Antioxidant/Antibacterial Activities of a Topical Phytopharmaceutical Formulation Containing a Standardized Extract of Baccharis incarum, an Extremophile Plant Species from Argentine Puna

GABRIELA NUÑO;IRIS C. ZAMPINI, ROXANA M. ORDOÑEZ; MARÍA R. ALBERTO, MYRIAM E. ARIAS, MARÍA INÉS ISLA

PHYTOTHERAPY RESEARCH

JOHN WILEY & SONS LTD

Año: 2012 vol. 26 p. 1759 - 1767

0951-418X

The antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of standardized extracts of Baccharis incarum in 60
and 80
ethanol and of a phytopharmaceutical formulation obtained from them were measured. Baccharis tinctures showed antimicrobial activity against clinically isolated antibiotic resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis, with MIC values of 40¨C80mg GAE/mL. Both tinctures exhibited ABTS¡ñ+ scavenging activity with SC50 values between 1.6 and 4.0mg GAE/mL. The tinctures were not genotoxic in the Salmonella assay. For this reason,the tincture in 60
ethanol was incorporated into a topical pharmaceutical formulation (Hydrogel/ CarbopolW 934). The phytopharmaceutical formulation also showed antibacterial and antioxidant activities in the in vitro assays. The hydrogel showed microbiological, chemical, physical and functional stability during storage at room temperature. Studies that measure drug release as a determination of bioavailability were also carried out using the Franz diffusion cell (FC). The results demonstrated the release of two bioactive compounds (chlorogenic acid and 4¡ä,5-dihydroxy-3¡ä,3,6,7,8-pentamethoxyflavone) from the phytotherapic preparation in HPLC studies of FCreceptor solution. In consequence, the phytopreparation applied topically could be used to treat skin and soft tissue infection produced by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or Enterococcus faecalis and opens new opportunities for the use of active natural ingredients in the cosmeceutical field as antiacne and antioxidant.