Phytochemical composition and biological activities of extracts from ten species of the family Melastomataceae Juss

Abstract

Plants possess a renewable source of metabolites with enormous chemical structural diversity, which may have potential therapeutic relevance. Furthermore, this chemical diversity favors the possibility of finding new and different chemical constituents with antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-tumor activities. This work analyzed preliminary phytochemical profiles and evaluated the antimicrobial, antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of hexane extracts of leaves of ten species of the family Melastomataceae. Phytochemical screening was performed using staining methods while total phenols and flavonoids were quantified by spectrophotometry. Antimicrobial activity was evaluated using the disk diffusion method. Antioxidant activity was determined by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazil (DPPH) method. Toxicity was recorded using the lethality test with Artemia salina Leach (1819). Cytotoxic activity of the extracts was assessed in vitro with acute monocytic leukemia cells (THP-1). Phytochemical analysis detected the presence of tannins, terpenes, steroids, polyphenols and flavonoids and the absence of alkaloids. Clidemia capitellata (Bonpl.) D. Don had the greatest amount of polyphenols (205.95 mg/g ± 4.14) while Clidemia hirta (L.) D. Don had the highest content of total flavonoids (143.99 mg/g ± 4.18). The hexane extracts did not show antimicrobial activity nor toxicity against Artemia salina. The extract of Tibouchina francavillana Cogn. was the most active in sequestering the DPPH radical. The extracts showed cytotoxicity in THP-1 cells with the appearance of apoptotic bodies and cell death. The extracts of Miconia amoena, Clidemia sericea and Clidemia capitellata are non-toxic against Artemia salina and induce the formation of apoptotic bodies and cell death of the THP-1 lineage.

The Fatty Acid Composition and the MTT-Cytotoxicity Test of Commercially Available Commiphora Gileadensis Balsam Oil

“…Plants with a broad spectrum of chemical compounds have the potential to form many therapeutic components for various diseases and also serve as a pool for the development of alternative pharmacological products (Bomfim et al, 2021). Since ancient times, people have either obtained herbal extracts for various purposes by traditional methods or bought them from local stores as it is more common today.…”

First accurate profiling of antioxidant anthocyanins and flavonols of Tibouchina urvilleana and Tibouchina mollis edible flowers aided by fractionation with Amberlite XAD‐7

“…Among them, it is noteworthy the antimicrobial activity of the leaves of Tibouchina candolleana (Durães Vieira et al ., 2019), antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory activities of Tibouchina pulchra and Tibouchina granulosa (Esposito & Domingos, 2014; Sobrinho et al ., 2017), and anti‐inflammatory activities of Tibouchina urvilleana (Pérez‐Castorena, 2014; Gowthami & Naga Lakshmi, 2021). Further health‐related properties as anti‐leishmanial, anti‐inflammatory, and antimicrobial activities were ascribed to Tibouchina paratropica (Tracanna et al ., 2015) and antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity in THP‐1 cell parasitic activity to Tibouchina francavillana and Tibouchina lhotzkyana (Bomfim et al ., 2022).…”