A comparative study on the antimicrobial properties of extracts from medicinal plants obtained by two di¡erent methods was carried out.The screening of the antimicrobial activity of extracts from six plants was conducted by a disc di¡usion test against Gram-positive, -negative and fungal organisms.The most active extracts (inhibition diameter r12 mm) were assayed for the minimum inhibitory concentration and submitted to phytochemical screening by thin-layer chromatography and bioautography.The results obtained indicate that the diethyl ether extracts were the most e¤cient antimicrobial compounds.The activity was more pronounced against Gram-positive and fungal organisms than against Gram-negative bacteria. Bioautography showed that the antimicrobial activity was probably due to £avonoids and terpenes.
The antioxidant activity of extracts from Capparis spinosa L. buds was evaluated using different in vitro tests: ascorbate/Fe(2+)-mediated lipid peroxidation of microsomes from rat liver; bleaching of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl radical; and autoxidation of Fe(2+) ion in the presence of bathophenanthroline disulfonate. The methanolic extract showed strong activities in all of these in vitro tests. The amount of total phenols was determined in the methanolic extract. In addition, the level of rutin was calculated as 0.39% (w/w) by HPLC analysis. Our findings indicate the following: (a) the antioxidant efficiency of the methanolic extract may be attributed to its phenolic content; and (b) the antioxidant activity of the methanolic extract was maintained after removal of glucosinolates, confirming that these compounds do not interfere with the antioxidant properties of the extract. The results obtained from this study exalt the nutritional value of the flowering buds (capers) which are widely used as a source of flavor.
The aim of this work was to investigate the phytochemical profile and biological properties of different colours of betalain cactus pear extracts, evaluating their antioxidant, cytoprotective, and anti‐angiogenic properties by cell‐free, cell‐based, and in vivo assays. A QuEChERS extraction method followed by RP‐LC‐DAD‐MS/MS analysis showed that indicaxanthin and betanin were the main compounds (≥94.32% and ≥96.95%, respectively). Orange cactus pear extracts exert the best antioxidant activity in all assays carried out, in particular into ORAC (17,352.55 ± 987.407 mg trolox equivalents/100 g dry weight) and β‐carotene bleaching (60.35%) assays. The red ones, instead, showed the best cytoprotective activity decreasing the cell mortality, LDH, and Caspase‐3 release ranging from 4.0 to 55%.
According to antioxidant results, the orange cactus pear extracts showing also the highest anti‐angiogenic activity (IC50 19.31 μg/ml), followed by the red (IC50 23.55 μg/ml) and the yellow ones (IC50 33.97 μg/ml). In light of the results and correlation analysis, the behaviour of these molecules varies a lot according to their structure and physicochemical features and synergistic activity between betalain classes may be postulated; so the plant complex could be of greater interest compared with the isolated molecules for potential nutraceutical and pharmaceutical uses.
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