Aqueous Root Extract from Ononis spinosa Exerts Anti-adhesive Activity against Uropathogenic Escherichia coli

Abstract

Extracts from Ononis spinosa are traditionally used for urinary tract infections due to diuretic and anti-inflammatory activity. A potential influence on the virulence of uropathogenic Escherichia coli has not been investigated until now. The following study aimed to investigate the influence of an aqueous O. spinosa extract on uropathogenic E. coli and uropathogenic E. coli host cell interaction. A hot water extract from the roots of O. spinosa (O. spinosa extract) was characterized by LC-qTOF-MS. The influence of O. spinosa extract on the proliferation of uropathogenic E. coli UTI89 and on cell viability against human T24 bladder cells was investigated. Anti-adhesive activity of O. spinosa extract was assessed by flow cytometry, evaluating the adhesion of fluorescent-labelled UTI89 to T24 bladder cells. Internalization of uropathogenic E. coli into T24 cells was monitored by an invasion assay. O. spinosa extract was characterized by the presence of isoflavones, isoflavanones, licoagrosides, pterocarpans, tartaric acid derivatives, and saponines. O. spinosa extract had no influence on the proliferation of uropathogenic E. coli (125 – 1000 µg/mL) and did not influence the cell viability of T24 cells. Bacterial adhesion to T24 cells was significantly (p > 0.001) inhibited by O. spinosa extract in a concentration-dependent manner (125 – 1000 µg/mL) during coincubation. Preincubation of uropathogenic E. coli or T24 cells with O. spinosa extract reduced bacterial adhesion, but to a lower extent than during coincubation. Consequently, the reduced bacterial adhesion also leads to a reduced internalization of uropathogenic E. coli uropathogenic E. coli into the host cell. O. spinosa extract does not interact with FimH-mediated uropathogenic E. coli adhesion to host cells. From these data, the traditional use of O. spinosa extracts for urinary tract infections seems to be rationalized.

Root Extracts From Ononis spinosa Inhibit IL-8 Release via Interactions With Toll-Like Receptor 4 and Lipopolysaccharide

“…The same analytical procedure was performed to characterize the aqueous extract OS2; results have been reported recently (Deipenbrock et al, 2020). OS1 and OS2 contained high amounts of flavonoids, especially isoflavones and pterocarpans (OS1) or their respective glycosides (OS2) as representative compounds for the genus Ononis.…”

“…Aqueous extract (OS2): The extract was prepared as described by (Deipenbrock et al, 2020). Briefly, 80 g of powdered dried plant material were extracted 3 × with 800 ml water at 70°C under stirring for 2 h each.…”

Phytodrugs With Anabolic Effect

“…Decoctions are made from lupine roots to treat diseases of the urinary tract, especially inflammatory ones and in case of damage to the kidney structure, which was approved in 2015 by the European Scientific Congress on Phytotherapy. Therefore, for inflammatory diseases of the urinary tract, a decoction of lupine roots, which also has antimicrobial properties, was recommended for auxiliary treatment [7]. This action is realized due to the presence of phytochemically determined isoflavonoids of trifolirizin.…”

“…In addition, the effect on the kidneys is realized due to the action on hyaluronidase-1 due to isoflavonoids, which have proven their effectiveness in the treatment of patients with chronic renal failure [7,[9][10][11][12].…”

Qualitative and Quantitative Phytochemical Analysis of Ononis Hairy Root Cultures

“…As a member of the Fabaceae (Leguminosae) family, they are rich in isoflavonoids, and beside isoflavones, they produce less-prevalent isoflavanones and pterocarpans (Gampe et al, 2016(Gampe et al, , 2018b. Despite the medicinal benefits (Addotey et al, 2018;Deipenbrock et al, 2020;Spiegler et al, 2020;Stojkovic et al, 2020;Stojković et al, 2020), the plant is not cultivated. The part of the herb mostly used in phytomedicine is the extremely hardy root, making the collection cumbersome.…”