{"title":"Phytochemical composition and anti-oxidant, anti-Alzheimer and anti-inflammatory activities of pomegranate fruit as function of variety and ripening","authors":"Jalila Bekir, Mohamed Mars","doi":"10.1016/j.hermed.2024.100960","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>Medicinal plants are considered as rich resources of secondary metabolites and have been used for treating diseases. Pomegranate (<em>Punica granatum</em>) is considered ‘a pharmacy unto itself’. The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of ripening and variety factors on the antioxidant activity of pomegranate fruits and their capacity to inhibit three enzymes involved in degenerative diseases.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>The fruits were collected from four Tunisian pomegranate varieties (Espagnoule, Rafrafi, Zaghwani and Zehri) during three maturity stages. Phytochemical content, the antioxidant activity by DPPH and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) assays and acetylcholinesterase, butyrylcholinesterase and 15-lipoxygenase inhibition activities were carried out.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The unripe fruits were found to be the richest in terms of total phenolic content. Total flavonoids, tannins, anthocyanins and acetylcholinesterase, butyrylcholinesterase and 15-lipoxygenase inhibition activities varied greatly during ripening process and within varieties. It was found that unripe fruits of Zehri (IC<sub>50</sub> = 2.2 µg/ml by 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) assay) and Rafrafi (IC<sub>50</sub> = 73.4 µg/ml by 2, 2-diphenyl-l-picrylhydrazyl assay) varieties exhibited the highest antioxidant capacities. The strongest extract against acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase was found to be the unripe fruit extract of Espagnoule variety with IC<sub>50</sub> values of 86.7 and 58.0 µg/ml, respectively. The ethanolic extract from the unripe fruit of Zehri pomegranate variety inhibited moderately 15-lipoxygenase activity with an IC<sub>50</sub> value of 63.0 µg/ml.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>The current study supported the popular use of pomegranate fruits, and highlighted also the potential effect of variety and ripening factors on their chemical composition and <em>in vitro</em> biological activities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56077,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Herbal Medicine","volume":"48 ","pages":"Article 100960"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Herbal Medicine","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2210803324001179","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"INTEGRATIVE & COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Introduction
Medicinal plants are considered as rich resources of secondary metabolites and have been used for treating diseases. Pomegranate (Punica granatum) is considered ‘a pharmacy unto itself’. The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of ripening and variety factors on the antioxidant activity of pomegranate fruits and their capacity to inhibit three enzymes involved in degenerative diseases.
Methods
The fruits were collected from four Tunisian pomegranate varieties (Espagnoule, Rafrafi, Zaghwani and Zehri) during three maturity stages. Phytochemical content, the antioxidant activity by DPPH and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) assays and acetylcholinesterase, butyrylcholinesterase and 15-lipoxygenase inhibition activities were carried out.
Results
The unripe fruits were found to be the richest in terms of total phenolic content. Total flavonoids, tannins, anthocyanins and acetylcholinesterase, butyrylcholinesterase and 15-lipoxygenase inhibition activities varied greatly during ripening process and within varieties. It was found that unripe fruits of Zehri (IC50 = 2.2 µg/ml by 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) assay) and Rafrafi (IC50 = 73.4 µg/ml by 2, 2-diphenyl-l-picrylhydrazyl assay) varieties exhibited the highest antioxidant capacities. The strongest extract against acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase was found to be the unripe fruit extract of Espagnoule variety with IC50 values of 86.7 and 58.0 µg/ml, respectively. The ethanolic extract from the unripe fruit of Zehri pomegranate variety inhibited moderately 15-lipoxygenase activity with an IC50 value of 63.0 µg/ml.
Conclusion
The current study supported the popular use of pomegranate fruits, and highlighted also the potential effect of variety and ripening factors on their chemical composition and in vitro biological activities.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Herbal Medicine, the official journal of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists, is a peer reviewed journal which aims to serve its readers as an authoritative resource on the profession and practice of herbal medicine. The content areas of the journal reflect the interests of Medical Herbalists and other health professionals interested in the clinical and professional application of botanical medicines. The objective is to strengthen the research and educational base of herbal medicine with research papers in the form of case studies, original research articles and reviews, monographs, clinical trials and relevant in vitro studies. It also publishes policy statements, opinion pieces, book reviews, conference proceedings and profession related information such as pharmacovigilance reports providing an information source for not only the Herbal Practitioner but any Health professional with an interest in phytotherapy.