Phytochemical profiling of Salsola tetragona Delile by LC-HR/MS and investigation of the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, cytotoxic, antibacterial and anti-SARS-CoV-2 activities

Nezar Cherrada; Ahmed Elkhalifa Chemsa; Ebru Erol; Aysenur Günaydın Akyildiz; Harika Oyku Dinc; Noura Gheraissa; Djilani Ghemam Amara; Abdelkrim Rebiai; Maged S Abdel-Kader; Mohammed Messaoudi

doi:10.1016/j.jsps.2023.101731

Phytochemical profiling of Salsola tetragona Delile by LC-HR/MS and investigation of the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, cytotoxic, antibacterial and anti-SARS-CoV-2 activities

Saudi Pharm J. 2023 Sep;31(9):101731. doi: 10.1016/j.jsps.2023.101731. Epub 2023 Aug 5.

Authors

Nezar Cherrada^{1

2}, Ahmed Elkhalifa Chemsa^{2

3}, Ebru Erol⁴, Aysenur Günaydın Akyildiz⁵, Harika Oyku Dinc⁶, Noura Gheraissa^{1

2}, Djilani Ghemam Amara^{1

7}, Abdelkrim Rebiai^{8

9}, Maged S Abdel-Kader¹⁰, Mohammed Messaoudi¹¹

Affiliations

¹ El Oued University, Faculty of Life and Natural Sciences, Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Algeria.
² El Oued University, Laboratory of Biodiversity and Application of Biotechnology in Agriculture, Algeria.
³ El Oued University, Faculty of Life and Natural Sciences, Department of Biology, Algeria.
⁴ Department Of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bezmialem Vakif University, Istanbul, Turkey.
⁵ Department Of Pharmaceutical Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bezmialem Vakif University, Istanbul 34093, Turkey.
⁶ Department Of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bezmialem Vakif University, Istanbul, Turkey.
⁷ El Oued University, Laboratory Biology, Environment And Health, Algeria.
⁸ Chemistry Department, Faculty of Exact Sciences, University of El Oued, P.O. Box 789, El Oued 39000, Algeria.
⁹ Renewable Energy Development unit in Arid Zones (UDERZA), University of El Oued, El Oued 39000, Algeria.
¹⁰ Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia.
¹¹ Nuclear Research Centre of Birine, Ain Oussera, Djelfa 17200, Algeria.

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the phytochemical composition and biological activity of Salsola tetragona Delile. (Amaranthaceae), a medicinal plant. The study evaluated the antioxidant potential of the crude extract and five fractions of S. tetragona using DPPH^•, ABTS^•+, CUPRAC, and metal chelating assays. The anti-inflammatory activity was determined using a protein denaturation assay, and the antibacterial activity was determined by the Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for the growth of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus strains. The MTT test and an in vitro scratch assay evaluated the effects on cell viability and cell migration. The potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity was assessed by analyzing the effects on the interaction between ACE2 and Spike protein. The bioactive compounds present in the plant were identified using LC-HR/MS analysis. The crude hydromethanolic extract (STM) and five fractions of S. tetragona, n-hexane (STH), dichloromethane (STD), ethyl acetate (STE), n-butanol (STB), and aqueous (STW) showed significant antioxidant activity in four different tests. In the anti-inflammatory assay, the ethyl acetate fraction exhibited significantly higher activity than Aspirin® (IC₅₀ = 13 ± 5 µg/mL). The crude extract and its fractions showed positive antibacterial activity with similar MICs. In the cytotoxicity assay against the breast cancer cell line MCF7, the dichloromethane fractions (STD) were very effective and demonstrated superiority over the other fractions (IC₅₀ = 98 µg/mL). Moreover, the potential of the extract and fractions as anti-SARS-CoV-2, the ethyl acetate, and dichloromethane fractions demonstrated important activity in this test. LC-HR/MS analysis identified 16 different phenolic compounds, Eleven of which had not been previously reported in the genus Salsola. The results suggest that the extracts of S. tetragona have the potential to become new sources for developing plant-based therapies for managing a range of diseases.

Keywords: Anti-SARS-CoV-2; Antibacterial; Antioxidant; LC-HR/MS; MCF7 cell line; Salsola tetragona.