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Nutraceutical Properties of Herbal Infusions from Six Native Plants of Argentine Patagonia

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Abstract

Six native plants of South America traditionally consumed in the Patagonian region (southern Argentina and Chile), namely: Adesmia boronioides Hook. f., Apium australe Thouars, Buddleja globosa Hope, Drimys andina (Reiche) R. Rodr. & Quezada, Dysphania multifida L. and Solidago chilensis Meyen were investigated to determine the nutraceutical properties of infusions of their aerial parts. The infusions were characterized in terms of their antioxidant activity, phenolic and flavonoid content, profile of phenolic compounds, general toxicity and cytotoxicity on two different human cell lines: T84 (derived from colon cancer) and HTR8/SVneo (not derived from cancer). Twenty-nine compounds, mainly phenolic acids and flavonoids, were identified. This is the first analysis of phenolic compounds in infusions from native plants of Patagonia. D. andina, B. globosa and S. chilensis showed high levels of antioxidants, even higher than those of Green Tea. The content of phenolic compounds correlated significantly with the antioxidant activity of the samples analyzed. The toxicity test indicated that the use of A. australe, B. globosa and D. multifida seems safe, but a moderate consumption is suggested for A. boronioides, D. andina and S. chilensis until more exhaustive and long-term results are available. Moreover, A. boronioides and S. chilensis showed anticancer potential due to their antiproliferative activity on human cancer cell lines.

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Abbreviations

ATCC:

American Type Culture Collection

BCB:

β-carotene-linoleic acid method

DPPH:

2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl

EC50:

Efficient concentration 50

GAE:

Gallic acid equivalent

HTR8/SVneo:

Cancer cell line from placental tissue

LC50:

Lethal concentration 50

LC-DAD-MS:

Liquid chromatography with diode array detection with tandem mass spectrometry

MTT:

Methylthiazolyldiphenyl-tetrazolium bromide

QE:

Quercetin equivalent

T84:

Cancer cell line from colon

TPC:

Total phenolic compound content

TF:

Total flavonoid content

VCEAC:

Vitamin C equivalent antioxidant capacity

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Direction of Flora and Fauna Silvestre, Chubut, Argentina, for allowing the sustainable collection of plant material in wild populations. We thank Dr. Nora B. Muruaga and staff of Miguel Lillo Institute for the identification of the botanical material and its deposit in the herbarium. We also thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive suggestions, which have greatly improved the manuscript. This work has been supported in part by CONICET, Argentina.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Química, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Ciencias de Salud, Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco (UNPSJB), Esquel, Argentina

    Bruno Gastaldi, F. M. Silva Sofrás & S. B. González

  2. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Bruno Gastaldi, G. Marino, Y. Assef & C. A. N. Catalán

  3. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas Alfredo Lanari, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    G. Marino

  4. Centro de Investigación Esquel de Montaña y Estepa Patagónica (CIEMEP), Esquel, Argentina

    Y. Assef

  5. Instituto de Química del Noroeste Argentino (INQUINOA-CONICET), Instituto de Química Orgánica, Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina

    C. A. N. Catalán

Authors
  1. Bruno Gastaldi
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  2. G. Marino
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  3. Y. Assef
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  4. F. M. Silva Sofrás
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  5. C. A. N. Catalán
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  6. S. B. González
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bruno Gastaldi.

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The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this paper.

Electronic supplementary material

Online Resource 1

Map showing the Río Negro and Chubut provinces in Argentine Patagonia. The numbers indicate wild populations of A. boronioides (1), A. australe (2), B. globosa (3), D. andina (4), D. multifida (5) and S. chilensis (6). (JPG 79 kb)

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(DOC 66 kb)

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Gastaldi, B., Marino, G., Assef, Y. et al. Nutraceutical Properties of Herbal Infusions from Six Native Plants of Argentine Patagonia. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 73, 180–188 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-018-0680-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-018-0680-3

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