Influences of environmental factors on the active metabolites and certain bioactivities of Desert Date leaf and fruit (Balanites aegyptiaca L. Delile) grown in Egypt

Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Delile is a medicinal wild tree, naturally distributed in wide regions of Africa and South Asia. The fruits are commercially available in Egypt as antidiabetic natural products. The current study aimed to determine the effects of environmental factors on the metabolites and the bioactivities of fruit and leaf extracts. The main ecological differences between the sites of collection, Wadi El−Gemal and Baris Oasis, are temperature, aridity, humidity, and location. The fruit extract of Baris Oasis showed higher saponin content and saponin metabolites (LC−MS analysis) than the fruit extract of Wadi El−Gemal. Baris Oasis fruit extract showed twice the inhibition of α−Glucosidase than Wadi El−Gemal fruit extract. Twelve phenolics and flavonoids were detected in Baris Oasis leaf extract, while ten compounds were detected in Wadi El−Gemal leaf extract using HPLC. The higher quality and quantity of flavonoids and phenolics of Baris Oasis leaf extract than Wadi El−Gemal leaf extract, have significant effects on the antioxidant and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activities. In conclusion, elevation of temperature and aridity have significant positive effects on the synthesis and accumulation of B. aegyptiaca saponins, phenolics and flavonoids. The bioactivities of the fruit and leaf extracts are directly proportional to the variation in metabolites due to abiotic stresses.