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Phenolic Composition and Anti-tyrosinase Activities of Extracts from Tunisian Opuntia ficus-indica Flowers Obtained by Different Extraction Solvents

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Abstract

The plant genus Opuntia ficus-Indica has been used in traditional folk medicine for the treatment of many diseases and pathological conditions. In the current work, three different Opuntia ficus-Indica flower extracts (methanol, ethanol, and Acetone) were studied for their phytochemical composition, phenolic profile, and tyrosinase inhibitory potential. The results of phytochemical analyses show that acetonic extract has the highest total phenolic content of 757.67 ± 1.21 mg GAE/g of extract and total flavonoid content of 179.00 ± 0.58 mg QE/g of extract. The HPLC–MS analyses of phenolic compounds allowed the identification and quantification of ten compounds mainly identified as isorhamnetin glycosylated derivatives, kaempferol, and Quercetin and rutin. In this study, we aimed to investigate the tyrosinase inhibitory activity of Opuntia ficus-indica flowers extracts; the acetonic extract showed the highest inhibitory activity with IC50 value of 0.285 ± 0.03 mg/ml followed by methanolic extract with IC50 value of 0.625 ± 0.02 mg/ml and ethanolic extract with IC50 value of 0.875 ± 0.04 mg/ml. Those findings suggest that Opuntia ficus-Indic flowers extracts could be a potential natural source of bioactive compounds with a variety of biological activities such as anti-tyrosinase which justifies its use in traditional medicine.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research of Tunisia (LR-11ES24, University of Carthage). The authors acknowledge the LIENSs Laboratory of La Rochelle University for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INSAT, Laboratory of Protein Engineering and Bioactive Molecules (LR11ES24), University of Carthage, BP 676, 1080, Cedex, Tunisia

    Rahma Masmoudi & Issam Smaali

  2. UMR CNRS 7266, LIENSs, UFR Sciences, Avenue Michel Crépeau, Université de La Rochelle, 17042, La Rochelle, France

    Rachida Mersni, Oussama Achour & Thierry Maugard

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  1. Rahma Masmoudi
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  2. Rachida Mersni
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Contributions

MR. carried out most of the experiments, the interpretation of data, and the redaction correction of the manuscript. MR. participated in the interpretation of results and the correction of the manuscript. AO. carried out the HPLC–MS experiments at the LIENSs Laboratory and participated in the correction of the manuscript. SI conceptualized the work and participated in the redaction-correction of the manuscript. MT supervised the work and participated in the correction of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Rahma Masmoudi.

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Masmoudi, R., Mersni, R., Achour, O. et al. Phenolic Composition and Anti-tyrosinase Activities of Extracts from Tunisian Opuntia ficus-indica Flowers Obtained by Different Extraction Solvents. Chemistry Africa 7, 1877–1887 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42250-024-00892-8

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