Abstract
Abstract
Desert plants of the family Amaranthaceae are still under-explored sources of bioactive metabolites, and Cornulaca aucheri is one of the least studied members of its genus. In this work, hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of C. aucheri were chemically profiled and evaluated for antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. Volatile and semi-volatile constituents of the hexane and ethyl acetate extracts were characterized by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS), the phenolic and flavonoid composition of the methanol extract was quantified by HPLC, and total phenolic, flavonoid, alkaloid and tannin contents were determined. Antioxidant activity was measured by the DPPH assay (5–25 µg/mL), and antimicrobial activity (MIC and IC50) was tested against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus sp. and Candida albicans. The ethyl acetate extract contained the highest levels of phenolics (5.527 ± 0.8 mg GAE/g), flavonoids (5.104 ± 0.2 mg CE/g), alkaloids (3.3366%) and tannins (2.5532%). GC-MS identified nine compounds in the ethyl acetate extract, dominated by n-hexadecanoic acid (87.26% of total peak area), and six in the hexane extract, including the diterpene alcohol thunbergol (9.220%). HPLC revealed eleven identified phenolic acids and flavonoids in the methanol extract, led by quercetin (106.3 ppm), rutin (103.7 ppm), catechin (54.2 ppm), kaempferol (52.3 ppm), chlorogenic acid (51.1 ppm) and gallic acid (50.2 ppm). All extracts scavenged DPPH radicals in a concentration-dependent, highly linear manner (R² = 0.940–0.983); the ethyl acetate extract was the most potent (estimated IC50 ≈ 44.6 µg/mL). The extracts also displayed complementary antimicrobial profiles: the ethyl acetate extract had the lowest IC50 against S. aureus (229.5 µg/mL), E. coli and Streptococcus sp.; the methanol extract inhibited four of the five test organisms at 1000 µg/mL, including P. aeruginosa; and the hexane extract was most active against C. albicans (IC50 308.5 µg/mL). These findings identify C. aucheri as a chemically rich and biologically active desert species and provide a sound basis for bioassay-guided isolation of its active constituents.
| Intend to be published in the IJPS ? | Yes |
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| Has the manuscript been published | not published |
