Oana-Adla Coman
Doctoral School, “Victor Babeș” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 30041 Timișoara, Romania
Andreea Smeu
University Clinic of Toxicology, Drug Industry, Management and Legislation, Faculty of Pharmacy, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 2nd Eftimie Murgu Square, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
Alina Moacă
Discipline of Toxicology, Drug Industry, Management and Legislation, Faculty of Pharmacy, "Victor Babeş" University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, 2nd Eftimie Murgu Square, RO-300041 Timisoara, Romania; Research Centre for Pharmaco-Toxicological Evaluation, Faculty of Pharmacy, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 2nd Eftimie Murgu Square, 300041, Timisoara, Romania
Delia Muntean
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, “Victor Babeș” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timișoara, 2 Eftimie Murgu Square, 300041 Timișoara, Romania
Ana-Maria Vlase
Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmacy, “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 8 Victor Babes Street, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Laurian Vlase
Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmaceutics, “Iuliu Hațieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 41 Victor Babeș, Street, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Szilvia Toth
Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeș-Bolyai University, 400015 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Andreea Vădan
Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeș-Bolyai University, 400015 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Anca Stoica
Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeș-Bolyai University, 400015 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Sergio Liga
Department of Applied Chemistry and Engineering of Organic and Natural Compounds, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Biotechnologies and Environmental Protection, Politehnica University Timisoara, Vasile Pârvan No. 6, 300223 Timisoara, Romania
Diana-Simona Tchiakpe-Antal
Department I-Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmacy, "Victor Babeş" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 2nd Eftimie Murgu Square, RO-300041 Timisoara, Romania
Abstract
Background: Ribes nigrum (black currants) are recognized for their outstanding biological properties, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a type of cancer with a high mortality, for which various natural products have been investigated as alternatives that have emerged as potential candidates in the oncological domain. Methods: The present work involved the development of two types of Ribes nigrum leaves extracts (in aqueous and butanolic fractions), which were evaluated by the HPLC method and subsequently assessed for the antioxidant capacity, the antimicrobial activity, and in vitro cytotoxicity on the DLD-1 cell line. Results: The results indicated that both types of extracts contain amounts of polyphenols, the antioxidant activity of the extracts supports their potential as natural sources of free radical scavengers, antimicrobial evaluation showed that the extract in aqueous fraction produced a selective antimicrobial effect on gram-positive bacteria, and the MTT assay suggested that the extracts produced a dose-dependent cytotoxicity, with a superior effect noted for the extract in the butanolic fraction. Conclusion: These findings emphasized the biological potential of Ribes nigrum extracts due to their versatile composition and opened new research directions regarding their anticancer potential in CRC.
