Influence of light intensity, fertilizing and season on the cirsiliol content, a chemical marker ofLeonotis nepetifolia(Lamiaceae)

Abstract

BackgroundLeonotis nepetifolia (Family Lamiaceae) is a medicinal plant from which the flavonoid cirsiliol with sedative, hypnotic, anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activity has been extracted.MethodsSeedlings were cultivated under different levels of shade in native or fertilized modes. The content of cirsiliol was measured monthly by high-performance liquid chromatography and the total phenolic content by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. Monitoring of growth was carried out with the weekly measurement of height until the stabilization of growth.ResultsThe application of fertilizing and/or shading does not alter significantly the cirsiliol content. However, this content varies throughout the year, reaching the peak production in the summer, independently of the treatment applied. This same profile, with production in the summer, was also verified for phenolic compounds, reaching 58.15 ± 9.35 mg of equivalents of gallic acid per g of extract in the summer, content 1.84 times greater than the content verified in winter (31.56 ± 4.09 mg of gallic acid/g of extract). Although shading and fertilizing had no effect on cirsiliol content, the results also showed a positive influence on the height and biomass of the plant, which can causes a higher yield of extractable material.DiscussionBiotic and abiotic stresses are able to increase or decrease the production of secondary metabolites, including phenolic compounds in medicinal plants and, as the stress response is peculiar to each species, cultivation studies become necessary. The present study reports by the first time the influence of shading, fertilizing and seasons in cirsiliol content in L. nepetifolia. Among analyzed variables, the seasons showed a larger influence in expression of cirsiliol and among seasons, our results showed that the summer is the ideal season for collections. In summer, the photoperiod is larger than in other seasons of the year and due to that, the plants need greater protection against the long photoperiod. For this, the plants increase the production of phenolic compounds as observed in this study. Although they do not influence the production of cirsiliol, the shading and nutrients in soil favor growth and leaf area of several plants, explaining, thus, the higher height and biomass obtained.

Leonotis nepetifolia Transformed Root Extract Reduces Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines and Promotes Tissue Repair In Vitro

“…Th literature reports that Leonotis nepetifolia extracts contain the anti-inflammatory flavonoid cirsiliol (3′,4′,5-trihydroxy-6,7-dimethoxyflavone) [ 31 , 32 , 33 ], in turn, our earlier study reported high content of (+)-catechin, p-coumaric acid, m-coumaric acid and rosmarinic acid in the transformed root extract of Leonotis nepetifolia , which also may have an anti-inflammatory effect [ 17 ]. This may explain our results, since the TR extracts more effectively inhibited both IL-1β and IL-6 expression—probably due to higher concentrations of anti-inflammatory factors.…”

Cirsiliol and Quercetin Inhibit ATP Synthesis and Decrease the Energy Balance in Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE) Strains Isolated from Patients

“…[21], the aerial parts of the plant Isodon rubescens (also known as Rabdosia rubescens (Hemsl.) [22], and Leonotis nepetifolia (Lamiaceae) [23]. On the other hand, extracts of these plants are used in herbal medicine for inflammatory disease treatment due to their free-radical scavenging action [24,25].…”

Cirsiliol targets tyrosine kinase 2 to inhibit esophageal squamous cell carcinoma growth in vitro and in vivo

“…[15,16]. Cirsiliol, a flavonoid found in many plants such as Artemisia, Salvia, and Leonotis nepetifolia, has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, sedative, and hypnotic effects [17][18][19][20]. It has recently been shown to exert cancer inhibition effects against non-small cell lung cancer and other cancers [21,22].…”