Plantago media L.—Explored and Potential Applications of an Underutilized Plant

The search of valuable natural compounds should be directed towards alternative vegetal resources, and to the re-discovery of underutilized plants. Belonging to the Plantaginaceae family, the hoary plantain (Plantago media L.) represents one of the lesser studied species from the Plantago genus. The literature study revealed the under-utilization of the hoary plantain, a surprising aspect, considering its widespread. If the composition of Plantago media L. is rather well established, its applications are not nearly studied as for other Plantago species. The goal of the present paper is to summarize the findings regarding the applications of P. media, and, having as starting point the applications of related species, to propose new emerging areas of research, such as the biomedical applications validation through in vivo assays, and the evaluation of its potential towards industrial applications (i.e., development of food or personal care products), pisciculture or zootechny, phytoremediation and other environmental protection applications, or in the nanotechnology area (materials phytosynthesis). The present work constitutes not only a brief presentation of this plant’s present and potential applications, but also an invitation to research groups world-wide to explore the available vegetal resources.

MYCOSTATIC ACTIVITY OF EXTRACTS FROM LEAVES OF PLANTAGO MEDIA L. AND PLANTAGO ALTISSIMA L.

A variety of drugs are widely used to treat fungal infections. Mostly they are products of chemical synthesis, but recently, due to the increased resistance of fungi to many synthetic drugs, the relevance of the use of herbal remedies in the complex treatment of both skin infections and deep mycoses has been increasing. The aim of our research was to study the chemical composition of the lyophilic extracts of Plantago media and Plantago altissima of the flora of Ukraine by HPLC and GLC-MS methods and also mycostatic activity of ethanol and lyophilic extracts of the studied plants. As a result of the research, aucubin iridoid was detected in the lyophilic extracts of both species. There were also detected 15 polyphenolic compounds among which prevails acteoside, plantamayoside, ferulic and chlorogenic acid. Alcohol and lyophilic extracts of P. media and P. altissima showed mycostatic activity to all studied strains of yeast, dermatophytic fungi and aspergillus. The mycostatic effect of alcoholic extracts of P. media and P. altissima was more evident in comparison with the mycostatic effect of lyophilic extracts. The most evident antifungal effect was presented by alcoholic extract of P. media in relation to the clinical strain of Aspergillus oryzae (18.0±1.0 mm), and alcoholic extract of P. altissima to the clinical strain of Malassezia sp. (18.0±0.5 mm). The data obtained indicate a wide range of mycostatic effects of Plantago media and Plantago altissima extracts and the prospectivity of these objects for practical use in medicine.

GENETIC DIFFERENTIATION OF TWO PHENOTYPES OF PLANTAGO MEDIA L. IN SOUTH TIMAN

Background. The investigation of the genetic nature of plant phenotypic variability is of great importance for understanding biological diversity, distribution and adaptation of plants to environmental conditions. The aim of our work was to study the genetic differentiation of two phenotypes of Plantago media in South Timan. Materials and methods. The genetic differentiation of light and shadow phenotypes of Plantago media plants was evaluated using intersimple sequence repeats (ISSR) markers. Results. The population-genetic analysis of 210 loci revealed two clusters, which boundaries coincided with the boundaries between plants of light and shadow phenotypes. The results of the discriminatory analysis of the main components and AMOVA (FST = 0.07, p = 0.001) confirmed that there are statistically significant genetic differences between these phenotypes even though they possess a high genetic similarity. Conclusion. Light and shadow Plantago media phenotypes adapted to different ecological conditions are genetically differentiated. The population genetic analysis using ISSR markers is a sensitive tool for identifying the genetic diversity of phenotypic plant variations formed under the influence of environmental factors.

DETERMINATION OF SEDIMENTATION RATES OF THE POLLEN CLUSTERS OF ANEPHILOUS PLANTS GROWING IN THE CSBG SB RAS

A study is made on the sedimentation of pollen particles of the anemophilous plants of six species (Salix caprea L., Salix pentandra L., Betula davurica Pall., Plantago media L., Chenopodium album L.,Artemisia sieversiana Willd.), growing in the CSBG SB RAS. These species are widely represented in the biocenosis of the Russian Federation and are the producers of substantial amounts of allergenic pollen which can be carried by winds over great territories. It is shown that there is a considerable number of clusters that contain two and more pollen grains. Sedimentation rates are determined of both the individual pollen grains of these plants and their clusters with 2-6 pollen grains. It has been established that the sedimentation rate of clusters depends on the number of the pollen grains contained.

ВИВЧЕННЯ ВМІСТУ КИСЛОТИ ОРГАНІЧНИХ КИСЛОТ У ЛИСТІ PLANTAGO MEDIA L. ТА PLANTAGO ALTISSIMA L.

Анотація. У даній роботі розглядається питання дослідження якісного та кількісного визначення суми органічних кислот та аскорбінової кислоти у листі Plantago media L. та Plantago altissima L. з метою розширення асортименту фітопрепаратів з кровоспинною та