Phytochemical Analysis and Antiproliferative Activity of <i>Ulex gallii</i> Planch. (Fabaceae), a Medicinal Plant from Galicia (Spain)
Lucía Bada,
Renato B. Pereira,
David M. Pereira,
Marta Lores,
María Celeiro,
Elías Quezada,
Eugenio Uriarte,
José Gil-Longo,
Dolores Viña
Affiliations
Lucía Bada
Group of Pharmacology of Chronic Diseases (CD Pharma), Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases Research Centre (CIMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Renato B. Pereira
REQUIMTE/LAQV, Laboratório de Farmacognosia, Departamento de Química, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade do Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal
David M. Pereira
REQUIMTE/LAQV, Laboratório de Farmacognosia, Departamento de Química, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade do Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal
Marta Lores
Laboratory of Research and Development of Analytical Solutions (LIDSA), Department of Analytical Chemistry, Nutrition and Food Science, Faculty of Chemistry, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
María Celeiro
CRETUS Institute, Department of Analytical Chemistry, Nutrition and Food Science, Campus Vida, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Elías Quezada
Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Eugenio Uriarte
Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
José Gil-Longo
Department of Pharmacology, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Dolores Viña
Group of Pharmacology of Chronic Diseases (CD Pharma), Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases Research Centre (CIMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
The genus Ulex comprises thirteen accepted species of perennial shrubs in the family Fabaceae. In Galicia (Spain) many of these are considered spontaneous colonizing species, which are easy to establish and maintain. Among them, Ulex gallii Planch. is used in traditional medicine for the same anti-infective, hypotensive and diuretic purposes as Ulex europaeus L., which is the most studied species. Likewise, some studies have described the antitumoral properties of several species. However, there are few scientific studies that justify the use of Ulex gallii Planch. and nothing has been reported about its composition to date. In our study, the entire plant was extracted with methanol and the crude extract was subjected to liquid phase extraction with distinct solvents, yielding three fractions: hexane (H), dichloromethane (D) and methanol (M), which were subsequently fractionated. The dichloromethane (D5, D7 and D8) and methanol (M4) sub-fractions showed antiproliferative activity on A549 (lung cancer) and AGS (stomach cancer) cell lines, and caspase 3/7 activity assessment and DNA quantification were also performed. Targeted analysis via UHPLC-QToF, in combination with untargeted analysis via MS-Dial, MS-Finder and Global Natural Products Social Molecular Networking (GNPS), allowed us to tentatively identify different metabolites in these sub-fractions, mostly flavonoids, that might be involved in their antiproliferative activity.
