The metabolomic analysis of fiveMenthaspecies: cytotoxicity, anti-Helicobacterassessment, and the development of polymeric micelles for enhancing the anti-Helicobacteractivity

Abstract

Menthaspecies are medicinally used worldwide and remain attractive for research due to the diversity of their phytoconstituents and large therapeutic indices for various ailments. This study used the metabolomics examination of fiveMenthaspecies (M. suaveolens,M. sylvestris,M. piperita,M. longifolia, andM. viridis) to justify their cytotoxicity and their anti-Helicobactereffects. The activities of species were correlated with their phytochemical profiles by orthogonal partial least square discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). Tentatively characterized phytoconstituents using liquid chromatography high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-HR-ESI-MS) included 49 compounds: 14 flavonoids, 10 caffeic acid esters, 7 phenolic acids, and other constituents.M. piperitashowed the highest cytotoxicity to HepG2 (human hepatoma), MCF-7 (human breast adenocarcinoma), and CACO2 (human colon adenocarcinoma) cells using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays. OPLS-DA and dereplication studies predicted that the cytotoxic activity was related to benzyl glucopyranoside-sulfate, a lignin glycoside. Furthermore,M. viridiswas effective in suppressing the growth ofHelicobacter pyloriat a concentration of 50 mg mL−1. OPLS-DA predicted that this activity was related to a dihydroxytrimethoxyflavone.M. viridisextract was formulated with Pluronic® F127 to develop polymeric micelles as a nanocarrier that enhanced the anti-Helicobacteractivity of the extract and provided minimum inhibitory concentrations and minimum bactericidal concentrations of 6.5 and 50 mg mL−1, respectively. This activity was also correlated to tentatively identified constituents, including rosmarinic acid, catechins, carvone, and piperitone oxide. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2021