Abstract
This study was carried out to screen the amount and the classes of secondary metabolites and to evaluate the antioxidant, cytotoxic, antifungal, and antibacterial activities of the methanolic, ethanolic, and water extracts of the roots, leaves, and flowers of Nepeta juncea Benth. The results show that the highest total phenol (69.54 ± 0.31 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g dry weight), total flavonoid (41.37 ± 0.17 mg quercetin equivalents (QE)/g dry weight), anthocyanin (6.52 ± 0.21 mg cyanidin/100 g dry weight), and tannin (47.36 ± 0.33 mg catechin/g dry weight) concentrations were recorded in the methanolic extract of the leaves of N. juncea. The gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis of the extracts showed that 1,8-cineole, 4aα-7α-7aα-nepetalactone, β-pinene, terpinen-4-ol, and α-terpineol were the major compounds, respectively. The best 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging and ferric-reducing antioxidant, cytotoxic, antifungal, and antibacterial activities were observed for the methanolic extract of the leaves. For the two latter activities, the best activity was revealed on Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, and Candida albicans. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values for the antimicrobial of the methanolic extract from the leaves were in the range of 25–100 µg/mL, whereas the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) values were in the range of 50–200 µg/mL. The results reported herein show that, for the first time in the literature, N. juncea is a remarkable source of antioxidant, antifungal, and antibacterial compounds.
Highlights
IntroductionPlants have represented an important source of bioactive compounds (e.g., phenolics, terpenoids, aromatic components, essential oils, sterols, alkaloids, polysaccharides, tannins, and anthocyanin) for centuries [1,2]
Plants have represented an important source of bioactive compounds for centuries [1,2]
The highest content of total phenol was measured in the methanolic extract for each part of N. juncea, followed by the ethanol and water extracts, respectively
Summary
Plants have represented an important source of bioactive compounds (e.g., phenolics, terpenoids, aromatic components, essential oils, sterols, alkaloids, polysaccharides, tannins, and anthocyanin) for centuries [1,2]. Much attention has been paid to investigating the antioxidant and antibacterial activities of medicinal plants [4,5,6]. It has been proven that the antioxidant properties of medicinal plant products are mainly attributed to the above-mentioned phytochemicals [7]. These natural antioxidants prevent the destructive effects induced by oxidative stress of reactive oxygen species (ROS) [8,9], which are well known to be implicated in aging [10] and many acute and chronic diseases such as diabetes [11], cancer [12], and neurodegenerative disorders [13].
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