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Calendula officinalis L., (marigold), well known for its medicinal properties, has been extensively studied for its therapeutic properties. Nonetheless, as far as the literature could establish, no study has attempted to comparatively assess the biological (antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory potential) of the flowers, leaves, and roots of C. officinalis extracted using conventional (maceration and Soxhlet extraction (SE)) and non-conventional extraction (homogenizer (HAE) and ultrasound (UAE) assisted extraction) techniques. The detailed phytochemical profile of each extract along with the concentration of specific bioactive compounds has also been established. Total phenolic content was highest for the flower extracts while flavonoid content was highest in the leaf extracts. Phytochemical profiling showed that the extraction method influenced the phytochemical composition of the extract. Nicotiflorin was identified in the flower extracts only while amentoflavone occurred only in the roots, inferring that the occurrence of bioactive compounds varies within a plant. The flower extracts showed highest antioxidant potential while the roots extracts were potent inhibitors of cholinesterase and tyrosinase. This study provides valuable data on the influence of extraction techniques on the recovery of bioactive compounds from plants. In an endeavor to scale-up extraction from plant considering the more efficient extraction method is of paramount importance. Moreover, the study highlighted the necessity to thoroughly examine the biological activities of various parts of a plant obtained via different extraction protocols.

Toddalia asiatica (L.) Lam. is extensively used in traditional medicinal systems by various cultures. Despite its frequent use in traditional medicine, there is still a paucity of scientific information on T. asiatica growing on the tropical island of Mauritius. Therefore, the present study was designed to appraise the pharmacological and phytochemical profile of extracts (methanol, ethyl acetate and water) and essential oil obtained from aerial parts of T. asiatica. Biological investigation involved the evaluation of in vitro antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory potentials. The chemical profile of the EO was determined using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis, while for the extracts, the total phenolic (TPC) and flavonoid content were quantified as well as their individual phenolic compounds by LC/MS/MS. Quinic acid, fumaric acid, chlorogenic acid, quercitrin and isoquercitrin were the main compounds in the extracts. Highest total phenolic (82.5±0.94 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE/g)) and flavonoid (43.8±0.31 mg rutin equivalent (RE/g)) content were observed for the methanol extract. The GC/MS analysis has shown the presence of 26 compounds with linalool (30.9 %), linalyl acetate (20.9 %) and β‐phellandrene (7.9 %) being most abundant components in the EO. The extracts and EO showed notable antioxidant properties, with the methanol extract proved to be superior source of antioxidant compounds. Noteworthy anti‐acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and anti‐butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) effects were recorded for the tested samples, while only the methanol and ethyl acetate extracts were active against tyrosinase. With respect to antidiabetic effects, the extracts and EO were potent inhibitors of α‐glucosidase, while modest activity was recorded against α‐amylase. Docking results showed that linalyl acetate has the highest affinity to interact with the active site of BChE with docking score of −6.25 kcal/mol. The findings amassed herein act as a stimulus for further investigations of this plant as a potential source of bioactive compounds which can be exploited as phyto‐therapeutics.

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Phytochemical investigation of medicinally important plants has gained great attention, lately. This study aims to investigate the phytochemical constituents of the partitioned extracts (ethyl acetate (AI), dichloromethane (CI) and n-butanol (BI)) derived from the 70% ethanol extract of the rhizomes (RI) of Iris unguicularis Poir. an Algerian-Tunisian endemic plant and to evaluate their biological activities. Seventy constituents of these partitioned extracts were qualitatively characterized by liquid chromatography ion trap time of flight mass spectrometry (LC-MS-IT-TOF) technique. Moreover, quantitative screening of phenolic acids and flavonoids in the studied extracts was accomplished by a previously validated LC-MS/MS method. It was determined that, AI and CI, which were the richest extracts in terms of phytochemical content, showed high antioxidant and antibacterial activities in parallel with their identified constituents, while AI extract was rich in protocatechuic (1080.4 µg analyte/g), 4-OH-benzoic (2218.2 µg/g), syringic (1218.6 µg/g) and pcoumaric (1071.2 µg/g) acids, CI extract has been found to be rich in naringenin (1453.4 µg/g) and ferulic acid (1088.4 µg/g). These results revealed and confirmed the importance of the species and especially the genus rhizomes which have largely been used in folk medicine for the treatment of many diseases. However, all extracts of this endemic plant were inactive at all concentration against acetyl-and butyrylcholinesterase enzymes.