Antioxidant, Antimicrobial and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Edible Rhus Tripartita (Ucria) Hydromethanolic Extracts

Background: Rhus tripartita (Anacardiacae) is a plant which is traditionally used for the treatment of ulcer and diarrhea in Tunisia. The core aim of this study is to evaluate the antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities of Rhus tripartita (leaf (RLE), stem (RSE) and root (RRE)) extracts. Results: RLE extract exhibited high total phenolic, flavonoids and condensed tannins. The in vitro antioxidant activity of the tested extracts (RLE, RSE and RRE) showed significant potent total antioxidant capacity (TAC), DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity, ferrous ions chelating and ferric reducing ions activities, H2O2 and OH scavenging capacities. The extracts showed great antimicrobial effects with an important inhibition zones (IZs). The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the lowest minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were recorded. The RRE showed the most significant protective anti-inflammatory effects compared to Indomethacin in carrageenan inflammation paw edema test. Conclusion: This work highlights the importance of Rhus tripartita as dietary source of natural antioxidants and might be appropriate for the development of reliable biotechnologic methods to identify and extract the antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory biomolecules.