Effects of extraction solvent and samples origin in the antitumor and antimicrobial activity of Laurus nobilis L. leaves
Artigo de Conferência
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resumo
Laurus nobilis L., commonly known as laurel, belongs to Laureaceae family and it's a native plant from the
Mediterranean region. It is mostly appreciated for its flavour as a culinary spice, being also consumed as
infusion to treat some gastrointestinal problems [1]. It has been reported as a rich source of bioactive
molecules, such as phenolic compounds and essential oils [2, 3]. Due to the exponential increase of
oncological diseases and also the increased resistance to antibiotics, there is a growing concern in
seeking new sources of antitumors and antimicrobials, being natural matrices such as plants promising
sources.
Herein, in vitro antitumor (against five different human tumor cell lines) and antimicrobial (antibacterial and
antifungal) activities were evaluated on methanolic and aqueous extracts of wild and cultivated L. nobilis
leaves. Furthermore, to understand how both bioactive extracts and the origin of laurel sample act
differentially towards specific bacterial and fungal species and also selected human tumor cell lines, a
statistics analysis was perfonned using two-dimensional prindpal component analysis (PCA).
The origin (wild or cultivated) and extract type (methanolic or aqueous) of laurel samples act in a different
manner for the same evaluated parameter, showing statistically significant differences in the origin, but not
in the extract studied, or vice-versa. It was the extract type who showed most significant changes in the
bioactivitjes studied in both laurel samples. From the PCA biplot, it became clear that wild samples were
more effective to inhibit tumor cell lines growth. espedally HeLa, MCF7, NCI-H460 and HCT15. It was also
observed that methanolic extracts tended to have higher antimicrobial activity, except for Aspergillus niger,
Aspergillus. fumigatus and Penicillium verrucosum. The differences in bioactivity might be related to the
higher phenolic compounds content (flavonols, flavones and even, total phenolic compounds) found in the
methanolic extracts.
From the results obtained it is interesting to find out that considering the origin of laurel, wild or cultivated,
it was possible to specify the bioactivity of the extract, methanolic our aqueous. Meaning, from the PCA
biplot it is possible to choose the combination extract type/origin with potentially highest antitumor or
antimicrobial effect, depending on the objective of the study.
