Antiproliferative and Antimicrobial Effects of Rosmarinus officinalis L. Loaded Liposomes

Abstract

Rosmarinus officinalis L. is a species that is widely known for its culinary and medicinal uses. The purpose of the present study consisted of the evaluation of the antiproliferative and antimicrobial effects of R. officinalis-loaded liposomes (L-R). Characterization of the liposomes was performed by establishing specific parameters. The load of the obtained liposomes was analyzed using an LC-MS method, and antiproliferative assays evaluated the cell viability on a liver adenocarcinoma cell line and on a human hepatic stellate cell line. Antimicrobial assays were performed by agar–well diffusion and by broth microdilution assays. The obtained liposomes showed high encapsulation efficiency, suitable particle size, and good stability. High amounts of caffeic (81.07 ± 0.76), chlorogenic (14.10 ± 0.12), carnosic (20.03 ± 0.16), rosmarinic (39.81 ± 0.35), and ellagic (880.02 ± 0.14) acids were found in their composition, together with other polyphenols. Viability and apoptosis assays showed an intense effect on the cancerous cell line and a totally different pattern on the normal cells, indicating a selective toxicity towards the cancerous ones and an anti-proliferative mechanism. Antimicrobial potential was noticed against all tested bacteria, with a better efficacy towards Gram-positive species. These results further confirm the biological activities of R. officinalis leaf extract, and proposes and characterizes novel delivery systems for their encapsulation, enhancing the biological activities of polyphenols, and overcoming their limitations.

Evaluation of the Cytotoxic, Antioxidative and Antimicrobial Effects of Dracocephalum moldavica L. Cultivars

“…The accuracy of this method was determined in duplicate using a recovery experiment. The tested samples were injected in triplicate [ 66 , 67 ].…”

“…MH broth was also tested as an MIC negative control. Furthermore, the MIC index, based on the ratio of MBC/MIC, indicated whether the extract displayed bactericidal (MBC/MIC ≤ 4) or bacteriostatic (MBC/MIC > 4) effects against the tested bacterial strains [ 61 , 66 , 73 , 74 ].…”

Chemical Profile and Biological Effects of an Herbal Mixture for the Development of an Oil-in-Water Cream

“…Calibration curves (R 2 = 0.9964–0.9999) were determined for the quantification of the compounds. For the tested extracts, 10 μL were injected after dilution 1:10 with methanol and for the references, 1 μL were injected [ 49 , 50 ].…”

“…The testing was performed in duplicate. Furthermore, based on the ratio MBC/MIC, the MIC index was also calculated to evaluate whether the extract exhibits bactericidal (MBC/MIC ≤ 4) or bacteriostatic (MBC/MIC > 4) effect against the tested bacterial strains [ 50 , 52 ].…”

“…Cells in quadrant 4 (Q4) are only stained with PI and therefore are necrotic cells. A total of 10.000 cells were analyzed and included in each dot plot [ 50 ].…”