Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
DOI 10.1007/s13197-013-1236-z
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Revised: 27 November 2013 / Accepted: 11 December 2013 / Published online: 22 Decem ber 2013
# Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) 2013
Introduction
There are two main types of water-based preparations that
involve boiling water - decoctions and infusions. Decoctions
require a prolonged application of heat, often used in preparation of many traditional remedies, while infusions involve
the steeping of plant material in boiling water for a short
period, such as in the preparation of teas. The herbal plant
Rhoeo spathacea (Sw.) Stearn, also known as Tradescantia
spathacea, has been recognized as a functional food particularly in South America with the dried leaves having the
potential to be developed into a tea-like beverage (RosalesReyes et al. 2008). The decoction is taken orally on a daily
basis as a treatment for cancer (Rosales-Reyes et al. 2008), as
an anti-inflammatory agent (Longuefosse and Nossin 1996),
and is also purported to be capable of treating Neisseria
gonorrhoeae (Halberstein 2005). Despite these traditional applications, R. spathacea remains uncommonly used outside of
South America, but shows promise to be established as a
beverage internationally.
The consumption of antioxidants, which are ubiquitously
present in many medicinal andherbal plants, has been associated with a reduced risk of the incidence of oxidative diseases
ranging from cancer, cardiovascular disorders, diabetes
mellitus, rheumatic arthritis to aging (Halliwell 1996). In
recent years, a number of antibiotics have lost their effectiveness due to the development of resistant strains. In addition,
antibiotics are sometimes linked to adverse effects such as
hypersensitivity, immune-suppression and allergic reactions
(Berahou et al. 2007). There is therefore a need to develop
new antibiotics from natural sources such as plants.
Thus, the primary aim of this study was to establish the
viability of R. spathacea aqueous leaf extracts as a beverage,
in terms of its antioxidant activity in comparison with other
tropical and herbal teas previously reported by our research
group (Chan et al. 2010), as well as its antibacterial activity
against several species, including N. gonorrhoeae. The decoction and infusion methods were compared, as both techniques
were traditionally used in the preparation of this plant for oral
consumption (Reyes-Mungua et al. 2009; Rosales-Reyes
et al. 2008). In addition, an optimized methanolic extract
and aqueous extracts using water at room temperature (as
opposed to boiling water) were used as controls to respectively determine the extraction efficiency compared to an organic
solvent, and to demonstrate the effect of heat on the extraction
efficiency. Lastly, qualitative phytochemical screening, reverse phase high pressure liquid chromatography (RPHPLC) and mass spectrometry (LC-MS) were used to determine the classes of compounds present, and to identify compounds present in extracts of R. spathacea.
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against several species, including N. gonorrhoeae. The decoction and infusion methods were compared, as both techniques
were traditionally used in the preparation of this plant for oral
consumption (Reyes-Mungua et al. 2009; Rosales-Reyes
et al. 2008). In addition, an optimized methanolic extract
and aqueous extracts using water at room temperature (as
opposed to boiling water) were used as controls to respectively determine the extraction efficiency compared to an organic
solvent, and to demonstrate the effect of heat on the extraction
efficiency. Lastly, qualitative phytochemical screening, reverse phase high pressure liquid chromatography (RPHPLC) and mass spectrometry (LC-MS) were used to determine the classes of compounds present, and to identify compounds present in extracts of R. spathacea.
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Table 1 Antioxidant properties of methanolic extract, decoction and infusion of R. spathacea leaves
Treatment
Decoction
379.347.3a (4712588a)
309.046.9a (3839583a)
2.20.1a (27.31.2a)
2.10.8a
(26.19.9a)
Decoction Control
179.165.9b (2225819b)
60.816.9b (755.3209.9b)
Infusion
463.660.9a (5759757a)
377.890.8a (49631128a)
Infusion Control
178.667.9b (2219844b)
117.133.4b (1455415b)
Methanolic Extract
432.6100.0a (53741242a)
486.4115.6a (60421436a)
0.90.1b
(11.21.2b)
2.21.0a
(27.312.4a)
1.00.1b
(12.41.2b)
4.21.0c
(52.112.4c)
2.10.6a
(26.17.5a)
2.90.4a
(36.05.0a)
2.81.0a
(34.812.4a)
2.31.4a
(28.917.4a)
Values in parenthesis are expressed in terms of 100 g dry weight of leaf samples
Results are expressed as mean S.D. (n=6). For each column, values followed by the same letter are not significantly different at p<0.05 as measured
by the Tukey HSD test.
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Class
Decoction
Decoction Control
Infusion
Infusion Control
Methanolic Extract
Tannins
Terpenoids/sterols
Alkaloids
Glycosides
Saponins
Anthocyanins
2
1
34
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Table 3 Minimum inhibitory concentration of decoction and infusion of R. spathacea leaves for sixteen species of bacteria
Gram Positive
Sample
Bacillus cereus
(ATCC 14579)
Bacillus subtilis
(ATCC 8188)
Micrococcus luteus
(ATCC 4698)
MRSA
(ATCC 33591)
10
10
10
10
5
10
10
10
10
2.5
2.5
10
Decoction
Aeromonas hydrophila
(ATCC 49140)
5
Klebsiella pneumonia
(ATCC 10031)
10
Neisseria gonorrhoeae
(ATCC 49226)
10
Proteus vulgaris
(Clinical)
10
Infusion
Methanolic extract
5
10
10
10
10
Decoction
Infusion
Methanolic extract
Staphylococcus
epidermidis
(ATCC 12226)
10
10
10
Staphylococcus
saprophyticus
(ATCC 15305)
10
5
10
Gram Negative
No activity was observed for Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29212), Pseudomonas aeruginosa(ATCC 10145), Proteus
mirabilis (ATCC 12453), Serratia marcescens (Clinical) and Salmonella typhimurium (ATCC 14028)
Rt (min)
Putative identity
m/z, [M+H]+
m/z, [M-H]-
Mode of identification
1
2
3
4
7.3
11.6
11.9
12.0
Epigallocatechin
Rhoeonin
Peltatoside
Rutin
279
285, 327, 538
267, 341
270, 350
307
1433
619 [M+Na], 303
633[M+Na], 303
305
1431
595
609
UV/MS+standard
UV/MS
UV/MS
UV/MS + standard
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Conclusion
Both the decoction and infusion methods are viable ways to
extract the leaves R. spathacea, with TPC and antioxidant
activity comparable to many tropical and herbal teas. This,
compounded by the antibacterial activity against a range of
different bacteria including N. gonorrhoeae, MRSA, and several other Gram-negative species indicates that this plant lives
up to its reputation in South America as a functional food, and
has potential to be popularized into a common beverage.
Acknowledgments The authors wish to thank Monash University
Sunway campus for the financial support. We have no conflict of interest
to declare.
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