Evaluation of rose roots, a post-harvest plantation residue as a source of phytochemicals with radical scavenging, cytotoxic, and antimicrobial activity

•First detailed report on composition and bioactivity of R. rugosa roots is presented.•Potential use of rose by-products has been indicated.•Significant antioxidant potential of root extract was shown.•Considerable cytotoxic effect on cervical and breast cancer cell lines was revealed.•Several phenolic acids and flavonoids were determined in roots for the first time.

Roots of rugosa rose are often treated as by-products obtained in industrial amounts during renovation of cultivations. In this work, we attempted to examine their chemical composition and biological activity, to evaluate whether they can provide an interesting material for further use. As a result, the first such a detailed report on Rosa rugosa roots is presented. Total phenolic, flavonoid, phenolic acid, tannin, and carotenoid contents were determined using spectrophotometric methods. Additionally, LC–ESI–MS/MS was used for identification and quantification of phenolic acids and flavonoid glycosides in the methanolic extract and its fractions. Moreover, the antiradical, cytotoxic, and antimicrobial potential of R. rugosa root was evaluated. A significant decrease (up to 90%) in the number of viable cells in cervical (HeLa) and breast cancer (T47D) cell lines was demonstrated. Extremely high antiradical potential of extracts (comparable with the activity of Trolox and ascorbic acid) was revealed (EC50 0.28–0.85 mg/mg DPPH). Furthermore, moderate antimicrobial activity against eight bacterial (i.e., Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Micrococcus luteus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Proteus mirabilis) and two yeast strains (i.e., Candida albicans and Candida parapsilosis) was showed. According to our results, rugosa rose roots constitute a potential source of phytochemicals of multidirectional biological potential, which are easily available in industrial amounts.