iFZ Masters 2021 - Dorena Sauter

Dorena Sauter evaluating data (Photo: D. Sauter)

Generic effect-related screening of 68 botanicals with subsequent identification of selected bioactive zones

Common diseases such as Alzheimer's, diabetes or cardiovascular diseases can often be traced back to an unhealthy lifestyle. The positive influence of a plant-rich diet on human health is often neglected when treating these diseases. The variety and abundance of compounds from plant extracts poses the challenge of assigning the bioactivity to individual components in such complex mixtures. In the master thesis "Generic effect-related screening of 68 botanicals with subsequent identification of selected bioactive zones" the health-promoting properties of 68 selected botanicals were highlighted with the help of an effect-related screening and the identification of bioactive compounds. The high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC), a planar chromatographic separation process, was carried out with six enzymatic (α- / β-glucosidase, β-glucuronidase, tyrosinase, acetyl- / butyrylcholinesterase) and seven microbiological (Aliivibrio fischeri, Bacillus subtilis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Salmonella typhimurium) bioassays coupled to - among others - detect antimicrobial, antidiabetic, neurotoxic or steroid hormone-like effects in plant extracts. Bioactive zones were then eluted from the bioautogram and analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometry (MS). Plants such as B. galangal, green mate, rosemary and licorice root showed multipotent effects in the screening. According to mass spectrometric analysis, this bioactivity could inter alia be ascribed to the already known biologically active flavonoids quercetin and kaempferol. These can inhibit enzymes such as cholinesterases, glucosidases, tyrosinases or glucuronidases. The plant-specific compounds naringin and hesperidin from orange peel and liquiritin from liquorice root could be assigned to the plant-specific compounds naringin and hesperidin similar to steroid hormones. In addition, the pesticide hexaflumuron was detected, which is classified as an endocrine disruptor and has an impact on the human hormone balance. This small extract of the results allows the plant-based traditional medicine that has been practiced for centuries to be partially understood.

Schreiner, T., Sauter, D., Friz, M., Heil J., Morlock, G.E.: Is our Natural Food our Homeostasis? Array of A Thousand Effect-Directed Profiles of 68 Herbs and Spices, Frontiers in Pharmacology 12 (2021) 755941, free download.

For more information:
Prof. Dr. Gertrud Morlock, Food Science