Identification of Phenolic Compounds by LC-MS/MS and Evaluation of Bioactive Properties of Two Edible Halophytes: Limonium effusum and L. sinuatum

Abstract

This work aimed to evaluate the phenolic content and in vitro antioxidant, antimicrobial and enzyme inhibitory activities of the methanol extracts and their fractions of two edible halophytic Limonium species, L. effusum (LE) and L. sinuatum (LS). The total phenolic content resulted about two-fold higher in the ethyl acetate fraction of LE (522.82 ± 5.67 mg GAE/g extract) than in that of LS (274.87 ± 1.87 mg GAE/g extract). LC-MS/MS analysis indicated that tannic acid was the most abundant phenolic acid in both species (71,439.56 ± 3643.3 µg/g extract in LE and 105,453.5 ± 5328.1 µg/g extract in LS), whereas hyperoside was the most abundant flavonoid (14,006.90 ± 686.1 µg/g extract in LE and 1708.51 ± 83.6 µg/g extract in LS). The antioxidant capacity was evaluated by DPPH and TAC assays, and the stronger antioxidant activity in ethyl acetate fractions was highlighted. Both species were more active against Gram-positive bacteria than Gram negatives and showed considerable growth inhibitions against tested fungi. Interestingly, selective acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity was observed with LE and LS. Particularly, the water fraction of LS strongly inhibited AChE (IC50 = 0.199 ± 0.009 µg/mL). The ethyl acetate fractions of LE and LS, as well as the n-hexane fraction of LE, exhibited significant antityrosinase activity (IC50 = 245.56 ± 3.6, 295.18 ± 10.57 and 148.27 ± 3.33 µg/mL, respectively). The ethyl acetate fraction and methanol extract of LS also significantly inhibited pancreatic lipase (IC50 = 83.76 ± 4.19 and 162.2 ± 7.29 µg/mL, respectively). Taken together, these findings warrant further investigations to assess the potential of LE and LS as a bioactive source that can be exploited in pharmaceutical, cosmetics and food industries.

Metabolomic Profile and Biological Properties of Sea Lavender (Limonium algarvense Erben) Plants Cultivated with Aquaculture Wastewaters: Implications for Its Use in Herbal Formulations and Food Additives

“…The flower extracts from plants irrigated with 300 mM NaCl allowed for the lowest IC 50 value (873 µg/mL), while those from freshwater-irrigated plants were not active up to the concentration of 1000 µg/mL. However, other Limonium species have showed lower IC 50 values, namely, L. delicatulum methanol extracts from roots (9.87 µg/mL) and leaves (24.77 µg/mL) [ 68 ], as well as hexane and ethyl acetate fractions from L. effusum methanol extracts (148–295 µg/mL) [ 69 ].…”

The Use of Infrared Spectroscopy for the Quantification of Bioactive Compounds in Food: A Review

“…Non-volatile compounds, such as polyphenols, anthocyanins, flavonoids and carotenoids, are typically analysed using the related technique of liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS) [ 80 , 81 , 82 ]. As with GC, the column contains the stationary phase, while a liquid mobile phase carrying the analyte flows through the column.…”

Nutritional anti-nutritional chemical composition and antioxidant activities of the leaves of the sea cliff dwelling species Limonium spathulatum (Desf.) Kuntze

“…Kuntze ( Ross, 1984 ; Movsumov and Garaev, 2005 ), while Myricetin-3- O -rutinoside was previously identified in L. algarvense’s water extracts ( Rodrigues et al., 2021 ). Myricetin, and its derivatives, exhibit important biological properties, including antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, antiviral and antimicrobial ( Baysal et al., 2021 ; Sinan et al., 2021 ). Prodelphinidin A gallate and ethyl gallate were previously detected in L. bondueli organs ( Breant et al., 2010 ).…”

“…Prodelphinidin A gallate and ethyl gallate were previously detected in L. bondueli organs ( Breant et al., 2010 ). Chlorogenic acid, gallic acid and rutin were identified in the shoot extracts of L. delicatulum ( Baysal et al., 2021 ). High amounts of epigallocatechin gallate, phlorizin, phloretin and quercetin were also detected in aqueous extracts of L. contortirameum and L. virgatum ( Foddai et al., 2014 ), while tannic acid and hyperoside were quantified in high levels in the ethyl acetate fractions of aerial organs L. effusum and L. sinuatum ( Baysal et al., 2021 ).…”