Nutraceutical Content and Biological Properties of Lipophilic and Hydrophilic Fractions of the Phytocomplex from Pistacia atlantica Desf. Buds, Roots, and Fruits.

The aim of the present investigation was to obtain 12 aqueous extracts and 1 oil from Pistacia atlantica Desf. subsp. atlantica specimens. The samples differed for processed plant organs (i.e., roots, buds, and fruits), gender and geographical station of the collected trees. Total phenols, flavonoids, and condensed tannins were determined, revealing that bud extracts exhibited the highest phenolic content (386.785 ± 16.227 mg GAE/g DM), followed by fruit and root preparations. Similar results were detected for flavonoids and tannins, whose quantitation ranged from 0.014 ± 0.005 to 74.780 ± 9.724 mg CE/g DM and from 0.037 ± 0.003 to 14.793 ± 0.821 mg CE/g DM, respectively. The biochemical profile of the extracts was further characterized by HPLC-DAD, in terms of specific phenolics. This analysis identified gallic acid as a typical metabolite for ripe fruit, while hydroxytyrosol for female roots and male buds. In parallel, P. atlantica fruit oil was profiled by GC-MS analysis, which detected 37 lipophilic components, including palmitic acid (the major component, ~55%), anacardol, tetradecanol, arachidic acid, squalene, and some terpenes. The samples revealed interesting antioxidant activity, with EC50 values ranging from 0.073 ± 0.001 to 193.594 ± 28.942 mg/mL and from 0.029 ± 0.001 to 103.086 ± 20.540 mg/mL, in that order, for DPPH and reducing power assays. Concerning the total antioxidant capacity, the results ranged from 0.053 ± 0.008 to 51.648 ± 1.659 mg AAE/g DM. Finally, the antimicrobial potential of the plant extracts was estimated against 7 bacterial species and 2 fungal strains, known to be human pathogens, demonstrating a good antibiotic effect for the bud extracts. All these findings strongly suggest that P. atlantica would represent a natural reservoir for novel additives to be used in therapeutic, food, and cosmetic products.

Bioactivity and applications of saffron floral bio-residues (tepals): a natural by-product for the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries.

Saffron "Crocus sativus" is a plant of the Iridaceae family. Its therapeutic virtues have been known since antiquity; it is used in traditional medicine and culinary preparations. It is also known for its use in cosmetics because of its beneficial pharmacological activities for human skin. In particular, saffron tepals are the main by-product of saffron processing; they contain several bioactive compounds such as mineral agents, anthocyanins, monoterpenoids, carotenoids, flavonoids, and flavonols (kaempferol). This review aims to describe the different properties of saffron flower tepals, including their botanical characteristics, phytochemical composition, biological activities, and cosmetology and perfumery uses.

Leaf-buds of Pistacia atlantica: a novel source of bioactive molecules with high anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-tyrosinase and antimicrobial properties.

In this study, for the first time, the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-tyrosinase and antimicrobial property of P. atlantica Desf. subsp. atlantica leaf-bud extract have been investigated. The anti-inflammatory activity was determined in vivo by reducing carrageenan-induced hind paw edema in mice, while the antiradical function was evaluated using DPPH, total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and reduction power assays. The extract induced a significant reduction of the edema, from 1 to 6 h in a dose-dependent manner (150, 200 and 300 mg/kg). Histological observations of the inflamed tissues also confirmed this. An effective antioxidant activity of the plant samples was demonstrated, showing an EC50 = 0.183 ± 0.005 mg/mL for the DPPH test, a value of 28.776 ± 2.541 mg AAE/g for the TAC and an EC50 = 0.136 ± 0.003 mg/mL for reducing power. The leaf-bud extract also revealed a good antimicrobial activity against S. aureus and L. monocytogenes (mean diameter of inhibition zones of 13.2 and 17.0 mm, respectively), while a slight antifungal effect was observed. The plant preparation was then documented to inhibit tyrosinase activity, with an EC50 value of 0.098 ± 0.00 mg/mL in a dose-dependent manner. HPLC-DAD analysis revealed that dimethyl-allyl caffeic acid and rutin were the most abundant molecules. The current data documented that P. atlantica leaf-bud extract has strong biological properties and constitutes a potential source of pharmacological molecules.

Echinops spinosissimus Turra Root Methanolic Extract: Characterization of the Bioactive Components and Relative Wound Healing, Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Properties.

Echinops spinosissimus Turra subsp. bovei (Asteraceae) is a medicinal plant in western Algeria. Traditionally, roots and inflorescences are employed as hypertensive agents and in the treatment of hemorrhoids. The current study evaluates the chemical composition, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and wound-healing properties of the root methanolic extract from E. spinosissimus subsp. bovei. The content of total phenolics, flavonoids, and tannins was determined. In addition, the phenolic profile was typified. The studied plant extract resulted in being primarily composed of Apigenin, Kaempferol, and their derivatives. The total phenolic content was equal to 95.31 ± 2.90 mg GAE/g DW, while the number of flavonoids and condensed tannins was 16.01 ± 0.16 mg CE/g DW and 8.30 ± 0.65 mg CE/g DW, respectively. The methanolic extract was found to exhibit antioxidant activity towards the DPPH radical, with an IC50 of 7.99 ± 0.28 mg/mL and a TAC of 30.30 ± 0.54 mg AAE/g DW, as well as an antibacterial effect, especially against P. aeruginosa. No significant wound-healing property was observed, even though the histopathological observations showed enhanced wound-healing quality. According to our evidence, E. spinosissimus could represent a source of phytochemicals with potential beneficial effects for human health in terms of antioxidant and antibiotic properties, although further investigations on this species are needed.

Antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities of three halophyte plants from Algeria and detection of some biomolecules by HPLC-DAD.

Antimicrobial activity of hydroalcoholic extracts (30/70) from leaves and stems of three halophytes (Tamarix africana, Arthrocnemum macrostachyum and Suaeda fruticose) was investigated. In vivo toxicological study and anti-inflammatory activity of leaf extract of T. africana were tested on carrageenan-induced inflammatory paw edema. T. africana possessed significant anti-inflammatory activity at 150 and 300 mg/kg confirmed by histological study of inflamed tissues. Six phenolic acids and 10 flavonoids where identified by HPLC-DAD. Gallic acid, Rutin and Kaempferol-3-O-glucoside were the major compounds. For the antibiotic assays, S. fruticosa leaf extract exhibited strong bactericidal power against S. aureus with MBC of 1.25 mg/mL whereas T. africana leaf and stem samples exhibited a significant bactericidal activity against S. aureus and B. subtilis compared to the negative control (Ampicillin and Chloramphenicol). Crude leaf and stem extracts from T. africana and stem extract from S. fruticosa exhibited a strong antifungal effect against C. albicans.

Antioxidant activity and phenolic profile of different organs of Pistacia atlantica Desf. subsp. atlantica from Algeria.

The present study evaluated the antioxidant activity of 21 extracts prepared from seven parts of Pistacia atlantica Desf. subsp. atlantica. (Fruits, leaves, buds, stems, roots, internal and external trunk barks) collected from Tlemcen, Algeria. Total phenolic, flavonoid and flavonol contents were determined and the antioxidant properties were measured using different assays: 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH), ferric antioxidant reducing power and ß-carotene bleaching assay. BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) was used for comparison purposes. The results showed that the extracts of leaves and buds had the highest phenolic contents with 255.789 ± 4.733 and 233.946 ± 6.205 mg GAE/g DM, respectively. For the antioxidant activity, values of EC50 concentrations ranged from 0.059 to 5.712 mg/mL for DPPH, 0.015 to 3.141 mg/mL for reducing power and 0.068 to 5.021 mg/mL for ß-carotene method, for all studied extracts. Analysing the phenolic composition, 10 components were identified in different parts of the plant.

Separation and identification of bioactive compounds in Anabasis articulata (Forsk) Moq. roots.

In the present paper, for the first time, we are interested to separate and identify some bioactive fractions isolated from the roots of a Saharan plant Anabasis articulata, which is widely used in traditional medicine against cancer. The crude methanolic extract of the roots was fractionated on column chromatography, and eluted with dichloromethane/methanol each time with increasing polarity of methanol; 17 fractions were separated. One of these fractions named F12 showed more antioxidant activity to scavenge DPPH free radical with percentage inhibition of 95.29%. F12 was separated by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) to give 12 compounds. A second preparative TLC of compound 2, which has antioxidative activity of 74.92%, provided the three phenolic acids M1, M2 and M3, analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography and UV-visible spectrophotometry.