Croatian barberry (Berberis croatica Horvat): a new source of berberine—analysis and antimicrobial activity (original) (raw)

Abstract

By using HPLC/UV–VIS, Croatian barberry (Berberis croatica Horvat) was found to be a new source of the bioactive alkaloid berberine. Comparison of berberine content in roots, leaves, and twigs between wild specimens of B. croatica and B. vulgaris collected in Croatia showed that the roots of both species contained the highest berberine content (B. croatica 1.120–1.217%; B. vulgaris 0.805–1.424%), followed by twigs (B. croatica 0.049–0.216%; B. vulgaris 0.077–0.112%). While the berberine content in the leaves of both species was very low (between 0.002% and 0.044%), they were found to be rich in phenols and flavonols. The Student’s _t_-test showed a significant difference at P < 0.05 for phenol and flavonol content in the plant organs, both between species and within species. Leaf samples were most variable, while root samples were the least. Extracts from the roots of both barberry species expressed antimicrobial activity against Bacillus subtilis NCTC 8236, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538, Escherichia coli ATCC 10535, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853 and Candida albicans ATCC 10231. Antimicrobial activity of leaf extracts was species-dependent. Root extracts of both species also showed lower MIC values than other extracts (MIC ≤ 87.5 mg/ml).

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Acknowledgment

This study was conducted as part of the scientific project “Micromorphological and chemotaxonomic researches on some species of family _Lamiaceae_” with the support of the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

1. Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Zagreb, A. Kovačića 1, HR-10000, Zagreb, Croatia
   Ivan Kosalec, Barbara Gregurek, Dario Kremer, Marijana Zovko & Krešimir Sanković
2. Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, HR-10000, Zagreb, Croatia
   Ksenija Karlović

Authors

1. Ivan Kosalec
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2. Barbara Gregurek
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3. Dario Kremer
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4. Marijana Zovko
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5. Krešimir Sanković
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6. Ksenija Karlović
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Correspondence toIvan Kosalec.

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Kosalec, I., Gregurek, B., Kremer, D. et al. Croatian barberry (Berberis croatica Horvat): a new source of berberine—analysis and antimicrobial activity.World J Microbiol Biotechnol 25, 145–150 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-008-9860-x

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• Received: 20 July 2008
• Accepted: 11 September 2008
• Published: 28 September 2008
• Issue Date: January 2009
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-008-9860-x

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