Antioxidant Activity of Tissue Culture-Raised Ballota Nigra L
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Acta Poloniae Pharmaceutica ñ Drug Research, Vol. 72 No. 4 pp. 769ñ775, 2015 ISSN 0001-6837 Polish Pharmaceutical Society ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF TISSUE CULTURE-RAISED BALLOTA NIGRA L. PLANTS GROWN EX VITRO JOANNA MAKOWCZY—SKA*, IZABELA GRZEGORCZYK-KAROLAK and HALINA WYSOKI—SKA Department of Biology and Pharmaceutical Botany, Medical University of £Ûdü, 1 MuszyÒskiego St., 90-151 £Ûdü, Poland Abstract: Antioxidant properties and total phenolic and flavonoid contents were evaluated in methanolic extracts of shoots from Ballota nigra plants initiated in vitro (from nodal explants) and in vivo (from seeds). The plants were grown in greenhouse and in the field, and were analyzed at the vegetative and flowering stages. The shoot extract of wild-grown plants of B. nigra was also investigated. The results indicate that antioxidant poten- tial of the B. nigra extracts seems to be due to their scavenging of free radicals (DPPH assay) and metal reduc- ing (FRAP test), while they were less effective at the prevention of linoleic acid peroxidation (LPO test). The extracts from shoots of in vitro derived plants were found to exhibit the greatest antioxidant properties. The extracts were also characterized by the highest content of phenolic compounds and their level was affected by plant developmental stage. The extracts of shoots collected at the flowering period exhibited higher amounts of phenolics and flavonoids than in the extracts of immature plants. A close correlation between the total pheno- lic content and flavonoid content and antioxidant activity using the DPPH and FRAP assays was obtained. The results of the present study suggest the use in vitro-derived plants of B. nigra instead of using wild plants for pharmaceutical purposes. Keywords: Ballota nigra L., total phenolic and total flavonoid contents, antioxidant activity, in vitro cultures Ballota nigra L. (black horehound) is a species geretin, ladanein) (12), phenylpropanoids (alyssono- of perennial herb within the Lamiaceae that grows in side, angoroside, arenarioside, ballotetroside, for- Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The plant sythoside B, lavandulifolioside, martynoside, ver- is listed in the pharmacopoeias of many countries, bascoside) (10, 13-15) and phenolic acids (chloro- including the Polish pharmacopoeia (1) and the genic, caffeic, caffeoyl malic acids) (4). Due to their European pharmacopoeia (2). The flowering aerial chemical structures and redox properties, phenolic parts of B. nigra are commonly known to be a neu- compounds have antioxidant activity and play an rosedative drug (3). Good therapeutic results have important role in protection from oxidative stress been achieved using Ballotae nigrae herba in the induced by reactive oxygen species (ROS). treatment of depression, insomnia and neurasthenia Recently, it has been shown that reactive oxygen (4, 5), as well as gastrointestinal disorders and it is species can induce degenerative diseases including used externally in the treatment of wounds and burns cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, neurode- (6). Due to the anti-inflammatory and expectorant generative disorders and ageing (16, 17). Also, as properties of black horehound, it is also used in the lipid peroxidation is initiated by ROS, and antioxi- treatment of colds, coughs and influenza (7). This dants retard the oxidative degradation of lipids, phe- species is also known to have antioxidant, spasmolyt- nolics can be used to improve the nutritional value ic, antiemetic and antidiabetic properties (8, 9) and of food (18). In this respect, research into the identi- has demonstrated antibacterial activity against fication of plants which may be used as non-toxic Proteus mirabilis and Staphylococcus aureus (10, 11). sources of natural antioxidants is very important in Phytochemical studies have shown that the the promotion of public health. herb of B. nigra is rich in phenolic compounds such The antioxidant activity of B. nigra herb has as flavonoids (luteolin-7-lactate, luteolin-7-gluco- been characterized (4, 6, 8) but such studies only con- syl-lactate, apigenin-7-glucoside, vicenin-2, tan- cern plants from the wild population. In contrast, the * Corresponding author: e-mail: [email protected] 769 770 JOANNA MAKOWCZY—SKA et al. current study estimates phenolic antioxidant activity ● shoots of micropropagated plants (SV-1, SV-2) and its relation to total phenolic and flavonoid com- and seed-propagated plants (SS-1, SS-2). The pound contents in methanolic extracts of B. nigra shoots were harvested at two different develop- shoots from micropropagated plants at two different mental stages: at vegetative (after 3 months of stages of maturity: the vegetative and flowering growth in the greenhouse) (SV-1, SS-1) and at stages. For comparison, methanolic extracts of shoots flowering (after 1 year of growth in open field from seed-derived plants were also analyzed. The conditions) (SV-2, SS-2). plants were cultivated under identical conditions and ● a commercially-available sample of B. nigra herb harvested after the same period as in vitro-derived (WP) purchased from Nanga, ZlotÛw (Poland). plants. The study also presents the antioxidant activi- The material was originally collected from plants ty and total phenolic and flavonoid content of com- growing wild in Poland, and is representative of mercially available samples of B. nigra herb. material used for medicinal purposes. The lyophilized and powdered plant materials MATERIALS AND METHODS (1.1 g each) were extracted three times with 96% methanol (3 ◊ 50 mL) for 15 min at room temperature Plant materials using an ultrasonic bath. The extracts were filtered, Ballota nigra nodal explants were derived from combined and evaporated to dryness under reduced 6-week-old in vitro cultured shoots initiated from pressure. Extraction yields (% w/w) were calculated seeds obtained from The Medicinal Plant Garden of by the following formula: weight of the dry extract the Department of Pharmacognosy, Medical (g) / weight of the original sample (g) ◊ 100%. The University of £Ûdü (Poland). Explants about 1 cm in percentage yields of methanolic extracts of B. nigra length were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) shoots were as follows: SV-1 ñ 20.4%; SV-2 ñ agar (0.7%) medium supplemented with 0.1 mg/L 15.9%; SS-1 ñ 15.4%; SS-2 ñ 17.27%; WP ñ 16.45%. indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and 0.5 mg/L 6-benzyl- aminopurine (BAP) for 12 cycles of 6 weeks each. DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical Each subculture was performed to fresh medium of scavenging assay the same composition at the end of each cycle. The The radical scavenging activity of plant cultures were maintained in a growth chamber at 26 extracts against DPPH free radical (Sigma Aldrich) ± 2OC with a 16 h photoperiod (40 µmol/m2 s1 photo- was determined spectrophotometrically according to synthetic photon flux). The growth conditions were Grzegorczyk et al. (19). Briefly, 2 mL of extracts (at not altered all through the experiment. concentrations 2.0, 20.0, 100.0, 200.0, 500.0 and For rooting, 6-week-old shoots, 3 to 4 cm in 1000.0 µg/mL) was added to 2 mL of 0.2 µM DPPH length, were transferred into MS agar medium sup- solution, and the absorbance was measured after 30 plemented with 0.5 mg/L indole-3-butyric acid min at 517 nm (spectrophotometer Beijing (IBA). After 5 weeks, the rooted shoots were trans- Reyleigh, Corp. China). The results were expressed ferred into pots containing a sterile mixture of soil, as EC50 (the concentration of sample at which 50% sand and peat (4 : 3 : 3, v/v/v) and kept in a green- of maximum scavenging activity was recorded). house for 3 months before subsequent transfer into the field at the Department of Pharmacognosy Ferric-reducing antioxidant power assay (FRAP) Medicinal Plant Garden, Medical University of £Ûdü. The FRAP was determined according to the Greenhouse- and field-grown B. nigra plants method modified by Pulido et al. (20). Three mL of were also obtained from seeds derived from the fresh prepared FRAP reagent was mixed with 300 same source as those used for shoot culture initia- µL of redistilled water and 100 µL of the sample tion. The classification of the plant specimen was methanol extract. The FRAP reagent contained 2.5 confirmed by Prof. Jan SiciÒski (Department of mL 10 mM TPTZ (2,4,6-Tris(2-pyridyl)-s-triazine) Geobotany and Plant Ecology, University of £Ûdü). solution in 40 mM HCl, 2.5 mL of 20 mM aqueous Voucher specimen was deposited at the Department FeCl3 ◊ 6 H2O solution and 45 mL of 0.3 M acetate of Biology and Pharmaceutical Botany, Medical buffer at pH 3.6. The reaction mixture was incubat- University of £Ûdü, Poland. ed at 37OC for 15 min. The absorbance was meas- ured after 15 min at 595 nm relative to a blank: a Sample collection and extract preparation sample containing methanol instead of extract. The For antioxidant assays and determination of antioxidant activity was determined against a stan- total phenolic and flavonoid content, the following dard of known FRAP value: ferrous sulfate calculat- B. nigra materials were used: ed from a calibration curve of (0-2000 µM). Antioxidant activity of tissue culture-raised Ballota Nigra L... 771 Linoleic acid peroxidation inhibition and Rossi (22). The extracts (400 µL) were mixed Linoleic acid peroxidation (LPO) inhibition with 2 mL of Folin-Ciocalteu reagent (POCh, was determined by the TBARS test according to Poland) (diluted 10-fold) and 1.6 mL of 7.5% Choi et al. (21), with some modifications. Briefly, sodium carbonate. The absorbance was deter- 150 µL plant extracts at concentrations of 250 mined after 30 min of incubation at room temper- µg/mL were mixed with 100 µL ascorbic acid (2 ature at 765 nm. The results were expressed as gal- mM), 500 µL linoleic acid (20 mM) and 500 µL lic acid mg equivalents (GAE) per gram of dry TRIS-HCl buffer (100 µM, pH 7.5).