Chemical composition and biological activities of valeriana dioscoridis sm. roots

Authors: SEN-UTSUKARCI, BUCRU - Istanbul University; KESSLER, SONJA - Saarland University; AKBAL-DAGISTAN, OZLEM - Istanbul University; Estep Iii, Alden; Tabanca, Nurhayat; KURKCUOGLU, MINE - Anadolu Universtiy; DEMIRCI-KAYARIAN, SERPIL - Cukurova University; EROGLU-OZKAN, ESRA - Istanbul University; GUL, ZULFIYE - Bahcesehir University; BARDACKI, HILAL - Acibadem University; BECNEL, JAMES - Retired ARS Employee; KIEMER, ALEXANDRIA - Saarland University; MAT, AFIFE - Istanbul University; HUSNU CAN BASER, KEMAL - Near East University

Submitted to: South African Journal of Botany
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/5/2021
Publication Date: 6/7/2021
Citation: Sen-Utsukarci, B., Kessler, S.M., Akbal-Dagistan, O., Estep Iii, A.S., Tabanca, N., Kurkcuoglu, M., Demirci-Kayarian, S., Eroglu-Ozkan, E., Gul, Z., Bardacki, H., Becnel, J.J., Kiemer, A.K., Mat, A., Husnu Can Baser, K. 2021. Chemical composition and biological activities of valeriana dioscoridis sm. roots. South African Journal of Botany. 141:306-312. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2021.05.007.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2021.05.007

Interpretive Summary: Plant extracts and oils have been the major source of natural products with biological importance that can be used as alternative remedies for the treatment of infectious diseases or the control of insects that carry disease. Concerns about the toxicity of many synthetic insecticides and the development of resistance in insects require the development of new insecticides and repellents from isolated natural products. We conducted this study with the aim of finding naturally derived, safe, and easily obtainable natural products that could be used for mosquito control derived from Valeriana dioscoridis a plant with broad usage in traditional Turkish medicine. We identified the compounds contained in different preparations using GC-MS and tested extracts of this plant for insecticidal activity against mosquitoes. We also looked at cytotoxicity of these extracts against several cell lines. We identified several compounds with insecticidal activity and with potential for future characterization and development.

Technical Abstract: The infection of Zika virus is transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes. In recent years, the researchers increased their investigations also for the aim of the finding natural and effective agent against Ae. aegypti. The aim of this study is to increase knowledge on V. dioscoridis and to present the results of the cytotoxic and insecticidal activities of various extracts of its roots and volatile compound compositions of roots. The hexane and chloroform extracts, HM1 and CM1, exhibited cytotoxicity with the IC50 values 128.4 and 86.93 µg/mL, respectively. Because of the highest effective extract in the studied concentration range, CM1 was also tested against the HUVEC cell line. The HM1 and CM1 were also tested for their insecticidal activities. CM1 was found to be the most active (mortality (%) = 96.7% ± 5.8 at 5 µg/mosquito), consistent with its cytotoxic activity. Since these active extracts were nonpolar, the chemical composition of the volatile compounds of the roots were analyzed by GC-MS analysis. About 87.7% of the essential oil were characterized. The major compound was found ß-eudesmol (9.2%), following by camphene (8.9%), bornyl acetate (8.2%) and maaliol (7.6%). This is the first study on the cytotoxicity against HepG2 and HUVEC cell lines, and insecticidal activity of V. dioscoridis. Further studies on this potential of this plant will be promising in terms of finding therapeutic agents.