Anti-inflammatory, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activity Characterization and Toxicity Studies of Flowers of “Jarilla”, a Medicinal Shrub from Argentina

Abstract

Zuccagnia punctata Cav. (Fabaceae) is an Argentine medicinal aromatic shrub (jarilla pispito, puspus, lata and jarilla macho). The chalcones were identified as pigments responsible for the yellow color of the flowers. Hydroethanolic extracts were obtained both from fresh flowers and from flowers dried by lyophilization. The extracts were standardized by their phenolic and flavonoids content. Their fingerprints by HPLC-DAD indicated the presence of two chalcones as major compounds (2ʹ,4ʹ-dihydroxychalcone and 2ʹ,4ʹ-dihydroxy-3ʹ-methoxychalcone). Both extracts showed the same total phenolic, nonflavonoid phenolic and flavonoid phenolic content and their phenolic profiles were similar. The polyphenolic extracts exhibited antioxidant (free radical scavenging and inhibitory activity on lipoperoxidation) and anti-inflammatory (inhibition of lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase enzymes) activities. The flower extracts were active against six Candida species with MIC values between 60 and 120 µg GAE.mL-1 and were also active on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MIC: 250 µg GAE.mL-1) and Enterococcus faecalis (MIC: 500 µg GAE.mL-1). The extracts were neither toxic (Artemia salina test) nor mutagenic (Ames test). Jarilla flowers could be considered as a new dietary supplement that could help to prevent pathologies associated with oxidative stress and the polyphenolic extract obtained from them could be considered as a standardized phytotherapeutic product with antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.