lines, with IC50 values ranging from 71.50 ± 4.97 to 87.500 ± 1.799 µg/mL. Therefore, S. tenacissima could constitute a new natural source of bioactive compounds that can be used for therapeutic purposes to fight cancer and free radical damage.

Highlights

Since prehistoric times, people have used plants for food, condiments, and therapeutic purposes
Medicinal herbs are an inexhaustible source of natural bioactive compounds that could constitute precious tools for basic research in the treatment of various diseases
The yield of the extract obtained from Stipa tenacissima L. after the maceration with methanol was 8.2%

Summary

Introduction

People have used plants for food, condiments, and therapeutic purposes. (S. tenacissima), called Esparto grass, is a cultivated species used for industrial purposes, including textile production This species has never been studied for its medical potential before, nor has it been used in traditional medicines. It is fitting that the present study aimed to investigate the pharmacological potential of S. tenacissima To achieve this goal, this work was conducted to study the chemical composition, antioxidant properties, and antiproliferative effects of S. tenacissima against cancerous cell lines, including the human colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line (HT-29) and human breast adenocarcinoma cell line (MDA-MB-231). The fractions obtained from S. tenacissima extract exhibited interesting antioxidant properties, with IC50 values ranging from 1.26 to 1.85 mg/mL All fractions, such as F1, F2, F3, and F4, induced an important antiproliferative effect on the cancer cell lines MDA-MB-231, scoring IC50 values ranging from 63.58 ± 3.14 to 99.880 ± 0.061 μg/mL. S. tenacissima could constitute a new natural source of bioactive compounds that can be used for therapeutic purposes to fight cancer and free radical damage

Methods

Results

Conclusion