Antioxidant Activity and Determination of Gallic Acid and Quercetin in Osyris alba L. Root Extract. The Root Oil Contains Essential Fatty Acids

Osyris alba L. (Santalaceae) is a shrub that grows wildly in southern Europe, North Africa and South-west Asia. In Algeria, the decoction of the root bark of this plant has been used since ancient times in folk medicine by the local population in the region of the mountains of Béni- Snousse (South west of Tlemcen), as a fortifying, antianaemic and as an anti-inflammatory agent. The aim of this work was to evaluate the antioxidant activity of the phenolic compounds of the root by using DPPH, FRAP, TAC methods. Determination of the phenolic profile of the root extract was assessed using HPLC-DAD technique (High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Diode Array Detection). While the determination of total fatty acid composition of the root oil was performed using Gas Chromatography (GC-FID). From the results, the total poly-phenol extract of the root bark has shown the highest antioxidant power which exceeds the standard, namely, ascorbic acid and Trolox. The chromatographic analysis of the total poly-phenol extract has found that the Gallic acid and Quercetin are the major compounds. These results demonstrate that the phenolic compounds of Osyris alba root bark have a great potential as sources for natural health products. Gaseous Chromatography Assay of the oil has revealed the presence of two groups of fatty acids: arachidic acid (C20:0) and linoleic acid (C18: 9.12) known for its pro-inflammatory effect against oleic acid C18:1, linolénic acid C18: 9.12.15, and eicosatrienoic acid (ETA) C20:3 which are known for their pro-anti-inflammatory effect. For this reason, we need to test the effect of this oil on inflammatory models.