Characterizing the Antimicrobial and Anticancer Activities and Several Associated Bioactive Compounds of Argemone mexicana

Primary Submission Contact

Teodora Najdeska

Faculty Sponsor

Danielle Orozco-Nunnelly

Faculty Sponsor Email Address

danielle.orozconunnelly@valpo.edu

College

Arts and Sciences

Department/Program

Biology

Document Type

Poster Presentation

Date

Fall 10-25-2019

Abstract

Commonly called the Mexican prickly poppy, Argemone mexicana is a stress-resistant member of the Papaveraceae family of plants that has been used in traditional medicine for centuries by indigenous communities in Mexico and Western parts of the USA. This plant has been used to treat a wide variety of ailments, including skin diseases and intestinal infections, with reported antimicrobial and anticancer properties. However, these properties are poorly understood, with few associated bioactive compounds yet identified. Herein, we describe the germination conditions of A. mexicana and preliminarily characterize the antimicrobial and anticancer activities of different parts (seeds, leaves, inner vs. outer roots) of the plant. We show that when comparing 1 mg of each sample normalized to background solvent alone, the A. mexicana methanol outer root and leaf extracts possess the strongest antimicrobial activity, with greatest effects against the gram-positive bacteria tested, and less activity against the gram-negative bacteria and fungi tested. Additionally, we report that when using the MTT colorimetric assay, the outer root, leaf methanol, and the seed hexane extracts have pronounced inhibitory effects against T84 human colon cancer cells. Using normal-phase column chromatography and subsequent mass spectrometry analysis of the outer root and leaf methanol fractions, we have begun to chemically characterize several candidate antibacterial compounds. These preliminary results warrant further research into defining the bioactive chemicals produced in the roots, leaves and seeds of A. mexicana and are especially significant given the growing global concern of antibiotic-resistant ‘superbugs’ and lack of new antimicrobial and anticancer drug discovery.

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