Phenolics Contents, Xanthine Oxidoreductase Inhibitory Potential, Antibacterial and Antioxidant Activities of Cachrys libanotis L. Root Extracts

To date, no studies have investigated the phytochemical screening and biological activities of Cachrys libanotis L. traditionally used for the treatment of gout and rheumatism. Therefore, we aimed to investigate, for the first time, the phytochemical contents, the xanthine oxidoreductase inhibition, antibacterial, and antioxidant activities of extracts derived from the roots of C. libanotis L. Roots were submitted to extraction and fractionation using three different solvents sequentially, in the ascending order of polarity. Subsequently, XOR was purified from bovine milk and its inhibition was evaluated using xanthine/XOR system. The antioxidant activities were assessed employed superoxide scavenging, β- carotene bleaching, DPPH scavenging, ferrous iron chelation and FRAP assays). The antibacterial activity was tested by disc diffusion assay against 11 ATCC strains. Extraction and fractionation gave crude extract (CrE), hexane extract (HxE), chloroform extract (ChE), ethyle acetate extract (EAE) and aqueous extract (AqE). EAE exhibited the highest XOR inhibitory effect. CrE exhibited the highest effect as DPPH scavenger. All fractions exhibited a good activity against linoleate oxidation. Both CrE and AqE had an excellent chelating activity. Extracts showed a medium reducing power with greatest value exhibited by EAE. The plant extracts exhibited moderate to good antibacterial activity where the HxE extract had the strongest antimicrobial activity. From the obtained results, C. libanotis roots might be helpful in preventing or slowing the progress of gout, and it could be used as an additive in the food industry providing good protection against oxidative damage. Keywords: Cachrys libanotis, polyphenols, oxidative stress, xanthine-oxidoreductase (XOR), antimicrobial.