Metabolomic Profiling, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activity of Bidens pilosa.

Bidens pilosaL. (fam. Asteraceae) is an annual herb used globally in phytotherapy andeach plant material or the whole plant have been declared to be effective. Therefore, the aim ofthe present study was to conduct metabolomic profiling of different plant materials, includingthe quali-quantitative composition of phenolic compounds. The intrinsic scavenging/reducingproperties and antimicrobial effects of the extracts were assayed against numerous bacterial, Candidaand dermatophytes species, whereas docking runs were conducted for tentatively unravelling themechanism of action underlying antimicrobial effects. Oligosaccharide, disaccharide and fatty acidswere present at higher concentrations in root rather than in the other plant parts. Monoglycerideswere more abundant in stem than in the other plant parts, whereas peptide and diterpenoid wereprominent in leaf and root, respectively. By contrast, amino acids showed very different distribution patterns in the four plant parts. Regarding the phenolic composition, appreciable levels of caftaricacid were found in most of the analyzed methanol extracts, that were also particularly efficacious asantiradical and anti-mycotic agents againstC. albicansand dermatophytes. The docking experimentsalso showed a micromolar affinity of caftaric acid towards the lanosterol 14α-demethylase, deeplyinvolved in fungal metabolism. In conclusion, the present study corroborates theB. pilosaas aphytotherapy remedy against infectious disease.