Phenolic acids, antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of Naviglio® extracts from <i>Schizogyne sericea</i> (Asteraceae)

<p><i>Schizogyne sericea</i>, well-known as ‘salado’, is a halophytic shrub widespread on coastal rocks of Tenerife (Canary Islands). This plant is used traditionally as analgesic, astringent, anti-inflammatory and vulnerary agent. In the present work, we have analysed the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of <i>S. sericea</i> for the content of phenolic acids by HPLC-DAD. The dynamic solid–liquid Naviglio® extractor was used to extract the flowering aerial parts. Aqueous extracts showed higher levels of phenolics than ethanolic extracts. <i>S. sericea</i> extracts were rich in chlorogenic and isochlorogenic acids. The Naviglio® extracts obtained were assayed for <i>in vitro</i> biological activities, namely antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxicity on tumour cells by DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, agar disc-diffusion and MTT methods, respectively. Results showed that aqueous extracts, being richer in phenolic acids, are endowed with relevant radical scavenging activity (TEAC values in the range 208–960 μmol TE/g) while ethanolic extracts exhibited noteworthy antiproliferative effects on tumour cells.</p