The comparison of the phytochemical composition, antioxidant and enzyme inhibition activity of two moss species: Plagiomnium ellipticum (Brid.) T. Kop. and Antitrichia californica Sull., from southwest ecological region in Turkey

An evaluation of the antioxidant potential and in vitro enzyme inhibition profile of selected bryophytes from Northeast Anatolia (Türkiye)

Interest in the use of bryophytes in pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food industrial applications is growing worldwide due to their secondary metabolites. In this study, n-hexane crude extracts and further fractions (aqueous, ethyl acetate and n-butanol) of aqueous ethanol (80:20, ethanol:H2O, v/v) were obtained from five different bryophytes (Pellia epiphylla, Conocephalum conicum, Porella platyphylla, Plagiomnium cuspidatum and Mnium spinulosum) collected from Trabzon, Türkiye. The total phenolic compound (TPC) content, antioxidant capacity (AC) and enzyme inhibition activity (acetylcholine esterase, butyrylcholine esterase, tyrosinase, α-amylase and α-glucosidase) of the extracts and fractions were species-specific and varied significantly between the crude extracts and fractions. Among the different bryophytes, Porella platyphylla and Pellia epiphylla in n-butanol and Plagiomnium cuspidatum and Mnium spinulosum in ethyl acetate fraction exhibited the highest TPC contents and AC values. The contents of phenolic acids liberated in free, ester and glycoside forms were also species-specific. p-Hydroxybenzoic acid (p-HBA) in free form in P. cuspidatum and P. platyphylla, p-coumaric acid (p-CoA) in ester form and m-hydroxybenzoic acid (m-HBA) in glycoside form in M. spinulosum were the major phenolic acids in the bryophytes. The n-hexane extracts of the bryophytes, in particular M. spinulosum, had IC50 values ​​almost 100 times lower than acarbose. This suggests that M. spinulosum in particular may represent a possible candidate for the production of new antidiabetic agents.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Antioxidant and Antibacterial Properties of Extracts and Bioactive Compounds in Bryophytes

Today global health problems such as increased risks of oxidative stress-related diseases and antibiotic resistance are issues of serious concern. Oxidative stress is considered to be the underlying cause of many contemporary pathological conditions such as neurological disorders, ischemia, cancer, etc. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are a concerning issue in clinical practice, causing an increase in deadly infections. Bryophytes synthesize an outstanding number of secondary metabolites that have shown several potential therapeutic and nutraceutical applications. Research in the field has led to the isolation and characterization of several compounds (flavonoids, terpenoids, and bibenzyls). Some of these compounds have shown promising in vitro antibacterial activities and antioxidant potential comparable to known natural antioxidants such as ascorbic acid and α-tocopherol. However, the process of developing new drugs from naturally occurring molecules is often an impervious path. In this paper, the current state of research of bryophytic antioxidant and antibacterial applications is discussed.