Phenolic extracts of Clinopodium nepeta were prepared and their preliminary phenolic profiles determined using HPLC-DAD with 26 phenolic standards. Apigenin (21.75 ± 0.41 µg/g), myricetin (72.58 ± 0.57 µg/g), and rosmarinic acid (88.51 ± 0.55 µg/g) were the most abundant compounds in DCM (dichloromethane), AcOEt (ethyl acetate), and BuOH (butanol) extracts, respectively. The DCM and AcOEt extracts inhibited quorum-sensing mediated violacein production by C. violaceum CV12472. Anti-quorum-sensing zones on C. violaceum CV026 at MIC (minimal inhibitory concentration) were 10.3 ± 0.8 mm for DCM extract and 12.0 ± 0.5 mm for AcOEt extract. Extracts showed concentration-dependent inhibition of swarming motility on flagellated P. aeruginosa PA01 and at the highest test concentration of 100 μg/mL, AcOEt (35.42 ± 1.00%) extract displayed the best activity. FRAP assay indicated that the BuOH extract (A_0.50 = 17.42 ± 0.25 µg/mL) was more active than standard α-tocopherol (A_0.50 = 34.93 ± 2.38 µg/mL). BuOH extract was more active than other extracts except in the ABTS^●+, where the DCM extract was most active. This antioxidant activity could be attributed to the phenolic compounds detected. C. nepeta extracts showed moderate inhibition on acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), tyrosinase, and α-amylase. The results indicate that C. nepeta is a potent source of natural antioxidants that could be used in managing microbial resistance and Alzheimer′s disease.

Artemisia campestris L. is commonly used in folk medicine due to its antioxidant, antidiabetic, nutritional, and culinary properties. Our study assessed the total phenolics contents, antioxidant, and pharmacological activities of various organic extracts prepared from the aerial parts of Artemisia campestris, and its mineral elements and chemical profile were analyzed. ICP-OES was used to analyze the mineral profile and the LC-MS/MS analysis was used to characterize the phytochemical profiling. A series of antioxidant tests were carried out using DPPH, ABTS, beta-carotene, GOR, RP, CUPRAC, and O-Phenanthroline assays. In vitro potent inhibitory actions of A. campestris extracts were investigated to evaluate their anti-cholinesterase, anti-lipase and anti-diabetic activities. The photoprotective effect of the plant was measured by the sun protection factor. The most powerful inhibitor of α-amylase was AcPEE (IC₅₀ = 11.79 ± 0.14 μg/mL), which also showed a significant butyrylcholinesterase inhibitory effect (IC₅₀ = 93.50 ± 1.60 μg/mL). At IC₅₀ = 23.16 ± 0.19 μg/mL, AcEAE showed the most powerful inhibitory effects on acetylcholinesterase. A. campestris was found to have a strong photoprotective ability, absorbing UV radiations with SPF values ranging from 26.07 ± 0.22 to 40.76 ± 0.11. The results showed that A. campestris extract has strong antioxidant activity in all the test samples except for the carotene bleaching assay. The LC/MS-MS results showed that AcDE, AcEAE, and AcBE identified 11 compounds belonging to Polyphenols Compounds. Our result also showed that A. campestris contains a high concentration of essential minerals, including macro-and micro-elements with their values close to the FAO’s recommended concentration. A. campestris has the capacity to improve pharmaceutical formulations, health, and medical research, due to its compositions and potent biological properties.

Plant-derived compounds have recently been gaining popularity as skincare factors due to their ability to absorb ultraviolet radiations and their anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. In this light, this work aimed to evaluate in vitro the pharmacological activities of the butanolic extract prepared from the aerial parts of Astragalus gombiformis Pomel, an endemic species to southern Algeria. The sun protection factor was used to assess the photoprotective effect (SPF), the protein denaturation method to determine the anti-inflammatory activity, and brine shrimp nauplii and OxHLIA assay, respectively, to assess the cytotoxicity and antioxidant capacity of A. gombiformis. In addition, LC–ESI–MS analysis was employed for the characterization of the phenolic constituents of A. gombiformis. The results showed that A. gombiformis had high capacity for absorbing UV radiations with an SPF of 37.78 ± 0.85 and significant anti-inflammatory activity with a percentage inhibition of 75.38% which is close to that of diclofenac and ketoprofen. In addition, A. gombiformis was found to have effective cytotoxicity against Artemia nauplii with a DC50 value of about 44.7 µg/mL, but a weak hemolytic effect against human erythrocytes. LC–ESI–MS results detected the presence of 17 phenolic compounds with a predominance of cirsiliol, silymarin, quercitrin (quercetin-3-O-rhamnoside), and kaempferol. Taken together, these results suggest that A. gombiformis extract could be used as a skincare agent in cosmetic formulations, providing excellent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory protection, allowing the treatment of skin conditions, as well as a pharmaceutical agent with multidimensional applications.

Context: This is the first study on the phytochemistry, antioxidant, anticholinesterase, and antibacterial activities of Sedum caeruleum L. (Crassulaceae).Objective: The objective of this study is to isolate the secondary metabolites and determine the antioxidant, anticholinesterase, and antibacterial activities of S. caeruleum.Materials and methods: Six compounds (1-6) were isolated from the extracts of S. caeruleum and elucidated using UV, 1D-, 2D-NMR, and MS techniques. Antioxidant activity was investigated using DPPH center dot, CUPRAC, and ferrous-ions chelating assays. Anticholinesterase activity was determined against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) enzymes using the Ellman method. Antibacterial activity was performed according to disc diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) methods.Results: Isolated compounds were elucidated as ursolic acid (1), daucosterol (2), -sitosterol-3-O--d-galactopyranoside (3), apigenin (4), apigetrin (5), and apiin (6). The butanol extract exhibited highest antioxidant activity in all tests (IC50 value: 28.351.22 mu g/mL in DPPH assay, IC50 value: 40.83 +/- 2.24 mu g/L in metal chelating activity, and IC50 value: 23.52 +/- 0.44 mu g/L in CUPRAC), and the highest BChE inhibitory activity (IC50 value: 36.89 +/- 0.15 mu g/L). Moreover, the chloroform extract mildly inhibited (MIC value: 80 mu g/mL) the growth of all the tested bacterial strains.Discussion and conclusion: Ursolic acid (1), daucosterol (2), -sitosterol-3-O--d-galactopyranoside (3), apigenin (4), apigetrin (5), and apiin (6) were isolated from Sedum caeruleum for the first time. In addition, a correlation was observed between antioxidant and anticholinesterase activities of bioactive ingredients of this plant.