Putting Ethnobotany into Practice: In Vitro Antioxidant Potential and Impact on Rat Gastric Smooth Muscle Reactivity of Aqueous Extracts of Boiss. and L.

The genus (Lamiaceae) is widely used in traditional medicine. While some representatives of the genus have been well investigated, the biological activity of others remains largely unknown. The aim of the current study was to assess the in vitro antioxidant potential and the effect on the reactivity of isolated rat gastric smooth muscles (SM) of aqueous extracts of inflorescences, stems and leaves, and as a whole herb. The antioxidant activity was analyzed through multiple spectrophotometric and fluorometric assays. The effect on SM reactivity was determined by the treatment of excised gastric muscles of 10 male Whistar rats with the plant extracts alone or successive to 1,1-dimethyl-4-diphenylacetoxypiperidinium iodide, ketanserin, verapamil, and acetylcholine. According to the obtained results, the leaf extract exhibited the greatest antioxidant potential, followed by the one. The SM reactivity analysis revealed that the treatment with all four extracts induced a dose-dependent contractile response with predominant cholinergic character. However, activation of serotoninergic and/or dopaminergic pathways was also observed. Furthermore, when applied after verapamil, the extracts showed a SM relaxant effect. The discovered biological activity will serve as a basis for future analyses through which the therapeutic effect of the plants will be investigated.