Biological properties of the Chilean native moss Sphagnum magellanicum

Abstract

An ethanol extract prepared from the gametophyte Chilean native moss Sphagnum magellanicum was dried out, weighed and dissolved in distilled water. This extract was then assayed for its antibacterial activity against the G(-) bacteria Azotobacter vinelandii, Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora, Enterobacter aerogenes, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Vibrio cholerae, and the G(+) bacteria Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus, and Streptococcus type β. The growth of the cultures of E. carotovora subsp. carotovora, and V. cholerae was inhibited at a concentration of 581μg/ml of extract, while the cultures of E. coli, S. typhi and Streptococcus type β were inhibited at a concentration of 1.16 μg/mL of extract. The concentration of phenolic compounds was 4.294 mg/mL; the presence of vanillic, chlorogenic, syringic, caffeic, gallic, 3-4 hydrozybenzoic, p-coumaric and salicylic acids was identified using RP-High Pressure Liquid Chromatography.

Nitrous oxide emission potentials of Burkholderia species isolated from the leaves of a boreal peat moss Sphagnum fuscum*

“…5). In nutrient-poor bogs, S. fuscum is the predominant plant species, 54) and brown-colored Sphagnum mosses are often rich in polyphenols 55) such as sphagnum acid, 56) gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, 57) and other flavonoids. 45) In our study, an appropriate concentration of some representative polyphenols accelerated N 2 O emission by the N 2 O emitters from S. fuscum, although the degraded peat soils in relatively dry bogs showed only minimal levels of N 2 O emission (data not shown).…”

Valuable applications for peat moss

“…The antioxidant capacity of Sphagnum magellanicum has been determined for dietary supplement purposes. The capacity was equivalent in ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity assay) units to 841 μmol Trolox/100 g units [70] which is promising regarding possible use as a functional food [71]. In a study by [72], differences in antioxidant activity were observed between peat varieties.…”

Essential Oil Composition of Two Sphagnum Species Grown in Portugal and their In Vitro Culture Establishment

“…Sphagnum species have shown the presence of triterpenoids, fatty acids and diverse phenolic compounds [4][5][6][7][8], but no information exists on their volatiles. This study aimed at evaluating the essential oil profile of the two Sphagnum species and to establish them under in vitro culture.…”