Polyphenolic HRMS Characterization, Contents, Antioxidant Activity and Cytotoxic Effects of Costa Rican Ocimum tenuiflorum L. Extracts
6 affiliations
- 1BIODESS, Department of Chemistry, University of Costa Rica, San Pedro de Montes de Oca 11501, Costa Rica
- 2National Laboratory of Nanotechnology, CeNAT, Pavas, San José 10109, Costa Rica
- 3R&D+i Department, INNOBIOTIQ SRL, Pavas, San José 10107, Costa Rica
- 4Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, University of Costa Rica, San Pedro de Montes de Oca 11501, Costa Rica
- 5Department of Chemistry, Chemistry and Microbiology Research and Services Center, Costa Rica Institute of Technology, Cartago 30109, Costa Rica
- 6Chemistry Department, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20037, USA
Abstract
Holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum) is well known for its bioactive properties, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Leaves samples from Costa Rica were extracted and analyzed in composition and in antioxidant and cytotoxic activities. The analysis by Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled with High Resolution Mass Spectrometry using a quadrupole-time-of-flight analyzer (UPLC-QTOF) allowed the identification of 12 compounds, including 7 glycosylated flavonoids, 2 coumaroyl alcohols, rosmarinic acid, eugenol, and salvianolic acid E. Quantification using liquid chromatography with diode array detector (UPLC-DAD) was performed for the main components, including apigenin and luteolin glucoronides, rosmarinic acid, and eugenol, revealing an overall content of 78.28–121.05 mg/g dry extract. Total phenolic values ranged between 74.5 and 122.5 mg GAE/g dry extract, while antioxidant evaluations showed IC50 values of 28.18–48.18 mg dry extract/L for 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhidrazyl (DPPH) assay, 1192.8–2006.5 μmol Trolox/g dry extract for Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP), 2.56–3.01 μmol Trolox/mg dry extract for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC), and 708.7–1415.8 μmol Trolox/g dry extract for Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC). Pearson correlation analyses (p < 0.05) between the quantified phenolic content and the antioxidant assays showed the highest values between UPLC and DPPH (R = 0.962) and UPLC with ORAC values (R = 0.955). A Relative Antioxidant Capacity Index (RACI) evaluation indicated HB-1 and HB-3 samples as the ones with the best results in these antioxidant assays, aligning with their higher content in polyphenols, which can be attributed to their higher maturity at the harvesting stage in comparison with HB-2. The in vitro cytotoxicity evaluation of these extracts in adenocarcinoma cell lines, using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, showed a significant cytotoxic effect against AGS gastric cancer cell lines with an IC50 of 78–150 μg extract/mL and a selectivity index greater than 6 in respect to normal Vero cell lines. To the best of our knowledge, this work represents the first study of its kind in O. tenuiflorum from Costa Rica.
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BibTeX
@article{sibaja2026polyphenolic,
title = {{Polyphenolic HRMS Characterization, Contents, Antioxidant Activity and Cytotoxic Effects of Costa Rican Ocimum tenuiflorum L. Extracts}},
author = {Andrea Mariela Araya Sibaja and Juan Diego Chacón-Vargas and Luis Felipe Vargas-Huertas and Gabriela Azofeifa and Silvia Quesada and José Roberto Vega-Baudrit and Andrés Sánchez-Kopper and Diego Alvarado-Corella and Andrea Monge-Navarro and Mirtha Navarro-Hoyos},
journal = {Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/molecules31193546},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13666767},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Polyphenolic HRMS Characterization, Contents, Antioxidant Activity and Cytotoxic Effects of Costa Rican Ocimum tenuiflorum L. Extracts
AU - Andrea Mariela Araya Sibaja
AU - Juan Diego Chacón-Vargas
AU - Luis Felipe Vargas-Huertas
AU - Gabriela Azofeifa
AU - Silvia Quesada
AU - José Roberto Vega-Baudrit
AU - Andrés Sánchez-Kopper
AU - Diego Alvarado-Corella
AU - Andrea Monge-Navarro
AU - Mirtha Navarro-Hoyos
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
DO - 10.3390/molecules31193546
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13666767
AB - Holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum) is well known for its bioactive properties, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Leaves samples from Costa Rica were extracted and analyzed in composition and in antioxidant and cytotoxic activities. The analysis by Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled with High Resolution Mass Spectrometry using a quadrupole-time-of-flight analyzer (UPLC-QTOF) allowed the identification of 12 compounds, including 7 glycosylated flavonoids, 2 coumaroyl alcohols, rosmarinic acid, eugenol, and salvianolic acid E. Quantification using liquid chromatography with diode array detector (UPLC-DAD) was performed for the main components, including apigenin and luteolin glucoronides, rosmarinic acid, and eugenol, revealing an overall content of 78.28–121.05 mg/g dry extract. Total phenolic values ranged between 74.5 and 122.5 mg GAE/g dry extract, while antioxidant evaluations showed IC50 values of 28.18–48.18 mg dry extract/L for 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhidrazyl (DPPH) assay, 1192.8–2006.5 μmol Trolox/g dry extract for Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP), 2.56–3.01 μmol Trolox/mg dry extract for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC), and 708.7–1415.8 μmol Trolox/g dry extract for Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC). Pearson correlation analyses (p < 0.05) between the quantified phenolic content and the antioxidant assays showed the highest values between UPLC and DPPH (R = 0.962) and UPLC with ORAC values (R = 0.955). A Relative Antioxidant Capacity Index (RACI) evaluation indicated HB-1 and HB-3 samples as the ones with the best results in these antioxidant assays, aligning with their higher content in polyphenols, which can be attributed to their higher maturity at the harvesting stage in comparison with HB-2. The in vitro cytotoxicity evaluation of these extracts in adenocarcinoma cell lines, using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, showed a significant cytotoxic effect against AGS gastric cancer cell lines with an IC50 of 78–150 μg extract/mL and a selectivity index greater than 6 in respect to normal Vero cell lines. To the best of our knowledge, this work represents the first study of its kind in O. tenuiflorum from Costa Rica.
SN - 1420-3049
ER -