Mucilage in Seeds of Plantago from Central Argentina

LUJÁN, MC; MORERO, R.; DEANNA, R.; PALCHETTI, M.V.; BARBOZA, G.E.

Rosario

Otro; Reunión Internacional de Ciencias Farmacéuticas (RICiFA); 2016

Plantago L. (Plantaginaceae) is a cosmopolitan genus with economical and medicinal importance worldwide. Seeds of many species of Plantago are mucilaginous and have been used as bulk laxative. Ten species inhabit Córdoba and adjacent provinces, six of them have been reported as medicinal plants. However, the seed mucilage of only two species has been studied (P. ovata and P. major). The main goal of this work is to analyze the variability in mucilage production of four local species (P. australis, P. brasiliensis, P. major, and P. tomentosa) and the most marketed species (P. ovata). Mature seeds of the local species were collected in Córdoba hills and seeds of P. ovata were bought in an herbal store. We applied three different techniques to analyze the mucilage production: swelling factor, analysis of the seed mucilage halo related to seed area, and aqueous extraction of mucilage. Besides, weight and size of seeds were quantified in order to know whether there is a relationship among these variables and mucilage production. Three to five replicates of each species were statistically analyzed. We found out that P. brasiliensis and P. major are the species with the highest swelling factor (9.13 and 8.07 ml, respectively) and halo/seed area rate (5.23 and 11.73, respectively), and were statistically different from the other species, showing P. ovata and P. tomentosa the lowest values of these variables (swelling factor: 4.5-6.27 ml, halo/seed area rate: 2.14-2.69). Regarding to the mucilage content through the aqueous extraction, no significative differences were found among the species. Nevertheless, this lack of significance could be produced by chemical variables which need further research. According to our results, we recommend P. brasiliensis and P. major for bioprospecting studies in their seed mucilage.