Schinus terebenthifolius Raddi extracts: From sunscreen activity toward protection of the placenta to Zika virus infection, new uses for a well-known medicinal plant

Abstract

Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi is a well-known medicinal plant native of South America. This species has demonstrated important biological activities such as antihypertensive and vasodilator, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. However, no studies have been, so far, reported with the fruits of S. terebinthifolius as a protector of the placenta against Zika virus infection and as sunscreen agents. The present study aimed to investigate new uses for the ethanolic fruit extracts of S. terebinthifolius, from fruits'peel (STPE) and from the whole fruits (STWFE). Zika virus (ZIKV) has been linked to several fetal malformations, such as microcephaly and other central nervous system abnormalities. Thus, the potential of these natural extracts against ZIKV infection was evaluated, using an in vitro method. The photoprotective potential, determined by spectrometry, along with phenolic content, antioxidant capacity, and chemical composition of both extracts were also evaluated. The chemical composition of the extracts was evaluated by HPLC-UV / vis. The cytotoxicity of peel and whole fruit extracts in vero E6 cell lines, in placental cell lines and placental explant cultures were evaluated by the MTT assay. The infectivity of placental cells and explants was evaluated by qRT-PCR and the effects of extracts on ZIKV infection were investigated using HTR-8/SVneo cells, pre-treated with 100 μg mL −1 of STWFE for 1 h, and infected with MR766 (AD) or PE243 (EH) ZIKV strains. STFE and STWFE were well-tolerated by both placental-derived trophoblast cell line HTR-8/SVneo as well as by term placental chorionic villi explants, which indicate absence of cytotoxicity in all analysed concentrations. Two strains of ZIKV were tested to access if pretreatment of trophoblast cells with the STWFE would protect them against infection. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that STWFE extract greatly reduced ZIKV infection. The extracts were also photoprotective with SPF values equivalent to the standard, benzophenone-3. The formulations prepared in different concentrations of the extracts (5-10 %) had shown maximum SPF values of 32.21. STWFE represents a potential natural mixture to be used in pregnancy in order to restrain placental infection by ZIKV and might potentially protect fetus against ZIKV-related malformations. The extracts exhibited photoprotective activity and some of the phenolic compounds, mainly resveratrol, catechin and epicatechin, are active ingredients in all assayed activities. The development of biotechnological/medical products, giving extra value to products from family farming, is expected, with strong prospects for success.

Seasonal Variations of Polyphenols Content, Sun Protection Factor and Antioxidant Activity of Two Lamiaceae Species

“…Regarding P. amboinicus, it was observed that April, May, June and July showed the best values of SPF, what may indicate that autumn favors photoprotective activity of this plant, and SPF reaches its maximum of 14.79, other results can also be found in Supplementary material. When is considered that in this test were only used plant extracts of the two studied species incorporated at 10% in Polawax ® cream, it is possible to suggest that these results are promising in the photoprotection area, since reaching SPF levels close to 15 without the addition of any synthetic sunscreen is not easy, as shows the study made by Oliveira et al [48], that evaluated the SPF of Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi ethanolic extracts and none formulation composed only but extracts had SPF above 5.08. In another study made by Mota et al [49], it was evaluated SPF of Psidium guajava ethanolic extract and they found SPF = 1.…”

A Systematic Review of the Photoprotective Potential of Native Edible Plants from Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

“…Most articles [57][58][59][60][61][62][63] used the methodology proposed by Mansur et al [64], which employs UV/Vis spectroscopy to measure the SPF. Couteau et al [65] used a similar method described by Diffey and Robson [66].…”

Propolis in Oral Healthcare: Antibacterial Activity of a Composite Resin Enriched With Brazilian Red Propolis

“…The radical scavenging capacity of the extracts were mensurated by DPPH • method following the procedure described by Oliveira et al (2020) , with some modifications. Stock solutions of EBRP and EABRP were performed at 1.0 mg/ml in absolute ethanol.…”