Abstract
Dichloromethane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and ethanol extracts obtained from Posidonia oceanica (L.) leaves, were examined in order to determine their total phenolic, flavonoid, flavonol, anthocyanin and condensed tannins contents as well as their antioxidant and allelopathic activities. The qualitative phytochemical analysis of crude extracts confirmed the presence of coumarins in dichloromethane, chloroform and ethyl acetate extracts. The antioxidant activity estimated using the DPPH assay was significantly more pronounced for the ethyl acetate extract (IC50 = 1.19±0.018 mg/mL) than that of the other extracts. The allelopathic effect against the seeds of Carum carvi (L.) and Foeniculum vulgare (Mill.) indicated that, depending on concentration, the extracts from the leaves of P. oceanic (L.) inhibited or stimulated at different concentrations the germination, shoot and root elongation of seedlings growth. The results of this study suggest that P. oceanica (L.) extracts could be useful as a natural source of health-promoting effects and herbicides.
 
 KEY WORDS: Posidonia oceanic (L.), Phytochemical profile, Phenolic compounds, Antioxidant activity, Carum carvi (L.), Foeniculum vulgare (Mill)
 
 Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2020, 34(3), 437-447.
 DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v34i3.1
Highlights
Marine species have been considered as approximately half of the total biodiversity and a source of potentially active novel natural products [1]
They are well known for their various biological activities, which are attributed to their high antioxidant activity [36]
The total flavonols contents varied between 9.19±0.31 and 14.91±0.28 mg QE/g DW for all extracts, with the richest amount detected in dichloromethane (Table 1)
Summary
Marine species have been considered as approximately half of the total biodiversity and a source of potentially active novel natural products [1]. The seagrass Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile represents one of the most widespread species endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. P. oceanica plant has leaf bundles consisting of probably seven leaves 8–11 mm broad and 20–80 cm long. The leaves of P. oceanica (L.) have been tested by humans for various traditional applications. They were used as a material for manufacturing mattresses. Apart from these benefits, the dead leaves of P. oceanica (L.) were used a long time ago, as compost by farmers on the Mediterranean coasts. Over the past fifty years, experiments have been carried out regularly in Italy, Tunisia, and Greece with a view to produce Posidonia-based compost [3]
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