Abstract
Currently, oxidative stress is one of the major problems that threatens human health. It is at the root of many diseases such as cancer. Despite the enormous efforts provided to combat this scourge, oxidative stress is still relevant and hence comes the need for research of new remedies especially from natural origin. For this purpose, the study of the antioxidant activity of extracts of Cistus monspeliensis from Morocco is a principal research objective. The phenolic extracts were obtained by maceration of the plant in a water/acetone mixture and then separated by liquid/liquid extraction with solvents of increasing polarity. The first phytochemical tests carried out on these extracts showed the existence of different families of phenolic compounds, such as flavonoids, tannins, and others. Assays for total polyphenols, flavonoids, hydrolysable, and condensed tannins were carried out by known colorimetric methods. The results of these assays have shown that the studied extracts are rich in phenolic compounds present in the plant in the form of flavonoids (69.81 ± 0.22 mg EQ/g DM), hydrolysable tannins (61.86 ± 0.89 mg ETA/g DM), and condensed tannins (70.05 ± 1.61 mg EC/g DM). The evaluation of the antioxidant activity is carried out by two different methods: the DPPH test (2,2-DiPhenyl-1-Picryl-Hydrazyl) and the FRAP test (Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power). The results obtained show that the extracts of Cistus monspeliensis are active and have interesting antioxidant powers. In particular, the water/acetone (WAE) (IC50 = 0.079 mg/mL) and butanolic (BUE) (IC0.5 = 0.099 mg/mL) extracts are the most active with values comparable to that of ascorbic acid. The interesting results obtained in this study clearly show that Cistus monspeliensis originating from Morocco can be considered as a source of natural antioxidants. Therefore, the extracts of this plant deserve to be tested in the medicinal field, against cancer and cardiovascular diseases, and in food field as an additive and preservative.
Highlights
In addition to studying the chemical composition of Cistus monspeliensis essential oil, we were interested in determining the phenolic compounds present in these extracts as well as their antioxidant properties. e contents of total polyphenols, flavonoids, hydrolysable, and condensed tannins were determined by known colorimetric assay methods, and the antioxidant power of various extracts was achieved by the DPPH radical (2,2-DiPhenyl-1-PicrylHydrazyl) reduction method and by the iron reduction method FRAP (Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power)
Extraction by hydrodistillation of 250 g of Cistus monspeliensis dry matter provided 350 mg of the extract (EOE), which represents a yield equal to 0.14% of essential oil. is value is comparable with previous results obtained on the same species of Cistus [32]
Previous phytochemical studies on Cistus monspeliensis have revealed the presence of several compounds, such as flavonoids, hydrolysable tannins, condensed tannins, and saponins [37,38,39,40], which confirms our results
Summary
Especially those of plant origin, have always been a significant source of therapeutic agents due to their rich bioactive compounds content, known as polyphenols, since ancient times [1,2,3]. ese compounds have received special attention for some years. ey have a preventive role of cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases and curative attributes of many diseases, such as cancer [2, 4,5,6,7]. ese curative properties are due to their antioxidant and antimicrobial activity [8,9,10]. Especially those of plant origin, have always been a significant source of therapeutic agents due to their rich bioactive compounds content, known as polyphenols, since ancient times [1,2,3]. Ese curative properties are due to their antioxidant and antimicrobial activity [8,9,10]. Our study comprises the survey of extracts from aromatic and medicinal plants originally from Morocco. Previous pharmacological studies showed the interest in Cistus monspeliensis as an antimicrobial [12, 13], antioxidant [14], anti-inflammatory [15], and antidiabetic [16]. In addition to studying the chemical composition of Cistus monspeliensis essential oil, we were interested in determining the phenolic compounds present in these extracts as well as their antioxidant properties. In addition to studying the chemical composition of Cistus monspeliensis essential oil, we were interested in determining the phenolic compounds present in these extracts as well as their antioxidant properties. e contents of total polyphenols, flavonoids, hydrolysable, and condensed tannins were determined by known colorimetric assay methods, and the antioxidant power of various extracts was achieved by the DPPH radical (2,2-DiPhenyl-1-PicrylHydrazyl) reduction method and by the iron reduction method FRAP (Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power)
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