Plantago boissieri: Phytochemical Assessment, Antioxidant, Anti‐inflammatory and Wound Healing Potential

Abstract

Plantago is a large genus under family Plantaginaceae. Plantago species were noted for potent antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory and wound healing activities. The current research investigated the potential bioactivities as the metabolic content of Plantagoboisserei extract. Results highlighted the rich content of phenolics (450.93 ± 7.4 mg GAE/g extract) and flavonoids (144.2 ± 3.6 mg RE/g extract). HPLC analysis enabled the detection of 17 phenolic constituents among which ellagic acid was found in highest concentration followed by rutin. P. boisserei exhibited a potent antioxidant activity evidenced by the IC50 values in ABTS and H2O2 assays (10.95 and 10.87 µg/mL, respectively) as well as in TAC assay (67.94 mg AAE/g). The anti‐microbial activities revealed a moderate activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Proteus vulgaris. In vitro anti‐inflammatory potential indicated a characteristic inhibition against COX‐1 and COX‐2 enzymes with IC50 62.8 and 14.23 µg/mL, respectively, compared to ibuprofen (IC50 8.07 and 6.58, respectively). Additionally, P. boisserei extract achieved a potent wound healing activity using in vivo rat model, this might be attributed to its high content of flavonoids together with other polyphenolic compounds that have a great free radical scavenging potential. P. boisserei is a promising candidate for more extensive phytochemical and biological exploration.