Stipa tenacissima L.: A New Promising Source of Bioactive Compounds with Antioxidant and Anticancer Potentials

Mehdi El Bouchti; Mohammed Bourhia; Amal Alotaibi; Kaoutar Aghmih; Sanaa Majid; Riaz Ullah; Ahmad Mohammad Salamatullah; Mounir El Achaby; Mina Oumam; Hassan Hannache; Omar Cherkaoui; Mohammed El Mzibri; Laila Benbacer; Said Gmouh

doi:10.3390/life11080757

Stipa tenacissima L.: A New Promising Source of Bioactive Compounds with Antioxidant and Anticancer Potentials

Life (Basel). 2021 Jul 27;11(8):757. doi: 10.3390/life11080757.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory REMTEX, Higher School of Textile and Clothing Industries, km 8, Route d'El Jadida, Oulfa, Casablanca B.P. 7731, Morocco.
² Laboratory of Chemistry-Biochemistry, Environment, Nutrition, and Health, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Hassan II University, Casablanca B.P. 5696, Morocco.
³ Basic Science Department, College of Medicine, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh 11564, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Laboratory of Materials Engineering for Environment and Valorization (GeMEV), Aïn Chock Faculty of Sciences, Hassan II University, Casablanca B.P. 7731, Morocco.
⁵ Department of Pharmacognosy (MAPPRC), College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11564, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Department of Food Science & Nutrition, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
⁷ Materials Science and Nano-Engineering Department, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Lot 660-Hay Moulay Rachid, Ben Guerir 43150, Morocco.
⁸ Laboratory of Engineering and Materials LIMAT, Faculty of science Ben M'Sik, Hassan II University, Casablanca 7955, Morocco.
⁹ Biology and Molecular Research Unit, Department of Life Sciences (CNESTEN), Rabat B.P. 10001, Morocco.

Abstract

Stipa tenacissima L. (S. tenacissima), called Esparto grass, is a cultivated species used for industrial purposes, including textile production. This species has never been studied for its medical potential before, nor has it been used in traditional medicines. It is thus fitting that the present study aimed to investigate the pharmacological potential of S. tenacissima. To achieve this goal, this work was conducted to study the chemical composition, antioxidant properties, and antiproliferative effects of S. tenacissima against cancerous cell lines, including the human colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line (HT-29) and human breast adenocarcinoma cell line (MDA-MB-231). Fractionation and characterization of S. tenacissima extract showed the presence of promising bioactive fractions. The fractions obtained from S. tenacissima extract exhibited interesting antioxidant properties, with IC₅₀ values ranging from 1.26 to 1.85 mg/mL. All fractions, such as F1, F2, F3, and F4, induced an important antiproliferative effect on the cancer cell lines MDA-MB-231, scoring IC₅₀ values ranging from 63.58 ± 3.14 to 99.880 ± 0.061 µg/mL. These fractions (F1, F2, F3, and F4) also exhibited a potent antiproliferative effect versus HT-29 cell lines, with IC₅₀ values ranging from 71.50 ± 4.97 to 87.500 ± 1.799 µg/mL. Therefore, S. tenacissima could constitute a new natural source of bioactive compounds that can be used for therapeutic purposes to fight cancer and free radical damage.

Keywords: Stipa tenacissima L.; antioxidant properties; antiproliferative activity; bioactive compounds; methanol extract.