Tragopogon dubius and Tussilago farfara are consumed as vegetables and used in folk medicine to manage common diseases. Herein, the chemical compositions and biological activities of different leaf extracts (ethyl acetate, methanol, and water) of T. dubius and T. farfara were evaluated. The antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant abilities of the extracts were tested using different assays including free radical scavenging, reducing power, phosphomolybdenum, and metal chelating assays. Enzyme inhibitory potentials were evaluated against cholinesterases, tyrosinase, α-amylase and α-glucosidase. Complexes of bioactive compounds (chlorogenic and rosmarinic acid) were docked into the enzymatic cavity of α-glucosidase and subjected to molecular dynamic calculation, enzyme conformational stability, and flexibility analysis. T. dubius and T. farfara extracts showed remarkable antioxidant potentials. Ethyl acetate extracts of T. dubius and T. farfara were the most potent inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase. T. dubius ethyl acetate extract and T. farfara methanolic extract showed noteworthy activity against α-glucosidase. High performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed the abundance of some phenolic compounds including chlorogenic and rosmarinic acids. Ethyl acetate extract of T. dubius showed notable antifungal activity against all strains. Docking studies showed best pose for chlorogenic acid was stabilized by a network of hydrogen bonds with residues Asp1157, Asp1279, whereas rosmarinic acid showed several hydrogen bonds with Asp1157, Asp1420, Asp1526, Lys1460 and Trp1369. This study further validates the use of T. dubius and T. farfara in traditional medicine, as well as act as a stimulus for further studies for future biomedicine development. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma

In this study, various extracts obtained different parts of Tanacetum cilicicum were investigated for in vitro antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. Antioxidant activity was tested with three methods; namely 2.2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging capacity, 2.2′‐azinobis (3‐ethylbenzothiazolin‐6‐sulphonic acid) (ABTS) radical cation scavenging capacity, and ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents of extracts were determined by Folin-Ciocalteu and aluminum chloride methods, respectively. Also, anti-inflammatory activity of these extracts was evaluated by 5-lipoxygenase inhibition assay. Ethyl acetate extract of capitula of T. cilicicum (TCCEA) showed the highest antioxidant activity with IC50 values of 22.44 and 30.86 µg/mL against DPPH and ABTS radicals, respectively. At the same time, the highest ferric reducing power was found in the TCCEA (42.2 mg TE/g extract). The highest total phenolic contents have been detected in TCCEA and ethyl acetate extract of leaves of T. cilicicum (TCLEA) with value of 174.1 and 175.6 mg GAE/g extract, respectively. Similarly, the highest total flavonoid contents have been detected in TCCEA and TCLEA with values of 26.94 and 30.48 mg QE/g extract, respectively. TCCEA exhibited strong anti-inflammatory activity with IC50 value of 9.44 µg/mL when compared to standard indomethacine (22.39 µg/mL). These results demonstrate that TCCEA has a significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. Also, the results show that TCCEA is a good candidate for further bioactivity-guided fractionation in the search for new active anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds.