Chemical Composition and Bioactivity of Essential Oils of Seed and Leaf from Foeniculum vulgare Mill cultivated in Southeast of Morocco

Analysis of essential oils obtained from the seeds and leaves of Foeniculum vulgare Mill. cultivated in southeast of Morocco revealed that trans-anethole was the major constituent (54.67% in seed oil and 50.60% in leaf oil), followed by estragol (35.33% in seed oil and 30.15% in leaf oil). Other components present in leaf oil included fenchone, linalool and ?-pinene, while seed oil contained fenchone, limonene and ?-terpinen. Besides, minor constituents like camphene, camphor, myrcene, pahllandrene, fenchyl acetate and ?-bisabolene were obtained from seeds and leaves. The essential oils of the seeds and leaves of Foeniculum vulgare were assayed for their antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. The seed oil show remarkable antioxidant effect, while the leaf oil exhibits a strong broad spectrum antibacterial activity against all test organisms. Keywords: F. vulgare, essential oil, antibacterial, antioxidant, chemical composition

Pharmacological, biological and phytochemical aspects of Thymus munbyanus Boiss. & Reut.: A review

Thymus munbyanus Boiss. & Reut., is a small shrub endemic to Morocco and Algeria, and it is commonly used to treat several diseases, including digestive, circulatory, genital, skin, urinary, nervous and respiratory diseases. The extracts of this thyme are rich in a wide variety of phenolic compounds such as polyphenols and volatile phenols and exhibit numerous biological activities. The present review summarizes the literature investigations reported on Thymus munbyanus concerning various pharmacological and biological properties as well as phytochemical aspects. This species revealed a richness in phenolic compounds in its volatile oils, including thymol and carvacrol, as well as in its non-volatile extracts including phenolic acids phenolic acids (rosmarinic acid, caffeic acid, salvianolic acid, ferulic acid, etc.), flavonoids (luteolin, gallocatechin, quercetin, isorhamnetin, etc.). Moreover, powerful antioxidant and antimicrobial properties were reported for this Thymus species, which are attributed to its richness in bioactive antioxidants. Furthermore, this thyme was found to possess important nephroprotective, hepatoprotective, and tumor cytotoxic properties. In conclusion, Thymus munbyanus is an important natural source of bioactive phenolic compounds that can be used for developing alternative natural drugs for the treatment and prevention of several pathologies

BIOACTIVITY OF Anvillea radiata COSS & DUR. COLLECTED FROM THE SOUTHEAST OF MOROCCO

The in vitro antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of aqueous, methanolic and ethyl acetate extracts of Anvillea radiata (Asteraceae) were investigated. Antibacterial activity was tested against six pathogenic strains viz. Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 29213), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538), Bacillus subtilis (ATCC 6633), Salmonella abony (NCTC 6017), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Escherichia coli (ATCC 8739) and by using Disc diffusion method and Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MIC). Total antioxidant capacities were assessed by DPPH (1.1 diphenyl-2- picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging activity, ferric reducing power (FRAP) and ABTS (2.2’-Azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)) radical cation scavenging activity. Total phenolic contents were measured by Folin- Ciocalteu assay. Among the extracts tested, methanolic extract showed promising antibacterial activity against bacteria and reasonable antioxidant properties, and they can therefore be potentially used as a natural additive in food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries

Influence des températures alternées et la durée de stockage sur la germination des semences de Thymus satureioides

Thymus satureioides Cosson is an endemic chamaephyte to Morocco and Algeria. It belongs to the Lamiaceae family and commonly used in traditional medicine. Its over-exploitation threatens its sustainability in many ecosystems in Morocco. This study aims to explore the effect of environmental factors (temperature and storage) on the germination capacity of the seeds of this species in order to contribute to contribute to the rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems of T. satureioides. Accordingly, seeds collected from natural plant populations were subjected to six alternating temperatures (40/25, 35/20, 30/15, 20/10, 15/5 and 10/0 °C with a 14/10 hr. thermoperiod) and three storage duration (3 years, 5 years and 8 years) under ambient laboratory conditions. The results indicate that the alternating temperature and the seed storage duration have a significant effect on the germination parameters according to the test of Student Newman and Keuls (SNK). The highest germination percentage 93% was recorded for the alternating temperature of 15/05 °C, while high alternating temperature 40/25 °C strongly inhibited the seed germination. The 20/10 °C temperature regime was the best in terms of higher capacity and speed germination as indicated by the germination index (7.7 %/day for 20/10 °C versus 0.5 %/day for 10/0 °C). Furthermore, these results show that seed stored for longer duration delayed germination and decreased the germination capacity and rate. Seeds stored at room condition retain seeds viability up to 3 years. However, after 5 and 8 years of storing, the germination percentage was significantly reduced (75.0 and 64.5% respectively), which also suggests a reduction of seed viability.Thymus satureioides Cosson est une chaméphyte endémique du Maroc et de l'Algérie. Elle appartient à la famille des Lamiacées et couramment utilisée en médecine traditionnelle. Sa surexploitation menace sa durabilité dans de nombreux écosystèmes au Maroc. Cette étude vise à tester l'effet des facteurs environnementaux (température et stockage) sur la capacité de germination des graines de cette espèce en vue de contribuer à la réhabilitation des écosystèmes dégradés de T. satureioides. Ainsi, les semences récoltées à partir de populations naturelles ont été soumises à six températures alternées (40/25, 35/20, 30/15, 20/10, 15/5 et 10/0 °C avec une thermopériode de 14/10 h) et trois durées de stockage (3, 5 et 8 ans) dans les conditions du laboratoire. Les résultats montrent que la température alternée et la durée de stockage des graines ont un effet significatif sur la germination (Student Newman et Keuls). Le taux de germination le plus élevé (93 %) est enregistré pour la température alternée de 15/5 °C. Alors qu'aucune germination n'est observée pour la température alternée de 40/25°C. Le régime de température 20/10 °C reste le meilleur en termes de capacité et de vitesse de germination comme indiqué par l'indice de germination (7,7 %/jour pour 20/10 °C contre 0,5 %/jour pour 10/0 °C). Ces résultats montrent également qu'une durée de conservation plus longue des graines, entraîne un retard de germination et diminue la capacité et la vitesse de cette dernière. Les graines stockées dans des conditions ambiantes conservent leur viabilité jusqu'au-delà de 3 ans. Cependant, après 5 et 8 ans de stockage, le taux de germination baisse significativement (75,0 et 64,5% respectivement) suggérant également une réduction de la longévité des semences

Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant, Antiperoxidative, and Antihemolytic Properties Investigation of Three Apiaceae Species Grown in the Southeast of Morocco

For a long time, Apiaceae species have been widely employed in the southeast of Morocco for culinary and folk healing purposes. In the current study, we investigated three Apiaceae herbs known as coriander (Coriandrum sativum), celery (Apium graveolens), and parsley (Petroselinum crispum) for their antioxidant, antiperoxidative, and antihemolytic properties. The HPLC-DAD has been used to classify and measure phenolic compounds. The major phenolic compounds studied were p-coumaric, chlorogenic, caffeic acids, luteolin, and quercetin. The polyphenol level was also estimated via Folin–Ciocalteu’s method, aluminium chloride, and acidified vanillin. Parsley showed the highest polyphenol level and, thus, showed potential antioxidant activities demonstrated by DPPH, ABTS scavenging tests, and reducing power (FRAP), as well as TBARS assays. Very strong correlations were depicted among phenol levels and antioxidant assays (R2 ≥ 0.910) and among antihemolytic activity and flavonoids (R2 ≥ 0.927), indicating the implication of phenolic compounds, mainly flavonoids, in the antiradical properties. These finding may prove the traditional use of these Apiaceae species in the management of numerous disorders cited within the Moroccan pharmacopoeia

Investigation of antioxidant and antihemolytic properties of Thymus satureioides collected from Tafilalet Region, south-east of Morocco

Objective:: To examine the antioxidant and antihemolytic activities of the aqueous extract, total polyphenols and total flavonoids of Thymus satureioides (T. satureioides). Methods:: This plant was collected from Tafilalet Region of Morocco. The aqueous extract was obtained by cold maceration, and the components were obtained by Soxhlet extraction using solvents of varying polarity. The identification and quantification of phenol (caffeic and rosmarinic acids) and flavones (luteolin 7-glycoside and hesperetin) were carried out by high performance liquid chromatography analysis. Results:: Total polyphenol and flavonoids contents in the aqueous extract of T. satureioides were (456.73±6.94) mg caffeic acid equivalent/g of dry plant and (172.79±2.12) mg rutin equivalent/g of dry plant, respectively. Different extracts showed good antioxidant activity. IC50 for 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazil radical scavenging activity was (0.480±0.010), (0.418±0.005), (43.891±2.467) and (0.510±0.010) mg/mL for the aqueous extract, total polyphenol, flavonoids and trolox, respectively. Also, the extracts showed ferric reducing antioxidant power and the values were (50.79±2.02), (117.51±6.46), (7.03±0.29) and (44.33±7.55) mmol trolox/g for the aqueous extract, total polyphenol, flavonoids and trolox, respectively. Serum levels of malondialdehyde was significantly decreased in comparison with the oxidized control (P<0.001). They showed good activity against 2,2,-azobis 2-amidinopropane dihydrochloride induced hemolysis in erythrocytes of rabbit blood. In addition, they ameliorate the half time of hemolysis. Conclusions:: Our results provide evidence that aqueous extract, total polyphenols and total flavonoids of T. satureioides exhibit marked antioxidant and antihemolytic activities, thus confirming and justifying the popular uses of this plant to relieve some pains

Evaluation of antioxidant, antihemolytic and antibacterial potential of six

The research aimed to examine the antioxidant, anti-hemolytic and antimicrobial activities of six Moroccan date fruit varieties. Estimation of total phenolic and flavonoid contents revealed that, Bousrdoun (537.07 mg GAE/100 g DW) and Jihl (208.53 mg RE/100 g) had the highest phenolic and flavonoid contents, respectively. Among the date fruit varieties tested for antioxidant activities, Jihl had the highest activity compared to other varieties. It had an inhibitory concentration (IC50) value of 2.05 g/L for DPPH scavenging activity and a ferric reducing power of (860.89 μmol TE/100 g DW). As well as a high protective effect against AAPH-induced erythrocyte hemolysis with a hemolysis half-time of 210.99 min. The antibacterial capacity of various extracts was investigated against Gram positive (Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633, Bacillus cereus ATCC 29213, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923) and Gram negative bacteria (Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Salmonella abony NCTC 6017). The Bousrdon and Jihl extracts were found to be more potent inhibitory activities with MIC values ranging between 2.5 mg mL−1 and 10 mg mL−1 for all bacterial strains tested. These results suggested that date fruit extract, especially Jihl and Bousrdon extract, is not only an important source of antioxidants, which possess a high protective effect of membrane against free radical, but also a potential source of antibacterial components