Jessica Molinari

Ms. Jessica Molinari

University of Messina, Messina, Sicilia, Italy
orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

5Years (2022-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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20 March 2022 in Antioxidants
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Journal Article
Open access
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Agnieszka SzewczykAgnieszka Szewczyk
Agnieszka Szewczyk
AMAndreana Marino
Andreana Marino
JMJessica Molinari
Jessica Molinari
Halina EkiertHalina Ekiert
Halina Ekiert
NMNatalizia Miceli
Natalizia Miceli
The in vitro cultures of the following three species of the genus Ruta were investigated: R. chalepensis, R. corsica, and R. graveolens. The dynamics of biomass growth and accumulation of secondary metabolites in the 3-, 4-, 5-, 6-, and 7-week growth cycle were analysed. The antioxidant capacity of the methanol extracts obtained from the biomass of the in vitro cultures was also assessed by different in vitro assays: 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazil (DPPH), reducing power, and Fe2+ chelating activity assays. Moreover, a preliminary screening of the antimicrobial potential of the extracts was performed. The extracts were phytochemically characterized by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), which highlighted the presence of linear furanocoumarins (bergapten, isoimperatorin, isopimpinellin, psoralen, and xanthotoxin) and furoquinoline alkaloids (γ-fagarine, 7-isopentenyloxy-γ-fagarine, and skimmianine). The dominant group of compounds in all the cultures was coumarins (maximum content 1031.5 mg/100 g DW (dry weight), R. chalepensis, 5-week growth cycle). The results of the antioxidant tests showed that the extracts of the three species had varied antioxidant capacity: in particular, the R. chalepensis extract exhibited the best radical scavenging activity (IC50 = 1.665 ± 0.009 mg/mL), while the R. graveolens extract displayed the highest chelating property (IC50 = 0.671 ± 0.013 mg/mL). Finally, all the extracts showed good activity against Staphylococcus aureus with MIC values of 250 μg/mL for the R. corsica extract and 500 μg/mL for both R. graveolens and R. chalepensis extracts.