Water Extract of Cryphaea heteromalla (Hedw.) D. Mohr Bryophyte as a Natural Powerful Source of Biologically Active Compounds.

Fiorenza Provenzano,Radha Santonocito,Maria Giovanna Dia,Estella Rao,Lorena Anna Ditta,Antonio Segura-Carretero,Maria Assunta Costa,Isabel Borrás Linares,Rosa Passantino,Jesús Lozano Sánchez,Patrizia Campisi,Daniela Giacomazza,Pier Luigi San Biagio

doi:10.3390/ijms20225560

Abstract

Bryophytes comprise of the mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. Cryphaea heteromalla, (Hedw.) D. Mohr, is a non-vascular lower plant belonging to mosses group. To the date, the most chemically characterized species belong to the liverworts, while only 3.2% and 8.8% of the species belonging to the mosses and hornworts, respectively, have been investigated. In this work, we present Folin–Ciocalteu and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) data related to crude extracts of C. heteromalla obtained by three different extraction solvents: pure water (WT), methanol:water (80:20 v/v) (MET), and ethanol:water (80:20 v/v) (ETH). The water extract proved to be the best solvent showing the highest content of biophenols and the highest ORAC value. The C. heteromalla-WT extract was investigated by HPLC-TOF/MS (High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Time of Flight/Mass Spectrometry) allowing for the detection of 14 compounds, five of which were phenolic compounds, derivatives of benzoic, caffeic, and coumaric acids. Moreover, the C. heteromalla WT extract showed a protective effect against reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation induced by tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBH) on the murine NIH-3T3 fibroblast cell line.

Highlights

Bryophytes, long time neglected for their reduced dimensions, are generally considered as the first plants to appear on land [1], they can be considered the closest relatives of early terrestrial plants
We evaluated, using the Folin–Ciocalteu method, the total biophenol amount extracted in pure water (WT), methanol:water (80:20 v/v) (MET), and ethanol:water (80:20 v/v) (ETH), from C. heteromalla species harvested in Monte Bonifato, a Sicilian mountain in the Trapani area of Italy
In the last few decades, bryophytes have attracted great interest, and chemicals and secondary metabolites have been identified from several species, but up to now, the phytochemical content and antioxidant activity of C. heteromalla species are still unknown

Summary

Introduction

Bryophytes, long time neglected for their reduced dimensions, are generally considered as the first plants to appear on land [1], they can be considered the closest relatives of early terrestrial plants. They are taxonomically placed between algae and pteridophytes. Bryophytes populate different kinds of habitats, both, humid and desert environments [5], with the exception of seas and oceans [3] They represent the main flora in unfavorable areas, such as the tundra or Antarctica [2], and are important for the maintenance of these ecosystems [3]. Bryophytes are devoid of a complete system for the transport of water and nutrients, normally introduced by leaves, and for this reason they generally possess a small size, some species can reach a few meters [5]

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Conclusion