Phytochemical composition and antioxidant activity of medicinal plants collected from the Tunisian flora

Abstract

<p>Polyphenols, flavonoids and condensed tannins contents, as well as the antioxidant activity of the ethanolic and aqueous extracts obtained from aerial parts of 10 wild Tunisian plants, have been determined. Extracts showed appreciable levels of polyphenols and flavonoids, which reached 215.16 mg GAE g⁻¹ DW in <i>Lavandula stoechas</i> ethanolic extract, and 49.12 mg RE g⁻¹ DW in <i>Thapsia garganica</i> aqueous extract. The majority of tested extracts exhibited low total condensed tannins content, except for <i>Rhus tripartitum</i> and <i>Periploca laevigata.</i> The antioxidant activity tests showed great activity, especially for <i>R. tripartitum</i> and <i>Lavandula multifida</i> (IC₅₀ = 5.16 and 5.1 μg mL⁻¹, respectively). Canonical Correspondence Analysis revealed clear groupings of species according to the solvent used.</p