Characterization of Bioactive Compounds in Tunisian Bitter Orange (Citrus aurantium L.) Peel and Juice and Determination of Their Antioxidant Activities

Citrus aurantium peel and juice aroma compounds were investigated by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), whereas phenolic compounds analysis was performed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). Limonene was the major volatile compound of bitter orange peel (90.25%) and juice (91.61%). HPLC analysis of bitter orange peel and juice methanolic extracts indicated that phenolic acids constitute their main phenolic class representing 73.80% and 71.25%, respectively, followed by flavonoids (23.02% and 23.13%, resp.). p-Coumaric and ferulic acids were the most abundant phenolic compounds representing 24.68% and 23.79%, respectively, in the peel, while the juice contained 18.02% and 19.04%, respectively. The antioxidant activities of bitter orange peel and juice methanolic extracts have been evaluated using four in vitro assays, and the results were compared with the standard antioxidants (BHT, BHA, and ascorbic acid). Our findings demonstrated that Citrus aurantium peel and juice possess antioxidant activities which were less effective than those of antioxidant standards. Both extracts may be suggested as a new potential source of natural antioxidant

Comparative chemical composition and antioxidant activity of olive leaves Olea europaea L. of Tunisian and Algerian varieties

The main objective of this research was to understand the effect of different solvents (ethanol, ethyl acetate, and hexane) on the extraction of bioactive compounds in addition to the antioxidant activity of eight Tunisian and Algerian olive leaf (Olea europaea L) cultivars. The different extracts were evaluated for their content of total phenols, flavonoids, and condensed tannins. The antioxidant capacity was determined by ABTS (2,2-azinobis (3 ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) and DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1 picrylhydrazyl) methods. In addition, qualitative and quantitative analyses of phenolic compounds by HPLC were performed. In terms of phenolic content, ethanol was found to be the best solvent to extract phenolic compounds with antioxidant capacity. The ethanolic extract of Sigoise and Rougette varieties were the richest in total phenols 161.54 ± 0.99, and 160.53 ± 1.17 mg GAE/g DE respectively. The highest levels of flavonoids were detected in ethyl acetate extracts of Rougette (87.58 ± 6.99 mg QE/g DE) and Verdal varieties (86.77 ± 1.75 mg QE/g DE), whereas the hexanolic extracts of Gerboui, Sofiana, and Chemlali exhibited the higher amount of tannins (67.99 ± 5.41, 65.52 ± 1.94, 64.64 ± 1.51 mg CE/g DE, respectively). Furthermore, in the DPPH radical scavenging activity assay, the Sofiana extract exhibited the highest antioxidant activity (23.85 ± 0.58 mg/L). In another case, for the ABTS radical scavenging assay, the Verdal extract showed high antioxidant potential (30.22 ± 1.35 mg/L). HPLC analysis of ethanolic extracts of the different varieties allowed the identification of 19 organic compounds, with oleuropein (2604.01–7991.14 mg/100g DM) being the most abundant, followed by hydroxytyrosol (250.74–687.54 mg/100g DM) and verbascoside (216.12–672.64 mg/100g DM) being the major compounds in the olive leaves in all studied ethanolic extracts, with concentrations varying significantly according to the cultivars and geographical origin. Principal component analysis (PCA) performed on phenolic profiles and antioxidant activities revealed the influence of bioactive compounds on antioxidant activity, with high concentrations of phenols and flavonoids in olive leaf extracts having a strong antioxidant activity