An Evaluation of the DNA-Protective Effects of Extracts from<i>Menyanthes trifoliata</i>L. Plants Derived from<i>In Vitro</i>Culture Associated with Redox Balance and Other Biological Activities

Abstract

<i>Menyanthes trifoliata</i> L. is a valuable medical plant found in Europe, North America, and Asia, which grows on peat bogs and swamps. It has long been used in folk medicine as a remedy for various ailments. This is the first report to demonstrate the protective antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of aqueous methanolic extracts derived from the aerial parts (MtAPV) and roots (MtRV) of <i>in vitro</i> grown plants on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). It describes the influence of the tested extracts on the expression of antioxidant (HO-1, NQO1, <i>NRF2</i>, <i>kEAP1</i>, and <i>GCLC</i>) and inflammation-related genes (<i>IL-1α</i>, <i>IL-1β</i>, <i>IL-6</i>, <i>TNF-α</i>, and <i>IFN-γ</i>) in cells stimulated with H₂O₂ or LPS, respectively. In addition, <i>M. trifoliata</i> extracts were found to moderately affect the growth of certain bacterial and fungal pathogens, with the strongest antibacterial effect found against <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> and <i>Enterococcus faecalis</i>. <i>M. trifoliata</i> extracts demonstrated protective effects against mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and nuclear DNA (nDNA) damage caused by ROS, decreasing the numbers of mtDNA lesions in the <i>ND1</i> and <i>ND2</i> genes and nDNA damage in the <i>TP53</i> and <i>HPRT1</i> genes and reducing cleavage in PARP1- and <i>γ</i>-H2A.X-positive cells. The root extract of <i>in vitro M. trifoliata</i> (MtRV) appears to have better anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and protective properties than the extract from the aerial part (MtAPV). These differences in biological properties may result from the higher content of selected phenolic compounds and betulinic acid in the MtRV than in the MtAPV extract.