Phytochemical Characterization of Phoradendron bollanum and Viscum album subs. austriacum as Mexican Mistletoe Plants with Antimicrobial Activity

Abstract

In Mexico, mistletoes have several applications in traditional medicine due to the great variety of compounds with biological activities that have not been characterized to date. The goals of the present study are to analyze the composition of minerals and phytochemical compounds in Mexican mistletoes Phoradendron bollanum and Viscum album subs. austriacum qualitatively and quantitatively, identify the compounds using HPLC-MS, and assess the antimicrobial potential in phytopathogenic microorganism control. Mineral content was evaluated with X-ray fluorescence. Three types of extracts were prepared: ethanol, water, and aqueous 150 mM sodium chloride solution. Characterization was carried out using qualitative tests for phytochemical compound groups, analytical methods for proteins, reducing sugars, total phenol, flavonoids quantification, and HPLC-MS for compound identification. The antimicrobial activity of mistletoe’s liquid extracts was evaluated by microplate assay. K and Ca minerals were observed in both mistletoes. A qualitative test demonstrated alkaloids, carbohydrates, saponins, flavonoids, tannins, and quinones. Ethanolic extract showed flavonoids, 3845 ± 69 and 3067 ± 17.2 mg QE/g for Phoradendron bollanum and Viscum album subs. austriacum, respectively, while aqueous extracts showed a total phenol content of 65 ± 6.9 and 90 ± 1.19 mg GAE/g Phoradendron bollanum and Viscum album subs. austriacum, respectively. HPLC-MS identified largely hydroxycinnamic acids and methoxycinnamic acids. Clavibacter michiganenses was successfully inhibited by aqueous extract of both mistletoes.

Dynamics of Polyphenol Biosynthesis by Calli Cultures, Suspension Cultures and Wild Specimens of the Medicinal Plant Ligaria cuneifolia (Ruiz & Pav.) Tiegh. (Loranthaceae). Analysis of Their Biological Activity

“…As in L. cuneifolia, PA were also found in adult plants of the Mexican mistletoes Phoradendron bollanum and Viscum album subsp. austriacum [34]. HPLC results were consistent with a previous spectrophotometric analysis; leaves and stems showed the highest levels of total polyphenolics, especially in the post-fruiting stage, where catechin was the predominant compound.…”

Thermoresponsive Hydrogel Containing Viscum album Extract for Topic and Transdermal Use: Development, Stability and Cytotoxicity Activity

“…From 1940 and 2014, approximately 55% of antitumoral drugs approved for cancer treatment came from natural resources [3]. As a prominent example, Viscum album L. (white-berry or European mistletoe) is widely studied [4,5], since it presents a great variety of bioactive compounds [5] and an irrefutable therapeutic potential [6].…”

Bioaccessibility of Phenolic Compounds from Mistletoe Infusions and Effect of In Vitro Digestion on Its Antioxidant and Pancreatic Lipase Inhibitory Activity

“…In our study, the high content of ferulic and quinic acids might be associated with the antioxidant P. brachystachyum response to the oxidative burst defense mechanism provoked by its host, Prosopis juliflora [ 32 ]. Furthermore, a study by García-García et al [ 35 ] on Phoradendron bollanum showed the vast diversity of quinic acid esters in caffeoylquinic and feruloylquinic acids; however, the authors did not quantify the metabolites.…”

“…Moreover, it is important to mention that tannins are among the phytochemicals commonly found in mistletoe species and have been reported as inhibitors of digestive enzymes due to their high affinity to interacting with proteins [ 35 , 40 , 41 , 42 ]. Here, it is important to highlight that we found high content of total and hydrolyzable tannin content; so we hypothesize that some products of the partial hydrolysis of tannins are associated with the increased flavonoid content at the end of the intestinal stage of digestion [ 43 ].…”