Identification of Flavonoids, Antioxidant and Antiproliferative Activity of Aqueous Infusions of Calendula officinalis L., Chelidonium majus L., Teucrium chamaedrys L. and Alchemilla vulgaris L.

RESEARCH BACKGROUND: The current changes in the global economy, characterised by the climate crisis and the economic and health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, have led to a significant demand for medicinal herbs. This trend is expected to increase significantly by 2050. In this study, we investigated the biopotential of aqueous infusions of four medicinal plants: Calendula officinalis , Chelidonium majus , Teucrium chamaedrys and Alchemilla vulgaris .

EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: The flavonoid analysis of the aqueous infusions of the selected plants was carried out using the RP-HPLC technique. The antiproliferative activity of the prepared aqueous plant infusions was analysed against three human cancer cell lines (MDA-MD-231, T24 and A549), while the antioxidant potential was measured using three antioxidant methods (DPPH, FRAP and Rancimat assay).

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: T. chamaedrys had the highest total phenolics (expressed as GAE (2061±42) mg/L), free radical scavenging activity (IC50 =1.9 mg/mL) and Fe(III) reducing antioxidant power (expressed as FeCl2 (9798±27) mg/L). At a concentration of 1 mg/mL, the antiproliferation of T24 by C. majus was 96 % and of MDA-MD-231 cells by A. vulgaris was 75 % after 72 h. After principal component analysis, T. chamaedrys and C. majus were grouped together. Quercetin glucoside and antioxidant capacity (DPPH) contributed the most to differentiate these infusions from the other two.

NOVELTY AND SCIENTIFIC CONTRIBUTION: This study represents a comparative analysis of the biopotential of four medicinal plants. A new RP-HPLC method was developed to separate the flavonoids in the herbal infusions. This is the first report on the presence of kaempferol-3- O -rutinoside in C. officinalis and isorhamnetin-3- O -rutinoside in A. vulgaris aqueous infusion. For the first time, C. majus has been shown to contribute to the oxidative stability of edible oil. Furthermore, this is the first comparative study on the antiproliferative activity of selected medicinal plants against the cell lines MDA-MD-231, T24 and A549.