Adaptogenic, immunomodulatory, and antioxidant activities of three Echeveria species (Crassulaceae)

• Published in: South African journal of botany 2022-12, Vol.151, p.255-262
• Main Authors: López-Angulo, Gabriela, Díaz-Camacho, Sylvia P., Heredia-Mercado, Belinda, Montes-Avila, Julio, Delgado-Vargas, Francisco
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptogens; Biological activities; Echeveria species; Toxicity
• ISSN: 0254-6299; 1727-9321
• DOI: 10.1016/j.sajb.2022.10.001

•Hydroalcoholic extracts of Echeveria species (HE) show biological activities.•The best adaptogens and immunomodulators were the E. kimnachii and E. subrigida HE.•The best antioxidants were the E. subrigida and E. kimnachii HE.•The HE of E. craigiana, E. kimnachii, and E. subrigida were innocuous.•The best options for stress management were E. kimnachii and E. subrigida. Three Echeveria species (E. craigiana, EC; E. kimnachii, EK; and E. subrigida, ES) can potentially prevent/treat different diseases. This study aims to establish the following biological activities (evaluation assay) of their hydroalcoholic extracts (HE): adaptogenic (anoxia, forced-swim-endurance, and cold-swim-endurance in mice), immunomodulatory (splenocyte proliferation), antioxidant (ABTS, DPPH, and cellular-in-Saccharomyces cerevisiae), and toxicological (Artemia salina and acute in mice). EK and ES were the best adaptogens and immunomodulators (at 10 μg/mL: EK, 34%; ES, 20%). ES had the best antioxidant activities in vitro (DPPH, 1122.6 μmol TE/g, IC50 = 200.7 μg/mL; ABTS, 2196.8 μmol TE/g, IC50 = 165.8 μg/mL), and EK was the best in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae assay. The three HE of Echeveria were innocuous in the Artemia salina (LC50 > 2000 mg/kg) and mice acute toxicity (LD50 > 2 g/kg b.w.) assays. Thus, EK and ES showed the best potential for stress management.