Abstract
The bioactive chemical constituents of water and ethanol extracts of Euphorbia hirta L. leaves have been identified and quantified using an un-targeted mass spectrometric approach. The study allowed the tentative identification of 123 individual phenolic compounds and 18 non-phenolic phytochemicals, most of them described in Euphorbia hirta L. leaves for the first time. Gallotannins, hydroxybenzoic and hydroxycinnamic acids were the most abundant phenolic classes in Euphorbia hirta L. leaves, representing together the 71.5% (26.3%, 25.2% and 20%, respectively) of the total amount of identified phenolics. The main phenolic compounds detected were tri-O-galloyl-glucose isomers, feruloyl-coniferin, tetra-O-galloyl-glucose isomers, di-O-galloyl-glucose isomers, ethyl-gallic acid, protocatechuic acid-O-pentoside-O-hexoside, 5-O-caffeoyl-quinic acid trans isomer and digalloyl-quinic acid. Feruloyl-coniferin was found to be approximately six times more concentrated in the ethanol extract with respect to the water extract. The ethanol extract exhibited higher ABTS (1338.3 ± 85.3 and 802.3 ± 91.0 μmol ascorbic acid equivalent/gram of dry extract, respectively) and superoxide anion (2014.6 ± 78.6 and 1528.0 ± 111.7 μmol ascorbic acid equivalent/gram of dry extract, respectively) scavenging abilities than the water extract. Additionally, the ethanol extract also showed a remarkable anti-fungal effect against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. vasinfectum, Alternaria solani and Rhizoctonia solani. This study provides new information about Euphorbia hirta L., offering reasons to promote this plant species as rich source of phenolics and an excellent source of antifungal molecules that might have a prospective use in controlling fungal diseases of vegetable crops.
Highlights
IntroductionEuphorbia hirta L. (E. hirta) is a plant species commonly found in all tropical countries worldwide, including Cameroon
The study allowed 4 the tentative identification of 123 individual phenolic compounds and 18 non-phenolic 5 phytochemicals, most of them described in Euphorbia hirta L. leaves for the first time
Euphorbia hirta L. (E. hirta) is a plant species commonly found in all tropical countries worldwide, including Cameroon
Summary
Euphorbia hirta L. (E. hirta) is a plant species commonly found in all tropical countries worldwide, including Cameroon. The research on alternative natural products with potential use in pest management strategies is very active (Bocquet et al, 2018; Eloff et al, 2017; Wu et al, 2018) To this purpose, phenolic-rich plant extracts were shown to display antifungal activity against different pathogenic fungi, including Fusarium oxysporum, Rhizoctonia solani, Phytophthora nicotianae, Alternaria alternata and Aspergillus species (Eloff et al, 2017; de Rodríguez et al, 2015; Wu et al, 2018). The two different extracts were characterized for their antioxidant properties and their ability to inhibit the growth of some plant pathogenic fungi affecting tomato
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