Phenolic acids, antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of Naviglio® extracts from Schizogyne sericea (Asteraceae)

Schizogyne sericea, well-known as 'salado', is a halophytic shrub widespread on coastal rocks of Tenerife (Canary Islands). This plant is used traditionally as analgesic, astringent, anti-inflammatory and vulnerary agent. In the present work, we have analysed the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of S. sericea for the content of phenolic acids by HPLC-DAD. The dynamic solid-liquid Naviglio (R) extractor was used to extract the flowering aerial parts. Aqueous extracts showed higher levels of phenolics than ethanolic extracts. S. sericea extracts were rich in chlorogenic and isochlorogenic acids. The Naviglio (R) extracts obtained were assayed for in vitro biological activities, namely antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxicity on tumour cells by DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, agar disc-diffusion and MTT methods, respectively. Results showed that aqueous extracts, being richer in phenolic acids, are endowed with relevant radical scavenging activity (TEAC values in the range 208-960 mu mol TE/g) while ethanolic extracts exhibited noteworthy antiproliferative effects on tumour cells.