Anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antioxidant activities of the medicinal species <em>Atractylis cancellata</em>

This research is focused on the estimation of total bioactive contents and the evaluation of in vitro pharmacological activities of crude extracts (petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and n-butanol) obtained from the species Atractylis cancellata. The antioxidant activity was assessed by three different techniques. The antibacterial activity was determined using the agar disk diffusion assay against five bacterial strains. Furthermore, the anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated by the ovalbumin method. According to the results, A. cancellata extracts are rich in several classes of secondary metabolites, especially steroids, triterpenoids, flavonoids, and alkaloids. In addition, the tested extracts showed very interesting antioxidant activities in DPPH and FRAP assays and important correlation coefficients between the results of antioxidant activities and total phenolic and flavonoid contents were found. Moreover, all the tested extracts displayed an antibacterial effect at least against three bacterial strains. The petroleum ether extract inhibited the growth of all the tested bacteria in a dose-dependent manner except Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and it revealed a strong anti-inflammatory activity (81.77±0.05%). We conclude that A. cancellata could be an important source of natural pharmacological candidates against oxidative stress, inflammatory and microbial diseases

Assessment of in vitro anti-inflammatory, hemostatic, antimicrobial, photoprotective and antioxidant activities of the Algerian species Suaeda monodiana

425-433The efficient cutaneous wound healing process constitutes a critical challenge for clinical and fundamental research. Indeed, agents that prevent bacterial infections, the excessive production of free radicals, and inflammation may enhance wound healing. In this context, the biological activities of the methanolic extract prepared from the species Suaeda monodiana Maire were assessed. The antioxidant activity was tested by five different methods, and the sun protection factor was measured. The hemostatic activity was evaluated by determining plasma re-calcification time, and the anti-inflammatory effect was carried out by heat-inducing hemolysis and albumin denaturation tests. The antimicrobial activity was evaluated by the agar disk diffusion assay against seven strains. As a result, the tested extract has a rich chemical composition and possesses interesting photoprotective (SPF at 46.49±0.05) and antioxidant activities. This extract showed the ability to inhibit protein denaturation (IC50 at 1.22±0.8 mg/mL) and to protect the erythrocytes membrane (IC50 at 2.39±0.3 mg/mL). Moreover, the Methanol extract significantly shortens the clotting time and inhibits the growth of all the tested strains with minimum inhibitory concentrations ranging between 31.25 to 250 μg/mL. Furthermore, due to its pharmacological properties, S. monodiana species could be used in pharmaceutical formulations for the treatment of skin diseases

Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of Astragalus monspessulanus L. growing in semiarid areas of Algeria

This paper reports a phytochemical study of the aerial parts of Astragalus monspessulanus L. growing in Algeria. It deals with the isolation and structure elucidation of 13 known compounds. From the n-butanol extract, seven flavonoids 1–7, two saponins and one lignan were isolated. In addition, two phytosterols and one triterpenoid were isolated from the ethyl acetate extract. The structures of all the isolated products were determined by using 1D and 2D-NMR techniques, measurement of optical rotation, mass spectrometry ESI-MS and by comparison with literature data. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity of the n-butanol extract of the aerial parts of Astragalus monspessulanus L. was investigated using the DPPH radical scavenging and ferrous ion chelating assays. The n-butanol extract showed low (EC50 = 2.09±0.434 mg mL-1) to moderate (IC50 = 63.60±0.01 μg mL-1) antioxidant activities depending on the test method