Antibiotics (Dec 2020)

Phytocomplex Influences Antimicrobial and Health Properties of Concentrated Glycerine Macerates

  • Maura Di Vito,
  • Margherita Gentile,
  • Paola Mattarelli,
  • Lorenzo Barbanti,
  • Laura Micheli,
  • Claudia Mazzuca,
  • Stefania Garzoli,
  • Mattia Titubante,
  • Alberto Vitali,
  • Margherita Cacaci,
  • Maurizio Sanguinetti,
  • Francesca Bugli

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9120858
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9, no. 12
p. 858

Abstract

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The purpose of this study was to correlate the chemical composition of four commercial concentrated glycerine macerates (C-GMs), produced through the same extraction method, with their in vitro antimicrobial, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory properties, in order to evaluate their potential for healing upper airway diseases. C-GMs of Carpinus betulus (CB), Ficus carica (FC), Alnus glutinosa (AG) and Ribes nigrum (RN) were studied. The quality was evaluated using HPLC and IM-SPME/GC-MS systems; anti-oxidant and anti-microbial activities were assessed by the respective DPPH test, and micro-broth dilution test performed against 10 strains of Streptococcus pyogenes and 10 probiotic strains. ELISA and MTT tests were used to assess the immunomodulatory activity and the cytotoxicity of C-GMs, respectively. A significant correlation was found between the number of active compounds and the in vitro C-GMs effectiveness. Furthermore, the C-GMs of AG showed the best anti-microbial activity on pathological strains and, together with CB, the best anti-oxidant activity. The ELISA test exhibited a good immunomodulatory activity of RN. In vitro data support the integrated use of C-GMs of CB, AG, and RN in presence of airway diseases, and highlight the importance of standard procedures in cultivation, harvest and post-harvest treatments, as a premise for C-GMs with consistent characteristics.

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