Phytochemical composition and toxicity assessment of Ammi majus L.

Objective:To assess the acute and subacute toxicity as well as the phytochemical composition of two extracts and three fractions of Ammi majus L.Methods:The aqueous extracts were prepared separately by maceration for 48 h and by infusion for 1 h,while the fractions were prepared by the Soxhlet extractor,successively employing cyclohexane,ethyl acetate,and ethanol.The acute toxicity study was carried out in accordance with the OECD N°423 guideline at a single dose(2000 mg/kg)in mice for 14 days.The subacute toxicity study was performed by a daily oral administration of 250 mg/kg 2 for 10 d and 100 mg/kg doses for 28 d.Phytochemical screening was performed using staining and precipitation reactions,while the chemical characterization of some analytes was detected by HPLC-MS/MS analysis.Results:In the acute toxicity study,no signs of toxicity such as convulsion,salivation,diarrhea,sleep and coma were observed during 30 minutes and 14 days,so the lethal dose was higher than 2000 mg/kg for each extract and fraction.The subacute toxicity results showed that at a dose of 250 mg/kg,61.10%of the animals died and the rest developed morbidity.On the other hand,at a dose of 100 mg/kg,all the animals were still alive after 28 days,with no morbidity and the biochemical parameters were normal with no abnormalities in the liver,kidneys and pancreas.Phytochemical screening indicated the presence of flavonoids,tannins,coumarins,and free quinones and the absence of alkaloids and anthocyanins.Conclusions:The extracts and fractions of Ammi majus L.are not toxic in the short and long term with a varied chemical composition.Toxicological tests on animals other than rodents and in the long term(more than 28 days)are needed to further confirm the safety of Ammi majus extracts.

Shining the spotlight on NMR metabolic profiling and bioactivities of different solvent extracts of Piliostigma thonningii

Piliostigma thonningii (Fabaceae) is a versatile medicinal plant used as a traditional remedy,especially in African countries.In the present study,ethyl acetate,methanolic and water extracts of different parts of (fruits,leaves,stem barks) P.thonningii were evaluated for their bioactive contents,enzyme inhibitory,antioxidant and antimicrobial activities.Antioxidant potentials were also displayed in various methods like phosphomolybdenum assay (0.79–5.94 mmol TE/g),radical scavenging assays (DPPH:20.39–471.28 mg TE/g;ABTS:42.43–654.14 mg TE/g);reducing assays (CUPRAC:102.98–1207.42 mg TE/g;FRAP:45.30–656.25 mg TE/g) and metal chelating activity (2.55–22.32 mg EDTAE/g).In particular,the methanolic and water extracts showed better antioxidant potential.Except for a few,the extracts were also found to act as inhibitors of enzymes such as acetylcholinesterase (2.35–5.35 mg GALAE/g),butyrylcholinesterase (0.83–13.80 mg GALAE/g),tyrosinase (4.03–143.86 mg KAE/g),amylase (0.21–1.39 mmol ACAE/g) and glucosidase (3.52–7.13 mmol ACAE/g).Additionally,all the tested extracts possessed significant antibacterial (minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration:0.11–0.61 mg/ml) and antifungal (MIC and minimum fungicidal concentration:0.04–0.61 mg/ml) effects.Indeed,the data garnered from the present study provides a bright scope for the advanced investigation on this particular plant possessing pharmacologically active traits.

Evaluation of the chemical constituents,antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory activities of six Yemeni green coffee beans varieties

Coffee arabica L.is an economical crop cultivated in many countries including Yemen.The present study evaluated the phytochemical contents of the methanolic extracts,prepared by maceration,of six Yemeni green coffee beans varieties namely Esmaeli,Hamadi,Harazi,Mattari,Odaini and Yafei.Antioxidant(phosphomolybdenum,antiradical,reducing power and ferrous chelating),and enzyme inhibition activity of the extracts against acetylcholinesterase butyrylcholinesterase,tyrosinase,α-glucosidase,andα-amylase were also studied.Quantification of total phenols revealed that all green beans varieties were richer in their total polyphenolic(63.77-110.98 mg gallic acid equivalent per g of extract)content than their flavonoids one(2.86-5.57 mg rutin equivalent per g of extract).HPLC-MS/MS analysis of 30 selected bioactive compounds showed that all varieties had the same types of phytoconstituents with differences in their relative abundance.Caffeine(1613.89-2466.38μg/g)followed by 5-caffeoylquinic acid(1017.63-1313.39μg/g)were the dominant compounds in all varieties with caffeine more abundant in Esmaeli variety while 5-caffeoylquinic acid in Odaini variety.All varieties displayed a pronounced antioxidant property in all the in vitro assays with Odaini variety significantly(p<0.05)exerted the highest anti-DPPH radicals(253.96 mg Trolox equivalent(TE)/g),metal chelating(19.73 mg Disodium edetate equivalents/g),Cu^(2+)(441.11 mg TE/g)and Fe3+(221.04 mg TE/g)reducing activities.Furthermore,the majority of green coffee beans varieties showed comparable enzyme inhibition property with highest activity recorded against tyrosinase(39.35-46.96 mg kojic acid equivalents/g)and acetylcholinesterase(1.80-2.17 mg galanthamine equivalents/g)enzymes.In conclusion,all Yemeni green coffee beans varieties have proven to be rich source of biochemicals with beneficial impact on human health and could be of significant applications in food,pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry.