Phytochemical study and antimicrobial activity of Algerian Marrubium vulgare leaf and stem extracts

Marrubium vulgare is used worldwide as a source of food flavor and for medicinal purposes. The aim of this study is to investigate polyphenol and flavonoid contents of M. vulgare extracts and their antimicrobial activities. Extraction was conducted using methanol and hexane. The determination of polyphenol content was realized with folin ciocalteu method and flavonoids using AlCl3. Rouph characterization of these compounds was done with HPLC method. Activity against bacteria and fungi was also studied. Results showed that methanolic extracts of leaves (LME) and stems SME) contain relatively high levels of polyphenols ad flavonoids.  Except for hexane extract, all extracts from leaves and stems possess antibacterial and antifungal effects especially against Staphyloccocus aureus and Candida albicans. This finding suggests that M. vulgare methanolic extracts could serve as a basic material for the preparation of antimicrobial drugs. Keywords: Marrubium vulgare, polyphenols, flavonoids, antibacterial, antifungal activities

Chemical investigation, the antibacterial and antifungal activity of different parts of Capparis spinosa extracts

Capparis spinosa (Capparidacea), is one of the most used medicinal plants worldwide. It is used for the treatment of various diseases because of its biological and pharmacological effect, such as antioxidant, anticancer, antihypertensive, antidiabetic and antibacterial. Phytochemical analysis of the plant showed that it is a rich source of bioactive constituents, including alkaloids, glucosinolates, tocopherols, carotenoids and polyphenols, which have led to C. spinosa being considered as a promising medicinal plant. Our study aims to detail the chemical profiles of the present bioactive responsible for the pharmacological effects of C. spinosa; it also aims to experimentally demonstrate the presence of polyphenols in different parts of the plant as well as their antimicrobial effects. For this, we used methanolic and aqueous extracts of the different parts of the plant picked in Beni Aziz in the Sétif region (North-east of Algeria). The extracts subjected to TLC and HPLC showed that they were rich in flavonoids and phenolic acids. This led to find that rutin was the most dominant compound in most of our extracts. On the other hand, the antimicrobial effect was tested by the disk diffusion method on three bacterial strains: E. coli, P. aeruginosa and S. aureus and two fungi: C. albicans and A. flavus. Candida albicans’s antifungal effect of our extracts was absent. While the same extracts showed a slight inhibitory activity against Aspergillus flavus. As for the antibacterial effect, it exists only for the methanolic extract of the twigs against Staphylococcus aureus. While the other extracts only showed a slight inhibitory activity against the same strain. The other strains of bacteria were resistant to all extracts at any used concentration. Keywords: Capparis spinosa, Pharmacological effect, Chemical investigation, antibacterial activity, phenolic compounds, antifungal activity.                                                                                                                                                                                        &nbsp

Exploring the Therapeutic Potential of <i>Ammodaucus leucotrichus</i> Seed Extracts: A Multi-Faceted Analysis of Phytochemical Composition, Anti-Inflammatory Efficacy, Predictive Anti-Arthritic Properties, and Molecular Docking Insights

Ammodaucus leucotrichus exhibits promising pharmacological activity, hinting at anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic effects. This study investigated seed extracts from Ammodaucus leucotrichus using methanol and n-hexane, focusing on anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic properties. The methanol extract outperformed the n-hexane extract and diclofenac, a reference anti-inflammatory drug, in trypsin inhibition (85% vs. 30% and 64.67% at 125 μg/mL). For trypsin inhibition, the IC50 values were 82.97 μg/mL (methanol), 202.70 μg/mL (n-hexane), and 97.04 μg/mL (diclofenac). Additionally, the n-hexane extract surpassed the methanol extract and diclofenac in BSA (bovine serum albumin) denaturation inhibition (90.4% vs. 22.0% and 51.4% at 62.5 μg/mL). The BSA denaturation IC50 values were 14.30 μg/mL (n-hexane), 5408 μg/mL (methanol), and 42.30 μg/mL (diclofenac). Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) revealed 59 and 58 secondary metabolites in the methanol and n-hexane extracts, respectively. The higher therapeutic activity of the methanol extract was attributed to hydroxyacetic acid hydrazide, absent in the n-hexane extract. In silico docking studies identified 28 compounds with negative binding energies, indicating potential trypsin inhibition. The 2-hydroxyacetohydrazide displayed superior inhibitory effects compared to diclofenac. Further mechanistic studies are crucial to validate 2-hydroxyacetohydrazide as a potential drug candidate for rheumatoid arthritis treatment