Phytopharmacological Evaluation of Different Solvent Extract/Fractions From Sphaeranthus indicus L. Flowers: From Traditional Therapies to Bioactive Compounds

Hafiz Ibtesam Ahmad; Muhammad Faisal Nadeem; Haji Muhammad Shoaib Khan; Muhammad Sarfraz; Hammad Saleem; Umair Khurshid; Marcello Locatelli; Muhammad Ashraf; Naveed Akhtar; Syafiq Asnawi Zainal Abidin; Adel Alghamdi

doi:10.3389/fphar.2021.708618

Phytopharmacological Evaluation of Different Solvent Extract/Fractions From Sphaeranthus indicus L. Flowers: From Traditional Therapies to Bioactive Compounds

Front Pharmacol. 2021 Oct 27:12:708618. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2021.708618. eCollection 2021.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmacy, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
² Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (IPS), University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences (UVAS), Lahore, Pakistan.
³ College of Pharmacy, Al Ain University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.
⁴ Bahawalpur College of Pharmacy, Bahawalpur Medical and Dental College, Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
⁵ Department of Pharmacy, University G. d'Annunzio of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy.
⁶ Department of Chemistry, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
⁷ Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LCMS) Platform, Monash University, Bandar Sunway, Malaysia.
⁸ Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Clinical Pharmacy, Albaha University, Albaha, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Sphaeranthus indicus L. is a medicinal herb having widespread traditional uses for treating common ailments. The present research work aims to explore the in-depth phytochemical composition and in vitro reactivity of six different polarity solvents (methanol, n-hexane, benzene, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol) extracts/fractions of S. indicus flowers. The phytochemical composition was accomplished by determining total bioactive contents, HPLC-PDA polyphenolic quantification, and UHPLC-MS secondary metabolomics. The reactivity of the phenolic compounds was tested through the following biochemical assays: antioxidant (DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, CUPRAC, phosphomolybdenum, and metal chelation) and enzyme inhibition (AChE, BChE, α-glucosidase, α-amylase, urease, and tyrosinase) assays were performed. The methanol extract showed the highest values for phenolic (94.07 mg GAE/g extract) and flavonoid (78.7 mg QE/g extract) contents and was also the most active for α-glucosidase inhibition as well as radical scavenging and reducing power potential. HPLC-PDA analysis quantified rutin, naringenin, chlorogenic acid, 3-hydroxybenzoic acid, gallic acid, and epicatechin in a significant amount. UHPLC-MS analysis of methanol and ethyl acetate extracts revealed the presence of well-known phytocompounds; most of these were phenolic, flavonoid, and glycoside derivatives. The ethyl acetate fraction exhibited the highest inhibition against tyrosinase and urease, while the n-hexane fraction was most active for α-amylase. Moreover, principal component analysis highlighted the positive correlation between bioactive compounds and the tested extracts. Overall, S. indicus flower extracts were found to contain important phytochemicals, hence could be further explored to discover novel bioactive compounds that could be a valid starting point for future pharmaceutical and nutraceuticals applications.

Keywords: HPLC-PDA; Sphaeranthus indicus; UHPLC-MS; antioxidant; enzyme inhibition; phytochemicals.