Antibacterial properties of bryophytes:


An interesting aspect of the research work is the observation regarding the synergistic action of extract components obtained from mosses. They show higher activity than isolated individual active compounds. This is a fairly frequently observed phenomenon with a herbal medicine. Some scientists say that the antibacterial activity of bryophyte extracts is not due to the plants themselves, but organisms residing in their tissues such as Penicillium sp. And cyanobacteria.

The importance and use of mosses in traditional folk medicine suggests that these plants probably have antibacterial properties. Contemporary scientific research confirms these assumptions. The search for bioactive compounds of a bactericidal or bacteriostatic nature is particularly important in the event of an increase in the incidence of bacterial infections resistant to antibiotics. An example of scientific work carried out in this direction may be the research of prof. Yoshinori Asakawa from Tokushima Bunri University. During the tests, his team tested as many as 1,000 species of bryophytes, out of the 27,000 that occur on Earth. However, it should be noted that knowledge about the antibacterial properties of species found in Europe is still scarce. In researching the activity of bryophytes, an interesting and worth touching issue is the coupling between plant stress and the production of active substances. The data suggest that they produce antimicrobial compounds in response to stressors.

 

Anti-tumor properties of bryophytes:

The first studies on the antitumor activity of substances contained in bryophyte tissues were carried out in 1952 by a scientific team headed by Beklin. During the work, the activity of Polytrichum juniperinum moss extracts towards sarcoma 37 in mice was described. However, scientists failed to confirm the results in medical practice.

In 1976, another scientist (Adamek) presented the results of tests that showed that sphagnum extracts may have potential application in the therapy of some types of human cancers. A year later, a research team led by Oht reported that substances isolated from thalamoma of Diplophyllum albicans and D. taxifolium have high activity against the KB tumor cell line.

Research work carried out by prof. Asakawa and colleagues in 1981 showed that bryophytes Marchantia palacea, M. polymorpha, M. Tosana, Riccardia multifida and Radula perrottetii contain phytochemicals characterized by cytotoxicity towards the KB leukemia cell line. Professor Asakawa is a scientist who has studied a huge number of bryophyte species in terms of the content of bioactive substances in their tissues, including he isolated sequencers and tulipinolid from the species Conocephalum supradecompositum, Frullania monocera, F. tamarisci, Marchantia polymorpha, Porella japonica and Wiesnerella denudata. Compounds isolated during research have confirmed therapeutic effect on nasopharyngeal cancer cell lines.

In 1988, studies were published that questioned the antitumor activity of substances produced by bryophyte tissues. Spjut has detected the presence of the Nostoc cf. cyanobacteria. microscopicum in samples of species that showed the highest activity in studies conducted two years earlier by his team. The scientist hypothesized that bryophytes themselves do not have the capacity to produce anti-cancer substances. Bioactive substances are products of bacteria inhabiting their tissues.

 

The importance of further research

Expanding knowledge about bioactive substances contained in plant materials, their chemical structure and pharmacological nature is the main direction of modern herbal medicine. Species belonging to bryophytes are an interesting, still insufficiently understood research object. The inspiration for future innovative research can be knowledge about these plants accumulated in folk herbal medicine.