Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Industrial Crops & Products journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/indcrop Biochemical properties, UV-protecting and fibroblast growth-stimulating activity of Plantago lanceolata L. extracts Zofia Nizioł-Łukaszewska a , Katarzyna Gaweł-Bęben b , Kamila Rybczyńska-Tkaczyk c, ⁎ , Anna Jakubczyk d , Monika Karaś d , Tomasz Bujak a a Department of Technology of Cosmetic and Pharmaceutical Products, The University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszow, Kielnarowa 386a, Tyczyn, 36-020, Poland b Department of Cosmetology, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszów, Sucharskiego 2, 35-225 Rzeszów, Poland c Department of Environmental Microbiology, Laboratory of Mycology, The University of Life Sciences, Lublin, 20-069, Leszczyńskiego Street 7, Poland d Department of Biochemistry and Food Chemistry, The University of Life Sciences, Skromna Street 8, Lublin, 20-704, Poland ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Plantago lanceolata Free radical scavenging UV-protecting activity Anti-aging ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to evaluate the biological properties, i.e. qualitative and quantitative characteristics of phenolic and flavonoid compounds, DPPH % and ABTS %+ scavenging and Fe 2+ chelating activity, and the UV- protecting and cytotoxicity properties of Plantago lanceolata extracts. The assays included different extracts: aqueous (A), ethanolic 96% (E), aqueous-glycerine (GLC), and aqueous-glycol (GLY) extracts at the ratio of 1:4. The most powerful antioxidant properties were shown by the GLY and GLC extracts. The use of glycol and glycerine allowed isolation of caffeic, synaptic, and salicylic acid derivates. The cytotoxicity assay showed that the A and GLC extracts could potentially be used in cosmetic products even at high concentrations without impairing the viability of cells. The study showed that Plantago lanceolata extracts are potential new multi- functional ingredients of cosmetics and pharmaceutical products. Moreover, the extracts have the ability to absorb UV radiation, which makes them potential components of natural sunscreen cosmetics. 1. Introduction Plant extracts currently represent one of the most numerous and most highly valued groups of ingredients used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Extensive research has shown that plant-based ingredients exhibit antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, and anti-in- flammatory activity. The addition of plant extracts to cosmetic and pharmaceutical products offers much better effects than the application of separate biologically active compounds. Plant extracts are also fre- quently used because of their antioxidant properties. Phytochemicals with antioxidant properties are important not only in human diet but also as ingredients used in natural cosmetics (Nizioł-Łukaszewska et al., 2018a,b, Dalar et al., 2012, Miastkowska and Sikora 2018). The aim of modern anti-aging cosmetics is to improve the look of the skin by sti- mulating and regenerating natural physiological processes that improve the skin condition and to protect the skin from such factors as UV radiation and free radicals, which cause its aging (Miastowska and Sikora, 2018). Based on the current state of knowledge about the harmful effects of free radicals, there is an ongoing search for ingredients supporting the body’s natural mechanisms of antioxidative protection. One of such ingredients is the extract of narrowleaf plantain herb (Plantago lanceo- lata L.) (Oksana et al., 2012; Bujak et al., 2015; Garmana et al., 2014). Narrowleaf plantain (Plantago lanceolata L.) is a perennial herb be- longing to the plantain family (Plantaginaceae). The extract derived from narrowleaf plantain herb is a source of many bioactive substances. The most important of them are flavonoids, phytosterols, phenyletha- noid glycosides, and iridoids, as well as organic acids, tannins, muci- laginous substances, mineral salts, and pectins (Parus and Grys, 2010). The strong antioxidant properties of the extract obtained from nar- rowleaf plantain herb are mainly attributable to flavonoids, which neutralize free radicals and participate in the process of metal chelation https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2019.06.016 Received 16 January 2019; Received in revised form 28 May 2019; Accepted 3 June 2019 Abbreviation: ABTS %+ , 2,20-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid; DPPH % , 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl; EMEM, Eagle´s Essential Minimum Medium; FBS, fetal bovine serum; GAC, gallic acid ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: zniziol@wsiz.rzeszow.pl (Z. Nizioł-Łukaszewska), kagawel@wsiz.rzeszow.pl (K. Gaweł-Bęben), kamila.rybczynska-tkaczyk@up.lublin.pl (K. Rybczyńska-Tkaczyk), anna.jakubczyk@up.lublin.pl (A. Jakubczyk), monika.karas@up.lublin.pl (M. Karaś), tbujak@wsiz.rzeszow.pl (T. Bujak). Industrial Crops & Products 138 (2019) 111453 0926-6690/ © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. T