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

Antifungal Potential of Phytochemicals against Mauginiella scaettae, the Plant Pathogen Causing Inflorescence Rot of Date Palm

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) inflorescence rot caused by Mauginiella scaettae poses a serious threat to date palm in Morocco. The present study aims to determine the antifungal activity of five plant extracts against M. scaettae, including Acacia cyanophylla, Cupressus atlantica, Eucalyptus torquata, Nerium oleander, and Schinus molle and link this effect to their content in phenolics and flavonoids, as well as their antioxidant properties. Plant extracts exhibited significant discrepancies regarding their antifungal activity (p<0.05). The extracts of E. torquata and C. atlantica had the strongest and dose-dependent manner inhibitory effect against mycelial growth and spore germination. E. torquata and S. molle caused the greatest sporulation reductions of about 88.05% and 36.11%, respectively. In addition, there were significant differences among the examined plant extracts with respect to their total polyphenols (14.52–76.68 mg GAE/g DW), flavonoids (8.75–57.78 g RE/100 g DW), and antioxidant properties as measured by TEAC (74.77–391.23 mmol TE/g DW) and FRAP assays (87.18–474.04 mmol TE/g DW). Strong correlations were found between phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity suggesting that polyphenols play a key role in the observed antioxidant and antifungal activities

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

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

Phytochemical compositions and antioxidant capacity of three date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) seeds varieties grown in the South East Morocco

Three Moroccan date seeds (Phoenix dactylifera L.) varieties (Majhoul, Boufgous and Bousthammi) were evaluated for their proximate, phytochemical and nutrient compositions. The crude fiber ranges between 15.84–19.9 g/100 g DW, moisture (4.554–8.259%), protein (4.309–6.144% of DW), ash (1.097–1.3% DW) and fat (5.662–6.972% DW). The most abundant fatty acids of date seed oils as revealed gas chromatography were oleic, lauric, myristic, palmitic and linoleic acids. The physicochemical analysis of date seeds oil shows an acid value between 1.083–1.813 mg KOH/g, saponification value (202.33–222.74 mg KOH/g), peroxide value (1.243–1.01 meq O2/kg) and iodine value (45.40 and 58.02 g Iodine/100 g). The unsaponifiable matter of date seed oils was found between 0.62% and 1.103%. Among the eight studied minerals potassium, magnesium and calcium were the predominant of macroelement and iron was the predominance of microelement. The antioxidant of date seeds assessed using three assays varied between 10.966–22.86 mmol Trolox equivalent/100 g DW, 4.807–8.021 mmol Trolox equivalent/100 g DW and 0.166–0.112 g/l for FRAP, ABTS and IC50 of DPPH respectively. The phenolic and the flavonoid content of date seeds found changed between 2697–5342 mg Gallic acid equivalent/100 g DW and 1224–1844 mg Rutin equivalent/100 g DW respectively. Results showed that date seeds could be used as ingredients to enhance the nutritional value of some functional foods for human consumption as well as using additives in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries

Démarche de certification biologique au niveau des Oasis Cas : Oasis De Gheris

Le présent travail a pour objectif de valoriser les produits agricoles, par le biais de la certification, qui est l’un des leviers les plus importants pour le développement de l'écosystème oasien. Elle peut contribuer à l’amélioration des revenus, à lutter contre l’exode rural, à la protection de l'environnement, à la promotion de la femme et à la résorption du chômage. Ceci à travers l’analyse des pratiques agricoles menées par les agriculteurs et proposer par la suite une démarche pour favoriser la certification bio dans les oasis.Dans ce travail, des enquêtes ont été menées auprès des agriculteurs du territoire de Goulmima. Le questionnaire utilisé a porté sur les pratiques agricoles des producteurs oasiens, l’analyse de ces dernières a permis d’identifier les bonnes pratiques afin de les adapter au cahier de charge de la certification biologique et par la suite proposer une démarche de conversion des producteurs oasiens à l’agriculture biologique.Les principaux résultats de notre travail montrent que les bonnes pratiques agricoles oasiennes peuvent faciliter la conversion au bio. Le vrai défi est celui du contrôle des flux de matière et d'énergie qui existe entre les palmeraies. Un modèle de contrôle est en cours d'élaboration pour répondre à ce besoin. L'objectif est de rendre les conditions du système de production proche au système de l’agriculture biologique selon les critères internationaux

Functional composition and antioxidant activities of eight Moroccan date frui

The aim of this study was to determine the functional composition and antioxidant activities of eight major date fruit varieties grown in Morocco. The analysis shows that date fruit contains a high amount of sugar (66.03–83.05% DW) but a low content of fat (0.218–0.363% DW) and protein (2.2–3.45% DW). Among the eight studied minerals potassium, calcium and magnesium were the predominant. Moreover, the niacin is the major B vitamin of all analyzed varieties. The total phenolic content was found between 331.86 and 537.07 mg GAE/100 g DW, the flavonoid between 68.88 and 208.53 mg of RE/100 g DW and condensed tannins between 57.56 and 92.141 mg CE/100 g DW, the antioxidant activity ranged between 383.90 and 846.94 μmol TE/100 g DW for ABTS, 6.255 and 2.046 g of date/l for DPPHIC50 and 406.614 and 860.89 μmol TE/100 g DW for FRAP assays. The results suggest that date fruit, which is good source of vital nutrients and antioxidant, is an extensive and varied field

Anti-inflammatory properties and phenolic profile of six Moroccan date fruit (Phoenix dactylifera L.) varieties

Date fruit (Phoenix dactylifera) is widely used in Moroccan pharmacopoeia to treat inflammation and other diseases. For this purpose, six date fruit varieties (Boufgous, Bouskri, Bousrdon, Bousthammi, Jihl, and Majhoul) were assessed for their phenolics profile and anti-inflammatory activity. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents of these extracts were measured by the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Protein denaturation was assessed employing bovine serum albumin. Edema formation was induced in rat’s right hind paw and mice’s right ear using carrageenan and croton oil, respectively. Membrane stabilizing activity was estimated by the prevention of hypotonicity induced-erythrocyte membrane damage. The results showed that Gallic, Ferulic and Caffeic acids and Rutin were the most dominant among the analyzed polyphenolic compounds. With regard to anti-inflammatory activity, Bousrdoun showed highest NO scavenging ability (IC50 = 531.34 µg/mL), highest protein denaturation inhibition (IC50 = 408.64 µg/mL) as well as highest membrane stabilizing effect (IC50 = 483.61 µg/mL). However, Jihl exhibited highest reduction of ear edema (74%), while both Jihl and Bousrdoun exhibited similar and highest paw oedema (40.35%). Our findings indicate that among the investigated date varieties, Jihl and Bousrdoun are found to be the most active anti-inflammatory compounds. The difference in activities seems to be related to the variations in the phenolic and flavonoids content between date varieties. Keywords: Phoenix dactylifera, Polyphenolic compounds, Anti-inflammatory activity, Dates frui