Phytochemicals Identification and Bioactive Compounds Estimation of Artemisia Species Grown in Saudia Arabia

Abstract

Artemisia species are very important medicinal plants, particularly in the Middle East and in developing countries. Their products have been used in traditional and medicine contemporary for the treating of infectious ulcers, gangrenous ulcers, inflammations, and malaria. Artemisinin derived from Artemisia species has been used as a drug in many countries for malaria disease treatment. Hence, this study aimed to identify and evaluate the bioactive compounds of three species of Artemisia (Artemisia judaica, Artemisia monosperma, and Artemisia sieberi) growing in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, several analytical techniques, such as gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS), UV-Visible spectrophotometry (UV-Vis), and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), with reference standards, were used. The GC-MS analysis of the artemisia species revealed many bioactive constituents associated with plant secondary metabolites; some of these identified phytochemical components have biological activity. A. Judaica showed the highest number of bioactive compounds, followed by A. sieberi and A. monosperma. Further, the total phenol, total flavonoid, total tannin, terpenoids, and TCA were estimated. Furthermore, biomolecules such gallic acid, tannin acid, quercetin, and artemisinin in different artemisia species were quantified using HPLC with the reference standard. The amount of artemisinin in the leaf extract of these species (A. sieberi, A. Judaica, and A. monosperma) was found to be about 3.01, 2.5, and 1.9 mg/g DW, respectively. Moreover, the antioxidant activity of the samples was estimated. The obtained results have shown that these species possessed high antioxidant activity, and the scavenging of the DPPH radical and hydrogen peroxide were found to be raised with the increase in the plant extract concentration. This reflects the number of bioactive compounds in these species. The findings of this research support and justify the utilization of Artemisia species in folk medicine in the Middle East.

Comparison of phytochemical properties and expressional profiling of artemisinin synthesis-related genes in various Artemisia species

“…The species A. fragrans revealed the highest amount of artemisinin, followed by A. annua , A. biennis , A. scoparia , and A. absinthium . Similarly, Salehi et al [ 32 ] reported a wide range of variability in artemisinin content across different species of Artemisia . Various environmental and genetic factors affect the amount of artemisinin in Artemisia species [ 20 ].…”

“…Salehi et al [ 22 ] reported that A. deserti had 5.13 mg/g DW artemisinin. Salih et al [ 32 ] showed that the leaf extract of A. sieberi , A. Judaica , and A. monosperma had about 3.01, 2.5, and 1.9 mg/g DW of artemisinin, respectively.…”

Exploring the Antibacterial Potential of Artemisia judaica Compounds Targeting the Hydrolase/Antibiotic Protein in Klebsiella pneumoniae: In Vitro and In Silico Investigations

“…Many bioactive compounds associated with plant secondary metabolites were found in the GC/MS analysis of Artemisia species. Some of these newly found phytochemical components show biological action [ 13 ]. Artemisia species are essential medical plants now attracting significant interest due to their bioactive compounds.…”

“…Artemisia species are essential medical plants now attracting significant interest due to their bioactive compounds. The interest in them is primarily driven by their use in cosmetic products, manufacture of essential oils, chemical diversity, and biological functionality [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ].…”