Phytochemical identification of the bioactive ingredients of some Saudi herbal medicine by Gas chromatography/ mass spectrumAbstract
Traditional complementary and alternative therapies are the main targets for pharmaceutical agents. Natural biomolecules from medicinal plants are rich sources of drugs targeting the amelioration or prevention of different diseases with low adverse effects. Saudi Arabia's normal flora is traditionally used as an anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, hypotension, and GIT disturbance. In the current study, we used the GC/MS technique for the identification of the chemical composition of many medicinal herbs as Artemisia monosperma, Mentha longifolia, and Rumex nervosus, using methanol and chloroform extracts. Data obtained showed that terpenoids are the most active compound, identified as eucalyptol, menthol, 1,4-benzenediol, cyclobuta (1,2:3,4) dicyclopentene, eicosane, phytol, and heptacosane. The data endorse the conventional application of these plants for treating many diseases. The 1,8-cineole is present in various mouthwash brands, and it has been observed to exhibit anti-plaque and demonstrated antibacterial properties. Eucalyptol also has an anti-inflammatory effect that was assessed by measuring its relative potency compared to prednisolone in individuals suffering from severe asthma. It was concluded that these plant extracts are a promising new source of medications due to the presence of such phytochemicals and bioactive compounds. Further investigation is required to clarify their precise mechanisms of action in different disorders.
Keywords:
GC/MS; Artemisia monosperma; Mentha longifolia; Rumex nervosus.
Keywords:
GC/MS; Artemisia monosperma; Mentha longifolia; Rumex nervosus.
Keywords:
GC/MS; Artemisia monosperma; Mentha longifolia; Rumex nervosus.
Medicinal plants are utilized as a good source of many effective drugs in several countries and are used as complementary or alternative medicines that have many biological activities (Mahesh & Satish, 2008). Herbal medicines are commonly prescribed because of their efficacy, no adverse effects, and their low cost (Odhav et al., 2013). One of these plants is Artemisia monosperma, a small plant with bushy leaves found in temperate regions (Bora and Sharma, 2011). In Saudi Arabia, it is famous, locally named as Aader or Selikah. It is used widely in folk medicine for anthelmintic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and analgesic effects (Guetat et al., 2017). Artemisia species are good sources for cosmetic products and essential oil production. Its extracts are used for the treatment of ulcers, inflammations, malaria, and gangrenous ulcers. Additionally, the oil extract was used as insecticidal, anticancer, and antimicrobial (Taleghani et al., 2020).
Mentha longifolia, the most common species grown in Saudi Arabia is locally known as Al-Madinah mint (also locally called Hassawi and Habaq) (Ahmed et al., 2015). It is a fast-growing perennial herb, strongly aromatic. The leaves are formed in pairs, opposite to each other along the branch. The leaves are usually coarsely hairy and the edges sparsely toothed. The color of the leaves varies from light and dark green to grey. In folk medicine, it is mainly used for respiratory ailments, coughs, colds, stomach cramps, asthma, flatulence, and headaches (Codd, 1983; Fleisher & Fleisher, 1991).
Rumex nervosus is a common perennial herb that grows 4 to 20 cm in height. The light green leaves are lance-shaped to oval in form and have smooth or wrinkled margins (3-4 inches in length). Pink flowers are thickly bloomed and carried in clusters over the end of the stalk. It is distributed in Middle Eastern countries such as Yemen, and Saudi Arabia, and Africa as Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, and Tanzania. It includes more than 200 species and belongs to Polygonaceae (Getie et al., 2003).
Most population depends on herbal products as therapeutic or complementary supplements due to their effectiveness (Ekor, 2014). Consequently, several studies have explored the therapeutic potentials of most of these herbal products (Bekinbo et al., 2020). The rationale of this study was to find new functional molecules targeting specific pathways or receptors for modulating or modifying the pathogenesis of many diseases resulting from free radicals production or impairment of normal physiological pathways. The potential of these bioactive compounds should be analyzed for their candidature in the treatment of various ailments (Anand et al., 2019). This study was designed for the identification of chemical compositions of the methanolic extract of Rumex nervosus and chloroform extracts of Artemisia monosperma and Mentha longifolia by GC-MS.
Plant samples were collected from different regions in Saudi Arabia (Table 1). The collected plants were identified at the species level by the Plant Taxonomy Unit, Botany Department at King Abdul-Aziz University. The plants were washed to remove the soil and other particles, dried in a dark environment for three days, and then ground by a grinding machine (Alsaif-Elec E02300, Korea) until they became a powder. Plants were saved in vacuum bags by a vacuum sealer machine (Swiss Home, SH-6691, China) to prevent microbial growth and kept at -4˚C until used.
The solvents used were methanol and chloroform (Fisher Chemical, Loughborough, UK). The method used is a reflux method that is preferable for plant extraction. Plant samples (5 grams) were added to each solvent (100 ml) for 24 h in a water bath (Grant instrument, Cambridge) at 60°C. Mixtures were then filtered using the Whatman filter paper no. 1 and concentrated at 60°C by rotary evaporator (Dragon Lab, RE100-pro, China) and left drying in a cabinet for 24 h. The extracts were stored at 4°C until used (Do et al., 2014).
The samples were first centrifuged at 3,000 RPM for 10 minutes. 100 µl of each sample was dissolved in 0.5 ml acetonitrile (purity 99.9%, high grade). 10 µl was injected into GC/MS. The flow rate of carrier gas helium was 1 ml min-1. The instrument was equipped with Agilent 5975C-VL MSD mass spectrometer with Agilent 7693. An automatic liquid sampler was used for the analysis of plant extracts. Agilent HP-5MS (30 m in length x 0.25 mm id x 0.25 µm thickness stationary phase film, Agilent, USA) was used for separation. Data acquisition was employed via Agilent ChemStation for the GC/MS software version.
Data presented in Table 2 showed that GC/MS analysis referred that the presence of one of the main compounds in eucalyptol was cineole or 1,8-cineole. A bicyclic terpenoid is a chemical compound found in essential oils extracted from different types of plants (Dhakad et al., 2018). Hendry et al., (2009) assessed the antimicrobial properties of 1,8-cineole against various microorganisms, including Staphylococcus aureus, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans. They examined the effects of 1,8-cineole on these microorganisms when they were growing both individually in liquid cultures (planktonic) and when they had formed biofilms (Hendry et al., 2009). This research was conducted with the premise that 1,8-cineole is present in various mouthwash brands, and it has been observed to exhibit anti-plaque effects and demonstrated antibacterial properties in laboratory tests against certain pathogens (Vlachojannis et al., 2015). Eucalyptol also has an anti-inflammatory effect was assessed by measuring its relative potency compared to prednisolone in individuals suffering from severe asthma (Juergens et al., 2003).
analysis of mixtures of methanolic extract of Rumex nervosus and chloroform extract of Artemisia monosperma and Mentha longifolia
Another compound identified is menthol extract, referred to as mint camphor, which is a cyclic monoterpene alcohol. It is a prominent component in the essential oils derived from various Mentha plant species and is accountable for the characteristic aroma and taste associated with these plants (Batool et al., 2018). L-menthol is used in cosmetics, the food industry, and healthcare (Gandova et al., 2023). 1,4-benzenediol or hydroquinone also referred to as para-dihydroxybenzene and para-benzenediol, is an organic substance belonging to the phenol group and is employed in personal care items due to its medicinal properties when applied topically to address specific skin issues (Adebayo et al., 2019). Eicosane and phytol are two additional compounds found in plant extract combinations that have been reported to exhibit antimicrobial effectiveness against clinical pathogens (Arunkumar & Muthuselvam, 2009).
Most disorders are produced due to the generation of free radicals, or damage of cell proteins. Terpenoids and flavonoids are good scavengers of these radicals and barriers to disease (Lobo et al., 2010). In recent decades, there has been a significant increase in pharmacological research focused on medicinal plants, which are integral to traditional medicine. In this study, we identified bioactive compounds within the methanolic extract of Rumex nervosus and the chloroform extracts of Artemisia monosperma and Mentha longifolia using GC-MS analysis. This analysis revealed the presence of 24 different compounds. Notably, compounds such as eucalyptol, menthol, 1,4-benzenediol, cyclobuta (1,2:3,4) dicyclopentene, eicosane, phytol, and heptacosane (Al-Farhan et al., 2022). It was concluded that the investigated plant extracts are promising new sources of medications due to the presence of these phytochemicals and bioactive compounds. Further investigation is required for the possible development of novel drugs by investigating the precise mechanism of action in the different disorders.
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All datasets generated or analysed during this study are included in the manuscript.
