Antiproliferative and Antimicrobial Activities of Selected Bryophytes

Abstract

One-hundred and sixty-eight aqueous and organic extracts of 42 selected bryophyte species were screened in vitro for antiproliferative activity on a panel of human gynecological cancer cell lines containing HeLa (cervix epithelial adenocarcinoma), A2780 (ovarian carcinoma), and T47D (invasive ductal breast carcinoma) cells using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and for antibacterial activity on 11 strains using the disc-diffusion method. A total of 99 extracts derived from 41 species exerted ≥25% inhibition of proliferation of at least one of the cancer cell lines at 10 μg/mL. In the cases of <i>Brachythecium rutabulum</i>, <i>Encalypta streptocarpa</i>, <i>Climacium dendroides</i>, <i>Neckera besseri</i>, <i>Pleurozium schreberi</i>, and <i>Pseudoleskeella nervosa</i>, more than one extract was active in the antiproliferative assay, whereas the highest activity was observed in the case of <i>Paraleucobryum longifolium</i>. From the tested families, Brachytheciaceae and Amblystegiaceae provided the highest number of antiproliferative extracts. Only 19 samples of 15 taxa showed moderate antibacterial activity, including the most active <i>Plagiomnium cuspidatum</i>, being active on 8 tested strains. Methicillin-resistant <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> (MRSA) and <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> were the most susceptible to the assayed species. This is the first report on the bioactivities of these 14 species.