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. 2021 Jul 6;26(14):4114.
doi: 10.3390/molecules26144114.

Phytochemical Constituents, Antioxidant Activity, and Toxicity Assessment of the Aerial Part Extracts from the Infraspecific Taxa of Matthiola fruticulosa (Brassicaceae) Endemic to Sicily

Maria Fernanda Taviano  1 , Emilia Cavò  1   2 , Vivienne Spadaro  3 , Francesco Maria Raimondo  4 , Vincenzo Musolino  5 , Francesco Cacciola  6 , Yassine Oulad El Majdoub  1 , Luigi Mondello  1   7   8   9 , Concetta Condurso  10 , Fabrizio Cincotta  10 , Antonella Verzera  10 , Natalizia Miceli  1
Affiliations

Phytochemical Constituents, Antioxidant Activity, and Toxicity Assessment of the Aerial Part Extracts from the Infraspecific Taxa of Matthiola fruticulosa (Brassicaceae) Endemic to Sicily

Maria Fernanda Taviano et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

In a project designed to investigate the specific and infraspecific taxa of Matthiola endemic to Sicily (Italy) as new potential sources of bioactive compounds in this work, the infraspecific taxa of Matthiola fruticulosa were studied, namely, subsp. fruticulosa and subsp. coronopifolia. HPLC-PDA/ESI-MS and SPME-GC/MS analyses of hydroalcoholic extracts obtained from the aerial parts of the two subspecies led to the detection of 51 phenolics and 61 volatile components, highlighting a quite different qualitative-quantitative profile. The antioxidant properties of the extracts were explored through in vitro methods: 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), reducing power and Fe2+ chelating activity assays. The results of the antioxidant tests showed that the extracts possess a different antioxidant ability: particularly, the extract of M. fruticulosa subsp. fruticulosa exhibited higher radical scavenging activity than that of subsp. coronopifolia (IC50 = 1.25 ± 0.02 mg/mL and 2.86 ± 0.05 mg/mL), which in turn displayed better chelating properties (IC50 = 1.49 ± 0.01 mg/mL and 0.63 ± 0.01 mg/mL). Lastly, Artemia salina lethality bioassay was performed for toxicity assessment. The results of the bioassay showed lack of toxicity against brine shrimp larvae for both extracts. The data presented indicate the infraspecific taxa of M. fruticulosa as new and safe sources of antioxidant compounds.

Keywords: Matthiola fruticulosa; Sicily; biological activity; chemical composition; native plants; natural resource.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
HPLC–PDA chromatograms of the polyphenolic compounds, extracted at 280 nm wavelength, of the hydroalcoholic extracts obtained from the aerial parts of M. fruticulosa subsp. fruticulosa (A) and subsp. coronopifolia (B). For peak identification, see Table 1.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Normalized percentage composition, as classes of substances, of the volatile profile of M. fruticulosa subsp. fruticulosa and subsp. coronopifolia extracts.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Free radical scavenging activity (DPPH assay) (A), reducing power (B), and ferrous ion chelating activity (C) of the hydroalcoholic extracts obtained from the aerial parts of M. fruticulosa subsp. fruticulosa and subsp. coronopifolia. Reference standard: BHT (A,B), EDTA (C). Values are expressed as the mean ± SD (n = 3).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Free radical scavenging activity (DPPH assay) (A), reducing power (B), and ferrous ion chelating activity (C) of the hydroalcoholic extracts obtained from the aerial parts of M. fruticulosa subsp. fruticulosa and subsp. coronopifolia. Reference standard: BHT (A,B), EDTA (C). Values are expressed as the mean ± SD (n = 3).
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