Comparative Analysis of Pinus halepensis, Pinus brutia, and Pinus pinea Extracts: Chemical Composition and in vitro Bioactivities

Abstract

Purpose Traditionally, medicinal plants were frequently used to treat various diseases. In this regard, Pinaceae species (various parts, residues, extracts) is one of the potential traditional plants with health issues such as antibacterial, anti-cancer, and antioxidant activities. In the context of biomass valorization (forest residues) and the development of a circular bioeconomy, pine species generate large amounts of unvalorized cones. In this study, different solvents were used to extract bioactive compounds and evaluate bioactivities from dried and ground pinecones from P. halepensis PA, P. brutia PB and P. pinea PP. Methods Petal P and heart C from pinecones were manually separated and were milled to investigate successive solvent extraction with increasing polarity: Cyclohexane 1SV, ethyl acetate 2SV and methanol 3SV at 20 °C. Spectrophotometry was used to quantify the total phenolic content TPC and to evaluate the antioxidant and anticancer activities. Gas chromatography with mass spectrometry GC-MS and High-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array HPLC-DAD were used to identify bioactive compounds. Results The P-3SV extracts showed the highest TPC values and had a significant antioxidant capacity. The extracts of 1SV and 2SV had moderate anticancer activity. HPLC analysis allowed the identification of 38 compounds, twenty-seven of which were not previously detected in these species. Forty-six volatile compounds were identified using GC-MS, thirty-three of which were detected for the first time in this species. Conclusions This study highlights the considerable potential of pinecones as a valuable reservoir of bioactive compounds and suggests that they can contribute to advances in health.