Vegetos
(An International Journal of Plant Research & Biotechnology)
Antimicrobial potential and cytotoxicity of total extract, fractions and subfractions from Mosiera bullata (Britton & P. Wilson) Bisse leaves
*Article not assigned to an issue yet
Pérez-Gómez Lianny, Pérez-Martínez Aurora T., Matheeussen An, Pieters Luc, Van Pelt Natascha, Mendez Daniel, Escalona Arranz Julio César, Martinez Montero Marcos Edel, Trujillo Reinaldo, Tuenter Emmy
Short Communications | Published: 05 June, 2025
First Page: 0
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Keywords: Natural products, Endemic plant, Extreme environment, Antimicrobial activity, n Mosiera bullatan
Abstract
The search for novel antimicrobial agents from natural sources is critical in the fight against antibiotic resistance. This study investigates Mosiera bullata (Britton & P. Wilson) Bisse, a lesser-known Cuban endemic plant from the Myrtaceae family. This species grows under extreme environment on serpentine soils. We evaluated the antimicrobial potential of the total extract, fractions, and subfractions from M. bullata leaves against human pathogens, including both fungal (Candida albicans ATCC B59630 and Aspergillus fumigatus ATCC B42928) and bacterial (Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538 and Escherichia coli ATCC 8739). Additionally, we assessed their cytotoxicity using the MRC-5 cell line. The total extract showed significant antimicrobial activity against S. aureus (IC50 = 20.19 µg∙mL-1) and C. albicans (IC50 = 63.20 µg∙mL-1), but exhibited cytotoxicity, raising concerns about its safety and potential therapeutic applications. Notably, two subfractions from the n-hexane fraction demonstrated potent antimicrobial activity against all tested microorganisms (IC50 < 100 µg∙mL-1) and exhibited a promising selectivity index (SI > 10) against S. aureus. The observed antimicrobial activity may be attributed to polyphenolic compounds, specifically dimeric acyl phloroglucinol derivatives related to aspidin BB and aspidin VB. These findings suggest the potential of these subfractions as antibacterial agents, although further in vivo toxicity studies are warranted.
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Author Information
Bioplantas Centre, Universidad de Ciego de Ávila Máximo Gómez Báez, Ciego de Ávila, Cuba