In the Balkan area, several plant species have been used in folk medicine over many
centuries. In the present study, four plant species that are known from some historical
texts as well as
modern-day investigations and data bases were examined for their therapeutic action
in various skin diseases and conditions. Fumaria officinalis L. is used for eczema,
scabies, Satureja
montana L. for skin infections, for the treatment of insect bites, bee and wasp stings, Verbascum thapsus L. for wound healing, eczema, acne, and Veronica officinalis L.
for the treatment of wounds, or snake bites.
The purpose of this work is to study the extracts of the four species that were produced
using two different types of green extraction – with and without beta-hydroxypropyl
cyclodextrins. For
both the hydro-glycerol extracts produced with rapid extractors type TIMATIC (Technolab)
and the extracts that were encapsulated with cyclodextrins, antioxidant activity and
total phenolic
content were assessed. Furthermore, the physicochemical and the microbiological stability
of these extracts were also evaluated. Given their traditional uses as wound healing
and
anti-inflammatory agents, the extracts were also studied for their effects on cellular
proliferation and the transcriptional regulation of genes implicated in relevant regulatory
pathways.
Acknowledgments
This abstract is supported by the project EthnoHERBS-H2020-MSCA-RISE-2018 under grant
agreement No. 823 973. The authors also acknowledge the support of the Ministry of
Education,
Science and Technological Development of Republic of Serbia, contract number 451 – 03 – 9/2021 – 14/200 003.
