Plant-based natural products have been used as a source for therapeutics since the dawn of civilization. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 80% of the world’s population relies on traditional medicine for their primary healthcare. Numerous natural extracts, widely known in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Indian Ayurveda medicine and other practices, have led to the modern discovery and development of new drugs. Plants continuously interact with their environment, producing new compounds and ever-changing combinations of existing ones. Interestingly, some of the compounds have shown lower therapeutic activity in comparison to the extract they were isolated from. These findings suggest that the higher therapeutic activity of the source extract was due to the synergistic effect of several compounds. In other words, the total therapeutic potential of the extract cannot be explained only by the sum of its parts alone. In traditional medicine, most herbal remedies are based on a mixture of plants, and it is the interaction between different constituents that amplifies their therapeutic potential. Considering the significant influence traditional medicine has on human healthcare, knowing and studying the synergistic effect of compounds is paramount in designing smart therapeutic agents.

This study explored the chemical profile of the aerial parts of Ononis spinosa and further investigated its biological activities. Chemical profiling of the extract revealed the presence of 63 different compounds: phenolic acids, flavonoid glycosides and aglycones, isoflavonoid glycosides and aglycones, and other related compounds. Our results revealed that the extract was active against 8 strains of free floating bacteria. It showed anti-biofilm potential against Staphylococcus aureus and was able to supress the production of staphyloxanthin in S. aureus at sub-minimal inhibitory concentrations. Its antioxidant activity was evaluated by using several assays (phosphomolybdenum, DPPH, ABTS, CUPRAC, FRAP, and metal chelating assay), which showed that the extract exhibited a dose dependent activity. Inhibition of AChE, BChE, amylase, glucosidase and tyrosinase was achieved by the extract, demonstrating its anti-enzymatic activity. The antiproliferative potential of the extract towards human cancer cell lines (HepG2, MCF-7, SiHa and A172) was determined by using the crystal violet assay. Ki67, a marker of proliferation was downregulated in the A172 glioblastoma cell line.

We investigated the total phenolic and flavonoid contents and the anthocyanin profiles in aqueous, ethanol and acetone extracts of Prunus spinosa (Rosaceae) fruit, and their antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, antidiabetic and antitumor properties. The contribution of polyphenol contents to the bioactivity of the extracts was calculated and observed through Pearson?s coefficient of correlation. The acetone extract was the richest in phenols and anthocyanins and the ethanol extract in flavonoids. Cyanidin was the most abundant anthocyanin compound in all examined extracts. The ethanol extract showed the most promising antioxidant activity in DPPH, ABTS and FRAP assays. Tested bacteria were more affected by the ethanol than by the aqueous extract. Both the ethanol and aqueous extracts exhibited potential antidiabetic effects, observed as inhibition of ?-amylase and ?-glucosidase, enzymes linked with diabetes mellitus type II. The ethanol extract was a potent ?-glucosidase-inhibitor with a significantly lower IC50 value than the positive control, glucobay, used to treat diabetes mellitus type II. Neither the ethanol nor the aqueous extracts had any effects on tested human malignant cell lines. Our results indicate that the ethanol extract showed the most pronounced in vitro antioxidant and antimicrobial effects, and a potential antidiabetic activity, which can be ascribed to its high flavonoid content. Our results indicate that research of compounds, particularly of flavonoids present in the ethanol extract and their anti-diabetic properties should be examined further.