Antifungal, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity of bi-herbal phytotherapic using medicinal plants from Argentina highlands.

The Argentinean medicinal plants Larrea divaricata Cav., Larrea cuneifolia Cav., Larrea nitida Cav., Zuccagnia punctata Cav. and Tetraglochin andina Ciald are used alone and in combined in traditional medicine by inhabitants from Argentinean northwestern to solve mycosis, vaginal infections, gastrointestinal, respiratory, and inflammatory process.To assess the effect of interactions between dry extracts of these five species of medicinal plants against yeast strains isolated from vaginal infections, select the most active mixtures and evaluate the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities.Synergy between the plants extracts was studied using a broth microdilution assay by the checkerboard method against Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida albicans, and non albicans strains. The inhibitory effect on lipoxygenase enzyme and the antioxidant capacity in cell free and cell systems were studied. The chemical profile was evaluated by qualitative and quantitative screening, whereas chemical markers were quantified by HPLC-DAD.A synergistic antifungal effect was observed in some of the binary combinations. Z. punctata/L. divaricata, Z. punctata/L. cuneifolia, and Z. punctata/L. nitida were the most active mixtures. Nordihydroguaiaretic acid and 2',4'-dihydroxychalcone, two antifungal compounds present in these extracts, were identified and quantified by HPLC-DAD. Both the single extracts and the bi-herbal mixtures showed antioxidant activity (in cellular and in cell-free systems) and were active on pro-inflammatory enzymes (LOX).Our results indicated that the most active combinations of these species extracts could be useful in the treatment of vaginal infectious diseases caused by Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida spp. strains and in the associated oxidative and inflammatory processes. In addition, the results highlighted the potential phyto-therapeutic of total phytochemical compounds present in these medicinal plants.