In vitro cytotoxic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities and phenolic content in wild-grown flowers of common daisy-A medicinal plant

Bellis perennis L. is a medicinal plant in the family Compositae. It has been used as a remedy for wounds, rheumatism, eczema, eye diseases, inflammation and tonsillitis in folk medicine. In the present study, 19 different extracts and two fractions were obtained from wild-grown flowers, leaves and/or in vitro-grown leaves of common daisy by using different solvents and extraction methods. Biological activities of these extracts and fractions were assessed using selected bioassays: cytotoxic activity, disc diffusion assay, radical scavenging activity (DPPH), total phenolic content, oxygen radical absorbing capacity (ORAC) and 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescin-diacetate (DCFH-DA) cell-based assays. The cytotoxic activity of extracts and fractions was investigated against human lung carcinoma (A-549) and colon adenocarcinoma (DLD-1) cells. In vitro-grown leaf extracts showed the highest cytotoxic activity against selected cell lines. Moreover, n-butanol (n-BuOH) and ethyl acetate (EtOAc) fractions of flowers exerted high levels of cytotoxic activity. The MeOH extract and the EtOAc fraction of flowers exhibited broad-spectrum antibacterial activity against Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Enterobacter cloacea. The strongest antioxidant activity was found in the EtOAc fraction of flowers with the highest amount of phenolic content and ORAC value. The MeOH extract of flowers showed strong anti-inflammatory activity on RAW 264.7 macrophages. The amount of the chosen 22 phenolic compounds in dichloromethane (DCM), MeOH extracts, n-BuOH and EtOAc fractions of field-grown flowers was detected using LC-ESI-MS/MS. The results of these studies support the potential use of B. perennis for wounds, rheumatism, inflammation, cancer and eye diseases.