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Identification of Sterols from Anabasis articulata (Forssk.) Moq. (Chenopodiaceae) Growing in Algeria and Study of Their Potential Bioactivity

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Abstract

Purpose

Anabasis articulata (Forssk.) Moq. (Chenopodiaceae), also called Eshnan, Ajremor Berry bearing glasswort, is widely distributed in Syrian, Algerian, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Egyptian and Iraqi desert, Spain (Alicante, Almería, Granada and Murcia provinces), Mauritania, Western Sahara and Morocco. Anabasis articulata is broadly used in folk medicine to treat diabetes, fever, eczema and kidney infections. The objective of this work was to examine the potential bioactivity of the plant, in vitro and in vivo experiment.

Methods

The sterol-rich extract was identified by GC/MS analysis. The antioxidant potential, anti-tyrosinase and antiproliferative activities, was evaluated by in vitro assays and anti-inflammatory function was determined by in vivo assay.

Results

The results revealed that the chromatographic analysis showed the presence of four sterols in the plant samples. A preliminary evaluation of the antiproliferative effect of A. articulata against two human tumor cell lines, MCF7 and MDA-MB 231, was evaluated by MTT assay. The plant extract was also subjected to four different in vitro antioxidant assays (i.e. total antioxidant capacity, reducing power, DPPH and β-carotene-linoleic acid bleaching). The sterol-rich extract also showed a high anti-tyrosinase activity, and an acetylcholinesterase inhibitory effect, and in vivo toxicological and anti-inflammatory function of A. articulata sterols was tested on rats with carrageenan-induced inflammatory paw edema.

Conclusions

All this evidence suggests the possible application of the aerial part of A. articulata as food additive, in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.

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Data Availability

Enquiries about data availability should be directed to the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Natural Products Laboratory, Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural and Life Sciences, Earth and Universe, University Abou- Bekr Belkaïd, 13000, Tlemcen, Algeria

    Dounia Ben Menni, Nabila Belyagoubi-Benhammou, Assia Benmahieddine, Hanane Ben Menni & Fawzia Atik-Bekkara

  2. Department of Biology, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133, Rome, Italy

    Angelo Gismondi, Valentina Monteleone, Gabriele Di Marco, Alessia D’Agostino & Antonela Canini

  3. Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Life, University of Mostaganem Abdelhamid Ibn Badis, PO Box 188, 27000, Mostaganem, Algeria

    Houari Benamar

  4. Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Life, University of Oran1, El M’Naouer, PO Box 1524, 31000, Oran, Algeria

    Houari Benamar

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  1. Dounia Ben Menni
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  2. Nabila Belyagoubi-Benhammou
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Correspondence to Nabila Belyagoubi-Benhammou.

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Ben Menni, D., Belyagoubi-Benhammou, N., Benmahieddine, A. et al. Identification of Sterols from Anabasis articulata (Forssk.) Moq. (Chenopodiaceae) Growing in Algeria and Study of Their Potential Bioactivity. Waste Biomass Valor 13, 3283–3295 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-022-01717-w

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