In vitro tissue culture, preliminar phytochemical analysis, and antibacterial activity of Psittacanthus linearis (Killip) J.K. Macbride (Loranthaceae)

Abstract

Hemiparasitic plants commonly known as mistletoe (muérdago in Spanish) in the families Santalaceae and Loranthaceae are common in various kinds of plants or trees, and many hemiparasitic plants are used for medicinal purposes in various parts of the world. The objective of the present work, carried out in Psittacanthus linearis (suelda con suelda), a representative species in the seasonally dry forest (SDF) from the north of Perú, was to study aspects of in vitro tissue culture, carry out preliminary phytochemical analysis, and assess antibacterial activity. Seeds of individuals of P. linearis, which used Prosopis pallida (algarrobo) as host plant, were collected and used to induce in vitro seed germination, clonal propagation, callus induction and organogenesis. Stems, leaves and fruits of individuals of P. linearis were dried, powdered, and subjected to ethanol extraction. Posteriorly the extract was first recovered with ethanol and the remnant with chloroform, which formed the ethanolic and chloroformic fraction. A preliminary phytochemical screening was performed and preliminary antibacterial studies with Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were carried out and their results are discussed. This is the first report about in vitro tissue culture, phytochemical analysis and antibacterial activity of P. linearis. The results may have important implications for understanding physiological and biochemical interactions between host and hemiparasitic species as well as P. linearis with P. pallida and other SDF species.

Phytochemical Analysis and Biological Activities of Ripe Fruits of Mistletoe (Psittacanthus calyculatus)

“…Antimicrobial studies on the genus Psittacanthus exist; however, they have not evaluated different hosts. Bailladores et al [ 20 ] reported the antimicrobial activity of the pigmented fruit of the genus P. linearis in relation to S. aureus , E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa , showing that only the ethanolic extract of the fruit was more active against the bacteria S. aureus , being more sensitive to its metabolites content (polyphenols with a concentration of 300 µg/mL), while the ethanolic extracts of the P. calyculatus fruit evaluated in the present study showed the same inhibitory and bactericidal activity against S. choleraesuis ATCC 10708, E. coli ATCC 12792, and S. flexneri ATCC 12022, observing that these bacteria were more sensitive to the total content of anthocyanins, followed by the content of total phenols, based on the correlation analysis (shown in Section 2.3 ).…”

“…There are no reports on the antimicrobial activity of P. calyculatus fruits; however, the leaf extracts of the P. linearis and P. cucullaris species have been evaluated against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria ( P. aeruginosa , S. aureus and E. coli ), resulting in an inhibitory effect on these microorganisms [ 19 , 20 ].…”

“…Regarding the other species of the genus Psittacanthus , which are endemic to other countries, the antimicrobial activity of P. linearis fruits, as well as the phytochemical content and antioxidant capacity of the leaves of P. plagiofilus and P. cucullaris have been reported, using different extractive solvents such as ethanol and water [ 18 , 19 , 20 ]…”

Dynamics of Polyphenol Biosynthesis by Calli Cultures, Suspension Cultures and Wild Specimens of the Medicinal Plant Ligaria cuneifolia (Ruiz & Pav.) Tiegh. (Loranthaceae). Analysis of Their Biological Activity

“…As far as we know, there are few reports about the establishment of in vitro cultures from hemiparasitic plants for plant secondary metabolite production, e.g., chlorogenic acid production by Viscum album calli [38]. Most of the literature refers to the establishment of in vitro cultures from hemiparasite species, and particularly in the Loranthaceae family, to induce organogenesis [17,39,40], while phytochemical analysis was only performed in plants [17,41,42]. To our knowledge, this is the first report on species from the Loranthaceae family aiming at establishing in vitro culture conditions to produce polyphenolic compounds, particularly FL, HCA, and PA. Our results showed that L. cuneifolia calli presented a similar pattern of polyphenolic compounds as the adult plant regardless of the tested conditions.…”

“…In addition, these cultures have the advantage of providing plant material of uniform quality produced under controlled environmental conditions free from pests and diseases. There are only a few reports about the establishment of in vitro cultures from Loranthaceae species [17,18]. We have previously determined the conditions to initiate in vitro calli cultures from L. cuneifolia on White medium with 500 mg L −1 casein hydrolysate, 100 mg L −1 myo-inositol, B5 vitamins, 4% (w/v) sucrose, 2.50 µM NAA, and 9.20 µM KIN as plant growth regulators (PGRs) and a 16 h photoperiod [19].…”