The Content of Certain Groups of Phenolic Compounds and the Biological Activity of Extracts of Various Halophyte Parts of Spergularia marina (L.) Griseb. and Glaux maritima L. at Different Levels of Soil Salinization

Abstract

Halophyte plants are known for their resistance to harsh environmental conditions associated with excess salts in their habitats. Their resistance to salinization is due, among other things, to their high ability to detoxify free radicals, owing to the relatively high content of antioxidants. On the coast of the Baltic Sea and in the lagoons, there are several rare halophyte species included in the Red Book of the Kaliningrad Region (Russia) and the Baltic region, such as Spergularia marina (L.) Griseb. and Glaux maritima L. The aim of the research was to study the accumulation of certain groups of phenolic compounds in different parts of S. marina and G. maritima plants under conditions of weak and strong soil salinity, as well as to analyze the antioxidant, antibacterial, and fungicidal activity of extracts of the studied plant species. The present study showed an increase in total phenolic content in the roots and shoots of S. marina, and the shoots of G. maritima, in response to increased soil salinity. At the same time, the total content of flavonoids in all the studied parts of the two plant species remained unchanged. However, the content of individual flavonoids (hesperetin, epicatechin, apigenin derivative, luteolin derivative) in S. marina increased, for G. maritima there was a tendency to reduce the content of flavonoids in roots and shoots with an increase in soil salinity. There was an increase in the total content of hydroxycinnamic acids in the roots of Glaux maritima, as well as an increase in the content of protocatechuic acid in the roots and shoots of Spergularia marina. A positive relationship was established between the antioxidant activity of S. marina root extracts and the total content of phenolic compounds, as well as G. maritima shoots extracts and the total content of phenolic compounds. Extracts of S. marina showed no antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis, and weak fungicidal activity of stem extracts and inflorescences grown on soils, with high levels of salinities, was detected against Candida albicans. The extracts of roots and shoots from G. maritima showed weak antimicrobial and fungicidal activity.

Apigenin encapsulated in spray‐dried liposomes coated with chitosan: heat, pH, light, oxygen, salt and storage stability

“…However, a study on halophyte plants reported a decrease in the apigenin derivative level as salinity increased in Spergularia marina (L.) Griseb. (Pungin et al ., 2023), which is consistent with our findings. After 24 h, unencapsulated AP retained 69.05%, 60.31% and 52.25% of the AP content at NaCl levels of 0.1 M, 0.3 M and 0.5 M respectively.…”

Soilless Cultivated Halophyte Plants: Volatile, Nutritional, Phytochemical, and Biological Differences

“…In the halophytes studied herein, 46 of the 94 tentatively identified compounds were hydroxycinnamic acids [ 75 ], mostly derivatives of caffeic acid ( Figure A1 A), ferulic acid ( Figure A1 B), p -coumaric acid ( Figure A1 C), and sinapic acid ( Figure A1 D), showing the typical molecular ion [M−H] − at m / z 179 (compounds 5 , 8 , 11 , 15 , 20 , 21 , 30 , 32 , 61 , 67 , 74 , 80 , 81 , 84 , and 86 ), m / z 193 (compounds 18 , 19 , 22 , 24 , 29 , 40 , 43 , 89 , 90 , and 94 ), m / z 163 (compounds 1 , 12 , 13 , 23 , 34 , 38 , 39 , 41 , 44 , 47 , 54 , 56 , 62 , 66 , 71 , 75 , 77 , 78 , 88 , and 93 ), and m / z 223 (compound 26 ) in the corresponding mass fragmentation spectra, Table A1 — Appendix A . The presence of these hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives was previously reported in S. ramosisssima [ 76 ], in conventional and microwave S. ramosissima extracts [ 77 ], as well as in other halophyte plants such as Glaux maritima roots [ 78 ], and in C. maritimum [ 79 ], as a survival molecular adaptation to saline soil conditions, as described by Pungin et al [ 78 ].…”

“…The lower content of D. crassifolium and M. crystallinum species in salt showed a positive association with the absence of hydroxybenzoic acids in these plants. As described by Pungin et al [ 78 ] and Qasim et al [ 85 ], despite the plant’s adaptive variability in salt environmental conditions, the phenolic compounds, particularly the phenolic acids, accumulate in the halophytes as a protective response against the oxidate stress imposed by the soil salinization; therefore, in the plants with lower salt content a lower phenolic content is expected. From a quantitative point of view, S.ramosissima showed the highest content of hydroxybenzoic acids, which is particularly thanks to the protocatechuic acid arabinoside (compound 9 ) content, Table 6 and Table S1—Supplementary Materials .…”

“…In C. maritimum , the protocatechuic acid esterified to a glycoside moiety was the most abundant hydroxybenzoic acid compound. The quantification of the aglycone form of protocatechuic acid was made previously by Pungin et al [ 78 ] for other halophytes, namely, Spergularia marina (L.) and Glaux maritima .…”

The complete chloroplast genome of Spergularia marina (Caryophyllaceae) and its phylogenetic analysis

“…Biological active compounds, such as polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, sterols, essential oils, polysaccharides, glycosides, and phenolic compounds, have recently been described in extracts of S. marina (Pungin et al. 2022 ).…”