Title : Chemical and biological assessment on Puerto Rican native plants from the Polygonaceae family
Abstract:
The Polygonaceae botanical family comprises more than 1,000 plants with an approximate 120 that belong to the Coccoloba genus. Therefore, our research focuses on the assessment of potential natural products with biological and chemical properties, from poorly scrutinized native members of this genus. The study of this group of plants is especially interesting as there are reports on the ethnobotanical use of some species within this genus. This suggests that these plants may possess secondary metabolites with beneficial properties such as anti-inflammatory, diuretic, antimicrobial, and astringent effects. In fact, some biologically active compounds with antioxidant and antitumor activities have been identified as flavonoids, tannins and terpenes. After an extensive literature review, we have found a gap of knowledge within the chemical composition and potential biological activity of Coccoloba species that are native from Puerto Rico. In consequence, we conducted a preliminary assay to assess their antimicrobial activity. The Antimicrobial Discovery kit results indicate a significant bacterial growth inhibition caused by the fruits (2, light inhibition), stems (1, Some inhibition), and young leaves (1, some inhibition) of one of the species of interest, while only the leaves (1, some inhibition) of other species under study also showed promising results. Considering these preliminary results, we can hypothesize that these plants may contain potentially interesting secondary metabolites with biological activities. In order to evaluate their potential, we have prepared ethanolic and chloroform-methanol (1:1) extracts of different parts of the plants under study, and will perform the well diffusion assay to measure the specific antimicrobial activity of the extracts against common bacterial pathogens Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC29213), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC27853), Klebsiella pneunoniae (ATCC13883) and Acinetobacter baumannii (ATCC19606). Also, we will conduct the Brine Shrimp Lethality test (BSLT) to evaluate the cytotoxicity of the extracts and the DPPH assay to determine their antioxidant properties. The long term purpose of this project is to identify the active compounds present in our crude extracts. Analysis of these mixtures will be performed using TLC, column chromatography, 1H and 13C NMR experiments. Projects like this are vital for documenting the properties of plants found in nature, as they may serve as alternatives to medications that often come with numerous side effects. By exploring and validating these natural remedies, we can contribute to the development of safer, more effective treatment options and enhance our understanding of plant-based solutions in healthcare.
