Prunus spinosa L. leaf extracts: polyphenol profile and bioactivities

Abstract

Prunus spinosa leaf extracts in solvents of different polarity (water, ethanol and acetone), their phenol, flavonoid and anthocyanin contents and biological properties were the object of this study. The richest in phenols as well as in flavonoids was acetone extract with 181.19 mg GAE and 80.10 mg QE per gram of dry extract, respectively. Moreover, the quantity of anthocyanins obtained by HPLC analysis was also the highest in acetone sample. Examined samples possessed antioxidant properties evaluated through four in vitro assays (DPPH, ABTS, FRAP and TRC). The acetone extract was proved to be the best antioxidant among tested samples, which could be ascribed to polyphenols, especially anthocyanins. The aqueous and the ethanol extract exhibited antibacterial effects, being particularly active against B. cereus and E. cloacae. T. viride, P. funiculosum, P. ochrochloron, P. verrucosum var. cyclopium were the most susceptible among fungal microorganisms examined. Both, the aqueous and the ethanol extract expressed inhibitory activity towards enzymes linked to diabetes mellitus type II. Additionally, the ethanol extract showed significantly higher potential in inhibiting α-glucosidase than the drug used as the positive control. Furthermore, the aqueous sample revealed antitumor effects on following malignant cell lines: HeLa, K562 and MDA-MB-453. The results presented herein suggest that P. spinosa leaves should be considered as a natural source of bioactive compounds with potential application in phytopharmacy and food industry.

Blackthorn—A Valuable Source of Phenolic Antioxidants with Potential Health Benefits

“…Mineral or organic acid-containing solvents are commonly used to extract anthocyanins from plant organs [70]. Anthocyanins are likely substantial contributors to the antioxidant activities of blackthorn leaves, as evidenced by correlations between quantities of phenols, flavonoids, and anthocyanins and values obtained for antioxidant activity established in a previous study [71].…”

“…In 2021, the same research group analyzed the blackthorn leaf extract, doing similar tests for antifungal and antibacterial activities using the microdilution method. The pathogenic bacteria examined responded better to the ethanolic extract, especially E. cloacae and B. cereus [26,71,91]. In contrast to antibacterial activity, the aqueous sample's antimycotic characteristics were marginally better but still inferior to the positive control (ketoconazole).…”

“…A recent study on blackthorn leaf extract showed that acetone extract was the most effective in scavenging DPPH and ABTS free radicals (44.57 and 16.12 µg mL −1 ), with acetone revealing the best antioxidant activity. Furthermore, acetone leaf extract was richer in phenols, flavonoids, and anthocyanins than water and ethanol, proving that phenol content and antioxidant activity are closely related [71].…”

To be browsed or not to be browsed: differences in nutritional characteristics of blackthornPrunus spinosasubject to the long-term pressure of herbivores

“…Rosaceae, Fagaceae and Rubiaceae are among the preferred families of plants consumed by ungulates (Gebert and Verheyden-Tixier 2001;Storms et al 2008;Freschi et al 2021). The genus Prunus L. (Rosaceae) includes over 200 species of trees and shrubs (Arnold Arboretum, 1940), some of which are commercially important (Veličković et al 2021), are used in the restoration of historical landscapes (Mijnsbrugge et al 2016;Mijnsbrugge et al 2022) and boost species diversity by providing appropriate foraging and habitat resources for wildlife (Popescu and Caudullo 2016). A general characteristic of plants of the genus Prunus is that they contain carbon (C)-and N-rich defensive compounds (Santos Pimenta et al 2014;Peschiutta et al 2018), and also Ca-based inducible defence mechanisms such as calcium oxalate crystals (COC) (Peschiutta et al 2020).…”

Phytochemical Screening and Antioxidant Activity of Seven Native Species Growing in the Forests of Southern Chilean Patagonia

“…Moreover, they can be used as nutraceutical additives and food preservatives. In addition, they have antimicrobial, antitumor, and antidiabetic properties, among others [39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46].…”