Anabasis oropediorum Maire. as a health-promoting source: Phytochemical content, in vitro antioxidant, antidiabetic, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory potential

Abstract

Phytochemicals, which are necessary for plants to adapt to their environment, offer an exciting source of medicinal products. This study focuses on the desert plant Anabasis oropediorum (Chenopodiaceae), which is native to calcareous sandy regions in North African countries and Palestine. This investigation is the first to shed light on the therapeutic nature of the methanolic extract of the aerial parts of A. oropediorum. A phytochemical screening analysis was conducted, including a quantitative estimate of the total phenols, flavonoids, flavonols, anthocyanins, hydrolyzable tannins, and condensed tannins. Antioxidant activity was evaluated in vitro using three methods: DPPH • scavenging, β-carotene bleaching, and anti-hemolytic assay. The antidiabetic activity was tested using two assays: non-enzymatic hemoglobin glycosylation and glucose uptake by yeast cells assay. Antibacterial activity was evaluated by the disc diffusion method, and anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated by the protein anti-denaturation method. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, coumarins, cardiac glycosides, leuco-anthocyanins, mucilage, phenols, saponins, sterols, and terpenes. The quantitative analysis showed that the methanolic extract provided a high level of flavonoids (17.0±0.50 µg QE/mg) and the total contents of tannins (5.3±0.04 µg GAE/mg, 7.3±0.14 µg CE/mg). Chlorogenic acid, p-coumaric acid, quercetin, and rutin were the phenolic compounds detected by RP-HPLC analysis. FTIR spectroscopy confirmed the presence of alkanes, aromatic compounds, and aliphatic amines in the methanolic extract. Biologically, this medicinal plant exhibited medium antioxidant activity, good in vitro antidiabetic activity, antibacterial activity against only Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria innocua, and Escherichia coli, and very good albumin protection activity from heat denaturation.