Chemical characterization and bioactive properties of aqueous and organic extracts of Geranium robertianum L.

Abstract

Geranium robertianum L. has been used in folk medicine and herbalism practice for the treatment of various conditions, but the study of its bioactivity has been barely addressed. Although its phytochemical composition has received some attention, contributions to the nutritional composition are practically unknown. Herein, G. robertianum gathered in Trás-os-Montes, Northeastern Portugal, was chemically characterized regarding nutritional parameters, and the antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity against several human tumor cell lines and non-tumor porcine liver primary cells of several aqueous and organic extracts were evaluated. G. robertianum showed to be an equilibrated valuable herb, rich in carbohydrates and proteins, and poor in fat, providing sugars, tocopherols, organic and essential fatty acids. Amongst the extracts, the acetone one showed the highest total phenol and total flavonoid contents, as well as the greatest antioxidant and cytotoxic activities. This extract showed to contain hydrolysable tannins (e.g. geraniin and castalagin/vescalagin), as the main phenolic compounds.

A Comprehensive Assessment of Bioactive Metabolites, Antioxidant and Antiproliferative Activities of Cyclocarya paliurus (Batal.) Iljinskaja Leaves

“…The contents of polysaccharide, phenolics, triterpenoid and their antioxidant, hypolipidemic and hypoglycemic effects in C. paliurus leaves have been reported to vary with different geographical locations [13,17,18,20]. Phytochemical contents, antioxidant and anticancer activities in plant extracts also vary with extraction solvents such as water, aqueous mixtures of ethanol, ethanol and methanol [21,22]. For example, antiproliferative activity on cancer cells was found in both ethanol and aqueous extracts of Ficus beecheyana and Saururus chinensis root, however the ethanol extracts showed better antioxidant activity [23,24].…”

Bio-guided fractionation of extracts of Geranium robertianum L.: Relationship between phenolic profile and biological activity

“…The different chromatographic retention times of compounds 14, 15 and 18, presenting the same molecular mass, strongly suggests that they correspond to distinct isomers. These compounds have also been reported in different Geranium species (Okuda et al, 2000;Tuominen, 2013;Tuominen et al, 2013) and previously reported by us in G. robertianum (Graça et al, 2016b (m/z at 935) might point to a galloyl-bis-HHDP-glucose, although a different fragmentation pattern was described (Dias et al, 2015;Hanhineva et al, 2008). However, the presence of two HHDP moieties in its structure was supported by the loss of an HHDP fragment (302 Da, from the transition 935 > 633), together with the observation of a product ion at m/z 301.…”

“…Peaks 25 (quercetin-3-O-rutinoside), 34 (kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside), 36 (quercetin-3-O-glucoside) and 39 (narigenin-7-O-glucoside), were positively identified according to their retention time and UV and mass spectra, in comparison with commercial standards. Compounds 28,29,33,43,47,48,49 and 50 were identified as kaempferol glycoside derivatives owing to the product ion observed at m/z 285 and UV spectra (λ max around 348 Peaks 20, 25, 29, 33, 34 and 36, correspond to different quercetin and kaempferol glycosides that have been previously described in G. robertianum (Fodorea et al, 2005;Graça et al, 2016b;Ivancheva and Petrova, 2000;Kartnig and Bucar-Stachel, 1991;Kobakhidze and Alaniya, 2004).…”

“…However, the presence of two HHDP moieties in its structure was supported by the loss of an HHDP fragment (302 Da, from the transition 935 > 633), together with the observation of a product ion at m/z 301. All of these mentioned compounds have already been described in the previously study G. robertianum (Graça et al, 2016b). Peaks 6 and 38 were tentatively associated to ellagitannins, based on their UV spectra and on the observation of an MS 2 fragment ion at…”

“…The antioxidant activity and the cytotoxicity against several human tumor cell lines and non-tumor porcine liver primary cells of several aqueous and organic extracts of Geranium robertianum L. were recently evaluated by our research group (Graça et al, 2016b). In the present work, the more active extracts − ethyl acetate, acetone and methanol − were fractionated by gradient elution column chromatography on silica gel and the resulting fractions were evaluated for their bioactive properties, namely the antioxidant and antiproliferative properties.…”