article · Molecules
Leaves of Dittrichia viscosa, a plant traditionally used in Mediterranean folk medicine, contain a diverse range of bioactive molecules with several pharmacological properties. An investigation comparing water and methanolic extracts found that the methanolic extract demonstrated superior antioxidant capabilities. This methanolic extract effectively inhibited the enzymes alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase while also exhibiting antiglycation activity. When tested against breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468, the extract displayed cytotoxic effects without harming healthy peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Furthermore, the extract showed strong antibacterial activity against Proteus mirabilis and Bacillus subtilis. Chemical profiling revealed that the plant leaves are rich in macro-elements, appropriate micro-elements, and high concentrations of phenolics and flavonoids, including caffeic acid derivatives. These combined characteristics indicate that the plant represents a potential source of non-toxic natural compounds suitable for preventive or therapeutic uses.
Finding natural plant compounds that target disease mechanisms without harming healthy tissue is vital for drug discovery. By demonstrating antioxidant, antidiabetic, antibacterial, and selective anticancer properties in laboratory settings, this study highlights Dittrichia viscosa leaves as a promising botanical candidate. These findings provide an initial scientific foundation for exploring the plant's traditional medicinal uses in modern preventive and therapeutic contexts.
This work points to prospective applications in pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, or preventive healthcare product development, particularly for metabolic disorders, bacterial infections, and oncology. Potential users include biomedical researchers and early-stage drug discovery teams seeking natural therapeutic scaffolds. However, because the evidence is restricted to in vitro laboratory assays on cell lines and enzymes, this research remains at an early discovery stage, requiring extensive preclinical animal studies and formulation development before commercial viability can be determined.
AI-generated from the published abstract. Always read the original work before citing.
This work focused on the leaves of Dittrichia viscosa, a plant used in Mediterranean folk medicine. Compared to water extract, the methanolic extract had higher antioxidant effects. Moreover, this extract showed potent in vitro inhibitory activity against α-amylase and α-glucosidase and showed an interesting antiglycation effect. Additionally, the evaluation of the cytotoxic activity of the methanolic extract against two human breast cancer cell lines, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468, was very promising, with no cytotoxicity towards normal cells (peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). The antibacterial effect was also assessed and showed potent inhibitory activity against Proteus mirabilis and Bacillus subtilis. On the other hand, Dittrichia viscosa leaves were rich in macro-elements containing appropriate micro-elements and high levels of phenolics and flavonoids such as caffeic acid derivatives. Taken together, the results obtained in this study indicate that Dittrichia viscosa could constitute a valuable source of bioactive molecules and could be used either on the preventive side or for therapeutic applications without toxicity.
This page summarises published work. The authoritative version sits with the publisher.
DOI: 10.3390/molecules27072108
Is something wrong with this record? Report it or request removal.
Discussion
Have you built on this work, tried to replicate it, or seen it applied in practice? Share what you know. Verified researchers and MARATTO™ domain experts can open a discussion, and any member can reply. Contributions are reviewed before they appear.
No discussion yet. Open the first thread.
New to MARATTO™? Create a free account.
