Acantholippia salsoloides: Phytochemical Composition and Biological Potential of a Thujonic Population

Abstract

Acantholippia salsoloides (Verbenaceae) is an aromatic plant widespread in the Andean region. The infusion (leaves and flowers) is widely used as a digestive stimulant as well as for the treatment of various diseases in traditional medicine. A. salsoloides attributes its common name “rica-rica” to the fresh and sweet fragrance of the plant. In this work, 2 different polar extracts and the essential oil of a selected rica-rica population were studied. The phenolic composition was analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography diode array detector; the essential oil profile was determined by gas-chromatography ion-trap mass spectrometry/flame ionization detection. For all extracts, the antibacterial potential was performed by in vitro assays; the antioxidant and α-glucosidase inhibition were determined in decoction and hydroethanolic extracts. The volatile profile allowed the identification of 26 volatile compounds, β-thujone (84%) being the major one in this rica-rica population. Eighteen phenolic compounds were identified; isoferulic acid (16%-18%) and cynaroside (45%-47%) were the larger ones. In a general way, the hydroethanolic extract was more active against Staphylococcus aureus and Micrococcus luteus (minimum inhibitory concentrations= 0.3- 1.3 mg/mL). Both polar extracts have strong antiradical activities although decoction extract proved to be more active against DPPH· (half-maximal inhibitory concentration [IC50] =36 µg/mL) and O2•− (IC50 =28 µg/mL) while hydroethanolic extract shows higher action over α-glucosidase (IC50 =217 µg/mL). The results suggest that A. salsoloides leaves and flowers may be an interesting source of natural antioxidants, antidiabetics, or antimicrobials, and could be used in dietary supplements, medicinal products and pharmaceutical formulations.

Phytochemical and Biological Profile of Essential Oils of Elionurus muticus (Spreng.) Growing in Northeastern Argentina

“…Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined by employing broth microdilution methods based on the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines, reference document M100, with minor modifications [33,38] . Briefly, the suspensions of bacteria cultures were prepared in ampoules containing NaCl 0.85 % suspension medium.…”

“…Convenient dilutions of EOs in methanol (132–2 μL/mL) were tested against DPPH⋅. Each EO was performed in triplicate [33] . Mean values were compared using two way ANOVA and Tukey test to determine differences with statistical significance.…”

“…Each EO was performed in triplicate. [33] Mean values were compared using two way ANOVA and Tukey test to determine differences with statistical significance.…”

“…Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined by employing broth microdilution methods based on the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines, reference document M100, with minor modifications. [33,38] Briefly, the suspensions of bacteria cultures were prepared in ampoules containing NaCl 0.85 % suspension medium. After adjusting the turbidity to 0.5 McFarland, suspensions were diluted in Mueller Hinton broth medium (MHB, Britania SA, Argentina) until the final bacterial density of 1.5 × 10 6 CFU/mL.…”