Chemical Composition and Biological Activities of Tunisian Ziziphus lotus Extracts: Evaluation of Drying Effect, Solvent Extraction, and Extracted Plant Parts

Abstract

The Tunisian Ziziphus lotus plant was investigated to determine its phytoconstituents and evaluate its biological activities. In particular, the GC/MS technique was used to describe the chemical composition of Z. lotus active extracts and fractions. Among the obtained extracts, the yields of the dried root methanolic extract (29.80%) and the fruit aqueous extract (48.00%) were the highest ones. The dried root methanolic extract exhibited the highest amount in the total phenolics (186.44 ± 0.26 mg GAE/g DW), total flavonoids (102.50 ± 3.53 mg QE/g DW), and tannins (60.714 ± 2.2 mg catechin/g DW). The root aqueous extracts revealed the highest antioxidant activity with an IC50 of 8.96 ± 0.38 mg/L and 16.46 ± 0.60 mg/L for the ABTS•+ and DPPH• assays, respectively. The total antioxidant capacity was accorded to the methanolic extract of the dried roots with a value of 304.07 ± 1.11 µg AAE/mg. The drying process was found to improve the qualitative and quantitative properties of the Z. lotus extracts. The evaluation of the cytotoxic activity against the SH-SY5Y cell line was carried out using MTT assay. The petroleum ether and dichloromethane extracts of the dried roots showed relevant cytotoxic activities. The thin layer chromatography and the GC-MS/GC-FID analysis led to the identification of the 13-epimanool as a potent cytotoxic compound.

Phytochemical Characterization, Antioxidant, and Antimicrobial Activity of the Vegetative Buds from Romanian Spruce, Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.

“…δ-cadinene is the third major com-pound in this essential oil (9.95%), a sesquiterpenoid with antiproliferative, apoptotic and anticancer action proved on human ovary cancer cell lines [56]. Other interesting and important constituents from the essential oil are 13-epimanool, a diterpenic alcohol with antifungal and anticancer activities, demonstrated on human leukemic cells and human neuroblast cells [57];caryophyllene, a bicyclic sesquiterpenoid, an agonist of cannabinoid receptors CB2, used in ameliorating chronic inflammatory pains [58] and with anticancer properties; δ-3-Carene, wich has sleep-enhancing and anxiolytic actions [59]; τ-cadinol, that has a muscle relaxing effect [60]; β-pinene, a monoterpenoid widely found in conifers with anxiolytic, gastroprotective, antibiotic actions [61], and ent-kaurenal, precursor of the plant hormone gibberellin A 12 , with antibacterial, antitumor and anti-inflammatory effects [62].…”

Ethnobotanical Study on Ziziphus lotus L in Western Algeria (Relizane)

“…Recently, several scientific reports on the health benefits and nutritional potential of bioactive compounds from this jujube have been reported (Abcha et al, 2021;Letaief et al, 2021). This plant is rich in polyphenols, cyclopeptide alkaloids, dammarane saponins, vitamins, minerals, amino acids and polyunsaturated amino acids (Souleymane, 2016).…”

Prospects of ultrasonically extracted food bioactives in the field of non-invasive biomedical applications – A review

“…The Zizyphus lotus HGMR inhibitory activity (anti-lipidemic activity) was evaluated at a concentration of 100 µg/ml, and the ultrasound extracted content showed an activity of 45.41 %, which is higher when compared to that of conventional extraction methods [157] , [158] . Kim et al have shown the improvement of the serum lipid profile of Sprague Dawley male rats upon consumption of water-based extracts of Jujuba seeds for 10 days, and thus these extracts can reduce hyperlipidemia and alleviate the related cardiovascular diseases [159] .…”