Honey potentiating antioxidant and cytotoxic properties of hepatoprotective plants infusions
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abstract
The enormous variety of phytochemicals present in plants hás positioned them as an
invaluable source of medicines for humans. Moreover, their beneficiai effects seem to be
improved in combinations of herbal remedies due to synergistic effects between different
plants in comparison to the additive activity ofthe plants present in those mixtures (Pereira
et al., 2014). In addition, honey, a supersaturated sugar solution produced by honey bees
from nectar of different plants, possesses a valued place in traditional medicine, with wellreported
antioxidant, antitumor, hepatoprotective, antiviral, antibacterial, antifüngal and
immunostimulant properties (Molan, 2002). With that in mind, and since the information
regarding the effects of plant infusions added with honey is rather scarce, in the present
study we aimed to exploit the possible synergism between mixtures ofhoney and infüsions
of three medicinal plants (artichoke, bomtutu and milk thistle, either as single plant or as
combinations of two and three species), with regará to their antioxidant activity and
hepatotoxicity. For that purpose, the antioxidant activity was evaluated by comparing the
results fi-om different assays (radicais scavenging activity, reducing power, and lipid
peroxidation inhibition), and the hepatotoxicity was assessed in HepG2 tumour cell line
and in a non-tumour liver cells primary culture. The results were compared by analysis of
variance and linear discriminant analysis.
With the addition of honey to the infiisions, an increased antioxidant activity was verifíed
independently ofusing one, two or three plants based infüsions, potentiating their effects in
every single cases (except P-carotene bleaching inhibition for artichoke+milk
thistle+honey preparation). The preparations containing honey revealed lower toxicity in
HepG2 cell lines, with the exception of artichoke+honey preparation and none of the
samples (except the honey solution) was hepatotoxic in the assays carried on PLP2 cells.
Moreover, from the discriminant linear analysis output, it was possible to conclude that the
effect of honey addition overcame that resulting from using single plant or mixed plants
based infúsions. The enhanced antioxidant activity coupled to the lower hepatotoxicity
showed by formulations containing honey might be helpfül to define the most suitable
practice in terms of infüsions preparation.
