Phytochemical Attributes of Four Conventionally Extracted Medicinal Plants and Cytotoxic Evaluation of Their Extracts on Human Laryngeal Carcinoma (HEp2) Cells

Abstract

The bioactive composition and cytotoxic and antioxidative/prooxidative effects of four medicinal plants: yarrow (Achillea millefolium L.), hawthorn (Crataegus oxyacantha L.), ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea L.), and olive (Olea europea L.) on human laryngeal carcinoma cell line (HEp2) were investigated. Water extracts of these plants obtained by infusion, maceration, and decoction were characterized for their polyphenol content and antioxidant capacity. Based on the extraction efficiency of polyphenols, the final extracts were obtained whose polyphenolic profile, polysaccharides, mineral content, and cytoprotective activities were determined. The overall highest content of polyphenols and antioxidant capacity was determined in hawthorn, followed by yarrow and ground ivy, and the lowest in olive leaves extract. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of phenolic acids, as the most abundant bioactive compounds, followed by flavonoids, flavons, and flavonols. All examined medicinal plants reduced the cell viability and reactive oxygen species formation in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Ground ivy and yarrow containing a high content of phenolic acids and polysaccharides were more efficient to decrease the cell survival when compared to olive leaf and hawthorn. Experiments confirmed the importance of polyphenolic composition rather than content of investigated plants and revealed a relationship between the polyphenolic and polysaccharide contents and antioxidant/prooxidant characters of medicinal plants.

Medicinal Plants of the Family Lamiaceae in Pain Therapy: A Review

“…There are no reported side effects following G. hederacea administration. However, one in vitro study showed that G. hederacea ethanol extract concentrations exceeding 100 µ g/dl are cytotoxic [ 160 ], and several studies now focus on the plant's ability to kill different types of cancer cells [ 162 ]. Due to its ability to target and kill cancerous cells, those extracts should also be included in preclinical screenings addressing pediatric cancerous cells (e.g., insulinomas being one of the most frequently encountered types of neuroendocrine pancreatic tumors [ 163 ]).…”

Nettle (Urtica dioica L.) extracts as functional ingredients for production of chocolates with improved bioactive composition and sensory properties

“…Cytotoxicity of nettle extract was determined spectrophotometrically by the neutral red (NR) assay, as described by Belscak-Cvitanovic et al (2014). SW480 cells were seeded in wells (2·10 4 per well) of 96 well plates.…”

“…A slight increase of ROS formation was observed only after the tretament with 0.5x concentration of nettle extract, indicating the prooxidant activity, which was already established for non-H 2 O 2 pretreated cells. The prooxidant effect of lower concentrations of ground ivy and hawthorn extracts was also assessed by Belscak-Cvitanovic et al (2014). Since a correlation between the cytotoxicity and ROS formation was observed, meaning that higher nettle extract concentrations exert a high cytotoxicity and a decrease of ROS levels, the results indicate that different cellular responses are attributed for the observed effects.…”

Optimizing Water-Based Extraction of Bioactive Principles of Hawthorn: From Experimental Laboratory Research to Homemade Preparations

“…In Europe and North America, flowering tops (leaves and flowers) are used for their astringent, antispasmodic, cardiotonic, diuretic, hypotensive, vasodilative, sedative, antiatherosclerotic, and antihyperlipidemic properties [6,7,8,9,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23]. Most of the experimental works published on Crataegus have focused on the extraction, quantification, and identification of phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and tannins to which the merit of these pharmacological effects is attributed [10,12,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58]. These bioactive principles are usually extracted in ethanol, methanol, or alcohol/water mixtures at different temperatures and extraction times by using various extraction modes, essentially Soxhlet [30,45,46,52,56,…”