Antibacterial, antioxidant and anti-proliferative properties and zinc content of five south Portugal herbs

Context: Crataegus monogyna L. (Rosaceae) (CM), Equisetum telmateia L. (Equisataceae) (ET), Geranium purpureum Vil. (Geraniaceae) (GP), Mentha suaveolens Ehrh. (Lamiaceae) (MS), and Lavandula stoechas L. spp. luisieri (Lamiaceae) (LS) are all medicinal. Objective: To evaluate the antioxidant, antiproliferative and antimicrobial activities of plant extracts and quantify individual phenolics and zinc. Material and methods: Aerial part extracts were prepared with water (W), ethanol (E) and an 80% mixture (80EW). Antioxidant activity was measured with TAA, FRAP and RP methods. Phenolics were quantified with a HPLC. Zinc was quantified using voltammetry. Antibacterial activity (after 48 h) was tested using Enterococcus faecalis, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Listeria monocytogenes. Antiproliferative activity (after 24 h) was tested using HEP G2 cells and fibroblasts. Results: Solvents influenced results; the best were E and 80EW. GP had the highest antioxidant activity (TAA and FRAP of 536.90mg AAE/g dw and 783.48mg TE/g dw, respectively). CM had the highest zinc concentration (37.21 mg/kg) and phenolic variety, with neochlorogenic acid as the most abundant (92.91 mg/100 g dw). LS was rich in rosmarinic acid (301.71 mg/100 g dw). GP and LS inhibited the most microorganisms: B. cereus, E. coli and S. aureus. GP also inhibited E. faecalis. CM had the lowest MIC: 5830 mu g/mL. The antibacterial activity is explained by the phenolics present. LS and CM showed the most significant anti-proliferative activity, which is explained by their zinc content. Conclusion: The most promising plants for further studies are CM, LS and GP.FCT, Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia of Portugal [SFRH/BSA/139/2014

Synthesis, characterization, and antimicrobial evaluation of a small library of ferrocene-containing acetoacetates and phenyl analogs: the discovery of a potent anticandidal agent

A library of 16 2-substituted methyl acetoacetates containing ferrocenyl or phenyl units was designed to disclose differences in the antimicrobial activity of ferrocene-containing compounds and their phenyl analogs. Two methyl acetoacetates, whose structures do not contain an aromatic nucleus, were also included in order to probe the inherent activity of the scaffold itself. The acetoacetates were synthesized (low-to-good yields) and fully characterized by spectral (MS, IR, UV-Vis, 1D and 2D NMR) and electrochemical (cyclic voltammetry) techniques. Single-crystal X-ray analysis has been performed for methyl 2-acetyl-2-(ferrocenylmethyl)-5-methylhex-4-enoate. All compounds have demonstrated in vitro antimicrobial activity against six bacterial (three Gram-positive and three Gram-negative) and two fungal strains with minimal inhibitory concentration values of 0.0050-20.6 . The most active compound was 2-acetyl-2-(ferrocenylmethyl)-4-methylpent-4-enoate whose activity was comparable to that of nystatin against the yeast Candida albicans. Agglomerative hierarchical clustering statistical analysis of the antimicrobial assay data demonstrated that ferrocene-containing compounds have statistically different and greater antimicrobial activity when compared to their phenyl analogs