Antioxidant, Antimicrobial and Antiproliferative Effects of Serjania racemosa Schumach Leaves

Background

Serjania racemosa Schumach, popularly known in Mexico as bejuco siete corazones (seven-hearted bejuco), is used in traditional medicine for the treatment of a wide variety of conditions, including urinary and prostate conditions, suggesting it may have a positive effect against prostate cancer.

Objectives

To evaluate the antioxidant, antibacterial, and antiproliferative activities of leaf extracts of S. racemosa.

Materials and Methods

Sequential extraction yielded hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol extracts of the dried leaves. Secondary metabolite groups were identified using ¹H-NMR chemical profiling. Total polyphenol content was determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu method, and antioxidant activity was determined using DPPH and FRAP assays. Antimicrobial activity was evaluated against bacteria and fungi of public health interest using the Kirby-Bauer method, and finally, antiproliferative activity was assessed against the androgen-independent prostate cancer cell line PC-3 using the MTT assay.

Results

The methanolic extract showed the best antioxidant activity with 91.09% DPPH radical inhibition and 520.39 µmol Fe⁺², related to the total phenol content. In addition, it also showed the greatest antibacterial effect inhibiting the growth of E. coli, P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, K. pneumoniae, P. mirabilis, S. typhi, S. paucimobilis and S. saprophyticus at 10 mg/mL, this activity could be related to the presence of flavonoids. However, ethyl acetate extract was more active than methanolic extract on inhibiting PC-3 cells proliferation, with an IC₅₀ of 89.12 µg/mL, this activity could be related to the presence of terpenes.

Conclusion

This work demonstrates that S. racemosa is an important source of compounds that confer antibacterial properties associated with urinary tract infections and antiproliferative properties in prostate cancer cells.