Lawsonia inermis, known as henna, has traditionally been utilized in cosmetics and folk medicine because of their valuable health effects. A lack of information about the processes that increase or decrease release, as well as the biological activities of constituents of natural origin, is an important pharmacological problem. This investigation evaluates the influence of moist heat on the flavonoid and phenolic contents of henna powder and their biological activities. HPLC analysis reflected the existence of 20 and 19 compounds of flavonoids and phenolics in the extract of unpre-treated henna by moist heat (UPMH) and pre-treated henna by moist heat (PMH). Several compounds such as chlorogenic acid, ellagic acid, rutin, rosmarinic acid, kaempferol, and pyrocatechol occurred with high concentrations of 57,017.33, 25,821.09, 15,059.88, 6345.08, 1248.42, and 819.19 µg/mL UPMH while occurred with low concentrations of 44,286.51, 17,914.26, 3809.85, 5760.05, 49.01, and 0.0 µg/mL, respectively in PMH. C. albicans, C. tropicalis, and G. candidum were more affected by UPMH with inhibition zones of 30.17 ± 0.29, 27 ± 0.5, and 29 ± 1.5 mm than PMH with inhibition zones of 29 ± 0.5, 25.33 ± 0.58, and 24.17 ± 0.29 mm, respectively. UPMH henna exhibited less MIC and MFC against the tested yeasts than PMH. Moreover, UPMH henna showed good wound healing, where the rat of migration, wound closure %, and area difference % were 14.806 um, 74.938 um², and 710.667% compared with PMH henna 11.360 um, 59.083 um², 545.333%, respectively. Antioxidant activity of UPMH and PMH henna. Promising antioxidant activity was recorded for both UPMH or PMH henna with IC₅₀ 5.46 µg/mL and 7.46 µg/mL, respectively. The docking interaction of chlorogenic acid and ellagic acid with the crystal structures of G. candidum (4ZZT) and C. albicans (4YDE) was examined. The biological screening demonstrated that the compounds had favorable docking results with particular proteins. Chlorogenic acid had robust behavior in the G. candidum (4ZZT) active pocket and displayed a docking score of −7.84379 Kcal/mol, higher than ellagic acid’s −6.18615 Kcal/mol.

The Pipper nigram (P. nigram) leaf extract was used for the biosynthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) and the successful formation of the resultant product was confirmed through several physicochemical techniques. The chemical structure and the elemental composition were analysed through Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopies, respectively. The crystalline structure and crystallite size were investigated through an X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and a monoclinic crystallite with a size of 40.68 nm was reported. Even-distributed particles with an average particle size of 49.75 nm were seen in the scanning electron micrograph (SEM), whereas the thermal stability was checked during the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The ultra-violet and visible (UV-Visible) spectroscopy was operated to study the light absorbance phenomena and to determine the band gap energy from the absorption edge, which was found to be 1.47 eV. The CuO NPs were used as antibacterial agents against gram-negative bacteria (GNB) and gram-positive bacteria (GPB), and greater inhibition zones were seen against the former one. The antioxidant test was also carried out against 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) free radicals and the antioxidant potential of CuO NPs was found to be higher than ascorbic acid.

Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) has a great beneficial health effect; it has been used in traditional medicine by many cultures. Likewise, the α-amylase inhibitors are potential compounds in the development of drugs for the treatment of diabetes. The beneficial health effects of fenugreek lead us to explore the chemical composition of the seeds and their antioxidant and α-amylase inhibition activities. The flavonoid extraction from fenugreek seeds was achieved with methanol through a Soxhlet apparatus. Then, the flavonoid glycosides were characterized using HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS analysis. The antioxidant capacity of fenugreek seed was measured using DPPH, FRAP, ABTS, and CUPRAC assays. Finally, the α-amylase inhibition activity was carried out using in vitro and in silico methods. The methanolic extract was found to contain high amounts of total phenolics (154.68 ± 1.50 μg GAE/mg E), flavonoids (37.69 ± 0.73 μg QE/mg E). The highest radical-scavenging ability was recorded for the methanolic extract against DPPH (IC₅₀ = 556.6 ± 9.87 μg/mL), ABTS (IC₅₀ = 593.62 ± 9.35 μg/mL). The ME had the best reducing power according to the CUPRAC (A 0.5 = 451.90 ± 9.07 μg/mL). The results indicate that the methanolic extracts of fenugreek seed best α-amylase inhibition activities IC₅₀ = 653.52 ± 3.24 μg/mL. Twenty-seven flavonoids were detected, and all studied flavonoids selected have good affinity and stabilize very well in the pocket of α-amylase. The interactions between the studied flavonoids with α-amylase were investigated. The flavonoids from fenugreek seed present a good inhibitory effect against α-amylase, which is beneficial for the prevention of diabetes and its complications.

Centaurea parviflora (C. parviflora), belonging to the family Asteraceae, is an Algerian medicinal plant used in folk medicine to treat different diseases related to hyperglycemic and inflammatory disorders, as well as in food. The present study aimed to assess the total phenolic content, in vitro antioxidant and antimicrobial activity and phytochemical profile of the extracts of C. parviflora. The extraction of phenolic compounds from aerial parts was conducted using solvents of increasing polarity starting from methanol, resulting in crude extract (CE), to chloroform extract (CHE), ethyl acetate extract (EAE) and butanol extract (BUE). The total phenolic, flavonoid and flavonol contents of the extracts were determined using the Folin–Ciocalteu and AlCl₃ methods, respectively. The antioxidant activity was measured with seven methods: 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, galvinoxyl free-radical-scavenging test, 2,2′-Azino-Bis(3-Ethylbenzothiazoline-6-Sulfonic Acid) (ABTS) assay, cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC), reducing power, Fe⁺²-phenanthroline reduction assay and superoxide-scavenging test. The disc-diffusion method aimed at testing the sensitivity of bacterial strains toward our extracts. A qualitative analysis with thin-layer chromatography of the methanolic extract was performed. Moreover, HPLC-DAD-MS was used to establish the phytochemical profile of the BUE. The BUE was found to contain high amounts of total phenolics (175.27 ± 2.79 µg GAE/mg E), flavonoids (59.89 ± 0.91 µg QE/mg E) and flavonols (47.30 ± 0.51 µg RE/mg E). Using TLC, different components such as flavonoids and polyphenols were noted. The highest radical-scavenging ability was recorded for the BUE against DPPH (IC₅₀ = 59.38 ± 0.72 µg/mL), galvinoxyl (IC₅₀ = 36.25 ± 0.42 µg/mL), ABTS (IC₅₀ = 49.52 ± 1.54 µg/mL) and superoxide (IC₅₀ = 13.61 ± 0.38 µg/mL). The BUE had the best reducing power according to the CUPRAC (A_0.5 = 71.80 ± 1.22 μg/mL), phenanthroline test (A_0.5 = 20.29 ± 1.16 μg/mL) and FRAP (A_0.5 = 119.17 ± 0.29 μg/mL). The LC-MS analysis of BUE allowed us to identify eight compounds including six phenolic acids and two flavonoids: quinic acid, five chlorogenic acid derivatives, rutin and quercetin 3-o-glucoside. This preliminary investigation revealed that the extracts of C. parviflora have a good biopharmaceutical activity. The BUE possesses an interesting potential for pharmaceutical/nutraceutical applications.

The main interest in the valorization of vegetable wastes is due to the peculiarity of their chemical composition in substances that present important properties. Among these substances, antioxidants could replace those industrially manufactured. In the present study, three solvents of different polarities (hexane, ethanol, and water) were applied for the extraction of phenolic compounds from Cynara cardunculus L. waste using two extraction methods: Soxhlet Extraction (SE) and Ultrasonic-Assisted Extraction (UAE). The obtained extracts were then characterized by Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and spectrophotometric determination of Total Phenolics (TPC), Total Flavonoids (TFC), and Condensed Tannins (CT). Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity of ethanol and water extracts of leaves and stems were also evaluated. High extraction yields were obtained by UAE. Water extracts had high yield regardless of the technique used for leaves and stems, and these extracts showed high TAC of 534.72 ± 3.83 mg AAE/g FM for leaves and 215.70 ± 8.87 mg AAE/g FM (mg of ascorbic acid equivalent per g of FM) for stems, and IC₅₀ of 2077.491 μg/mL for leaves and 1248.185 μg/mL for stems. We explain the latter by the high total phenolic contents (TPCs), which reach 579.375 ± 3.662 mg GAE/g FM (mg of gallic acid equivalents per g of fresh matter) for leaves and 264.906 ± 3.500 mg GAE/g FM for stems. These results confirmed that the leaves and stems of the studied cardoon waste were, indeed, interesting sources of natural antioxidants.