Abstract
Dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and butanol phases of the organic extract obtained from Asphodelus tenuifolius Cav., a plant growing spontaneously in Tunisia were assessed for antifungal and antibacterial effects using disc diffusion and dilution methods, respectively. The butanol phase exhibited significant antifungal activity against Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis and Candida krusei and a considerable level of antibacterial activity towards Escherichia coli (minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) = 729 µg/ml) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MIC = 156 µg/ml). Column chromatography and normal phase preparative high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) techniques were used to isolate trans-N-feruloyltyramine (1), Luteolin (2), Luteolin-7-O-β-D-glycopyranoside (3), Apigenin (4) and Chrysoeriol (5) from the bioactive butanol extract. The structures of these polyphenols were established on the basis of comparison of complete spectroscopic data with those present in the literature. Some of these compounds have been found for the first time in A. tenuifolius or even in plants of genus Asphodelus. Their possible involvement in the antimicrobial activity of the extract has been discussed. Key words: Asphodelus tenuifolius Cav., narrow-leaved asphodel, antimicrobial effects, polyphenol derivatives, structure elucidation.
Highlights
The use of medicinal plants to treat illness and to preserve human health presumably predates the first recorded history
As a contribution to the chemical and biological studies of Medicinal plants growing in Tunisia, the present work deals with the investigation of the narrow-leaved asphodel, Asphodelus tenuifolius Cav. (Asphodelaceae), one of the seven species within the Asphodelus L. genus grown in Tunisia (Cuénod et al, 1954)
In the frame of our research program aimed at exploiting the potential of Tunisian endemic flora, we have demonstrated that extracts obtained from the spontaneous plant A. tenuifolius Cav., widely used as culinary ingredient, has a consistent activity against some bacterial and fungal strains
Summary
The use of medicinal plants to treat illness and to preserve human health presumably predates the first recorded history. As a contribution to the chemical and biological studies of Medicinal plants growing in Tunisia, the present work deals with the investigation of the narrow-leaved asphodel, Asphodelus tenuifolius Cav. Some authors judged A. tenuifolius Cav. to be either a variety or a subspecies of the fistulosus asphodel Tenuifolius (Cav.) Baker (Le Floc’h et al, 2010) or A. fistulosus subsp tenuifolius (Cav.) Trab) Later, it has been shown, on the basis of biometric and genetic criteria, that A. tenuifolius and A. fistulosus L. are clearly two independent species (Ruíz Rejón et al, 1990; Díaz Lifante, 1991). Flowers are clearly bell-shaped and fructiferous pedicels are articulated (Cuénod et al, 1954). This small plant is widely used for various culinary purposes
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