Aromatic plants rich in phenolic compounds as a valuable basis for dietary supplements in intestinal motility disorders

Abstract

Abstract Plant extracts can be an important adjuvant treatment in gastrointestinal diseases where intestinal transit is involved. Because transit disorders are often associated with infections and inflammation, in our investigation we have selected five aromatic Mediterranean plants with antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities which in certain areas are also used for culinary reasons. We evaluated the intestinal transit in mice after oral administration of hydro-alcoholic extracts of Achillea millefolium L. Sideritis angustifolia Lag., Rosmarinus officinalis L. Matricaria chamomile L., and Aloysia citriodora Palau. Total content of phenols and flavonoids and their antioxidant activity were previously determined. Rosmarinus officinalis showed the highest antioxidant capacity (p < 0.001) in the DPPH and ABTS methods with IC50 of 48.89 ± 2.98 and 27.28 ± 1.83 µg/mL respectively, in agreement with the highest phenol content. Oral administration of the extracts to mice and rats showed no signs or symptoms of toxicity in any case. The extracts of A. millefolium, R. officinalis, and M. chamomilla significantly inhibited intestinal transit (p < 0.01 and p < 0.05) when compared to the castor oil control group, with a percentage of intestinal transit similar to that of the reference antidiarrheal loperamide drug (47.8 ± 3.6%). These non-toxic plant extracts constitute a valuable basis to produce dietary supplements for intestinal motility disorders.