Phytochemistry Profile, Antimicrobial and Antitumor Potential of the Methanolic Extract of Tabernaemontana catharinensis A DC and Eragrostis plana NEES

Emanoeli da Rosa; Cheila Denise Ottonelli Stopiglia; Michel Mansur Machado; Augusto Cezar Dotta Filho; Ursula Paula Reno Soci; Andreas Sebastian Loureiro Mendez; Tiago Fernandes; Edilamar Menezes de Oliveira; Cleci Menezes Moreira

doi:10.1155/2024/5513141

Phytochemistry Profile, Antimicrobial and Antitumor Potential of the Methanolic Extract of Tabernaemontana catharinensis A DC and Eragrostis plana NEES

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2024 Jan 3:2024:5513141. doi: 10.1155/2024/5513141. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Emanoeli da Rosa¹, Cheila Denise Ottonelli Stopiglia², Michel Mansur Machado², Augusto Cezar Dotta Filho¹, Ursula Paula Reno Soci³, Andreas Sebastian Loureiro Mendez⁴, Tiago Fernandes³, Edilamar Menezes de Oliveira³, Cleci Menezes Moreira¹

Affiliations

¹ Programa de Pós-Graduação em Bioquímica, Universidade Federal do Pampa-UNIPAMPA, Uruguaiana, RS, Brazil.
² Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Federal do Pampa-UNIPAMPA, Uruguaiana, RS, Brazil.
³ Laboratório de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular do Exercício, Escola de Educação Física e Esporte, Universidade de São Paulo-USP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
⁴ Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul-UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.

Abstract

Natural compounds that have the potential to act as antimicrobials and antitumors are a constant search in the field of pharmacotherapy. Eragrostis plana NEES (Poaceae) is a grass with high allelopathic potential. Allelopathy is associated with compounds generated in the primary and secondary metabolism of the plant, which act to protect it from phytopathogens. Tabernaemontana catharinensis A DC (Apocynaceae), a tree in which its leaves and bark are used for the preparation of extracts and infusions that have anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive effects, is attributed to its phytochemical constitution. The objective of this study was to elucidate the phytochemical constitution, the antibacterial potential, the toxicity against immune system cells, hemolytic potential, and antitumor effect of methanolic extracts of E. plana and T. catharinensis. The phytochemical investigation was carried out using the UHPLC-QTOF MS equipment. The antibacterial activity was tested using the broth microdilution plate assay, against Gram-negative and Gram-positive strains, and cytotoxicity assays were performed on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and in vitro hemolysis. Antitumor activity was performed against the colon cancer cell line (CT26). Results were expressed as mean and standard deviation and analyzed by ANOVA. p < 0.05 was considered significant. More than 19 possible phytochemical constituents were identified for each plant, with emphasis on phenolic compounds (acids: vanillic, caffeic, and quinic) and alkaloids (alstovenine, rhyncophylline, amezepine, voacangine, and coronaridine). Both extracts showed antibacterial activity at concentrations below 500 µg/mL and were able to decrease the viability of CT26 at concentrations below 2000 µg/mL, without showing cytotoxic effect on PBMCs and in vitro hemolysis at the highest concentration tested. This is the first report of the activity of E. plana and T. catharinensis extracts against colon cancer cell line (CT26). Studies should be carried out to verify possible molecular targets involved in the antitumor effect in vivo.