Phenolic profile and biological activity of Plantago bellardii all

Ancient use of plantains (genus Plantago L., Plantaginaceae) as herbal remedies is a consequence of their broad range of curative properties [1]. Plantago bellardii All. is distributed in south Europe, but there are no detailed data about biological activity of this species. In order to valorize medicinal use of P. bellardii, some tests on antioxidative, anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activities of methanolic extract of this plantain, collected from area of Ulcinj (Montenegro) have been undertaken. The phenolic composition was determined by LC-MS/MS, where the content of vanillic (2.0mg/g of dw) and chlorogenic (38.2mg/g of dw) acid, with quercetin-3-O-glc (2.5mg/g of dw) and rutin (51.6mg/g of dw) was the highest. The radical scavenger capacity (RSC) was evaluated towards several radicals [1], indicating similar activity to synthetic antioxidant BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene). Anti-inflammatory potential was examined by means of cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) and 12-lipooxygenase (12-LOX) inhibition [1], quantifying 12-HHT (12-hydroxy-5,8,10-heptadecatrienoic acid) and 12-HETE (12-hydroxy-5,8,10,14-eicosatetraenoate) products by RP-HPLC-MS/MS (IC₅₀=6.6 and 2.34mg/mL, respectively). The extract showed moderate cytotoxic activity against HeLa (cervix epitheloid carcinoma), MCF7 (breast adenocarcinoma), HT-29 (colon adenocarinoma) and MRC-5 (human fetal lung) cell lines, while results were obtained using SRB (Sulforhodamine B) assay [1]. Consequently, this species could be considered as a promising herbal remedy.

[1] Beara I. et al. (2012) LWT-Food Sci. Technol. 47: 64–70.