Flowers and Leaves Extracts of Stachys palustris L. Exhibit Stronger Anti-Proliferative, Antioxidant, Anti-Diabetic, and Anti-Obesity Potencies than Stems and Roots Due to More Phenolic Compounds as Revealed by UPLC-PDA-ESI-TQD-MS/MS

Sabina Lachowicz-Wiśniewska; Anubhav Pratap-Singh; Ireneusz Kapusta; Angelika Kruszyńska; Andrzej Rapak; Ireneusz Ochmian; Tomasz Cebulak; Wioletta Żukiewicz-Sobczak; Paweł Rubiński

doi:10.3390/ph15070785

Flowers and Leaves Extracts of Stachys palustris L. Exhibit Stronger Anti-Proliferative, Antioxidant, Anti-Diabetic, and Anti-Obesity Potencies than Stems and Roots Due to More Phenolic Compounds as Revealed by UPLC-PDA-ESI-TQD-MS/MS

Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2022 Jun 23;15(7):785. doi: 10.3390/ph15070785.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Food and Nutrition, Calisia University, 4 Nowy Świat Street, 62-800 Kalisz, Poland.
² Department of Horticulture, West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, 71-434 Szczecin, Poland.
³ Faculty of Land and Food Systems (LFS), The University of British Columbia, Vancouver Campus 213-2205 East Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada.
⁴ Department of Food Technology and Human Nutrition, College of Natural Science, Rzeszow University, 4 Zelwerowicza Street, 35-601 Rzeszow, Poland.
⁵ Laboratory of Tumor Molecular Immunobiology, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, 53-114 Wroclaw, Poland.

Abstract

The present work aims to assess the biological potential of polyphenolic compounds in different parts (flowers, leaves, stems, and roots) of Stachys palustris L. Towards secondary metabolites profile, 89 polyphenolic compounds (PCs) were identified by UPLC-PDA-ESI-TQD-MS/MS, with a total average content of 6089 mg/100 g of dry matter (d.m.). In terms of biological activity, antioxidant activity (radical activity, reducing power), digestive enzyme inhibitory (α-glucosidase, α-amylase, pancreatic lipase) effect, and antiproliferative activity (inhibition of cell viability and induction of apoptosis in different human cancer cell lines) were explored. Leaves, flowers, stems, and roots of S. palustris L. have not been studied in this regard until now. Vescalagin and cocciferin d2, isoverbascoside (verbascoside), luteolin 6-C-glucoside, luteolin 6-C-galactoside, apigenin 6-C-glucoside, (-)-epicatechin, ellagic acid, and malvidin 3-O-diglucoside were detected as main ingredients in the studied parts. Methanolic extract of S. palustris L. leaves and flowers revealed the highest amount of PCs with the strongest antiradical (18.5 and 15.6 mmol Trolox equivalent (TE)/g d.m., respectively) and reducing power effects (7.3 and 5.6 mmol TE/g d.m.). Leaf extracts exhibited better α-amylase and pancreatic lipase inhibition effects, while flower extracts exhibited better α-glucosidase inhibition effect. Regarding antiproliferative activity, extracts of the leaves and flowers significantly reduced cell viability and induced a high level of apoptosis in human lung, pancreatic, bladder, and colon cancer cell lines, as well as in human acute myeloid leukemia; whereas the extracts from stems and roots revealed the weaker effects. The results of this work showed anti-proliferative and potentially anti-diabetic, anti-obesity properties of S. palustris L., especially for flowers and leaves, which may have wide potential applications in the functional food, special food, pharmaceutical, cosmetics industries, and/or in medicine.

Keywords: bioactive compounds; in vitro biological potency; marsh woundwort; medical plant.

Grants and funding

This research was partially supported by the National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery grant (grant No. RGPIN-2018-04735).