Isolamento caratterizzazione chimica e biologica di estratti ottenuti da specie vegetali della famiglia delle Rosaceae

The spread of the antibiotic resistance of pathogenic microorganisms is increasingly evident and dramatic. Therefore, the aim of my PhD project was to identify extracts obtained from spp. of plants belonging to the Rosaceae family with antimicrobial properties. This study could contribute to the identification of compounds or class of bioactive compounds of plant origin, useful for the formulation of antimicrobial preparations. The extracts were obtained with the use of a technique that makes use of CO2 in the supercritical phase and other traditional methods. The chemical characterization was carried out with different chromatographic techniques, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometry, NMR, spectrophotometry and low and high resolution mass spectrometry. The multidisciplinarity of my project allowed me to study biological activity: antimicrobial activity, using the antibiogram method, antioxidant activity, from spectrophotometric assays, and the enzymatic activity of inhibiting xanthine oxidase. In particular, the study focused on the Rubus ulmifolius and Rosa canina species. Among the main results, it should be noted that an extract obtained from the seeds of R. canina, with high antimicrobial activity, made it possible to propose an invention for which, on 22 December 2020, Alessandra Piras, Antonella Ibba, Germano Orrù and Silvia Porcedda filed international patent application, pending concession, transferring the title to UniCa. The supercritical extracts obtained at 300 bar and 40 C, SFE [300: 40], from the pulp of the rose hips of R. canina and from the fruits of R. ulmifolius have revealed important nutritional properties - due to their high content of essential fatty acids. The different extracts, obtained from the leaves of R. ulmifolius, have shown an important antimicrobial activity - including the ability to reduce the biofilm - against two main pathogens of the oral cavity.