Evaluation of Possible Antioxidant, Anti-Hyperglycaemic, Anti-Alzheimer and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of <i>Teucrium polium</i> Aerial Parts (Lamiaceae)
Naima Benchikha,
Mohammed Messaoudi,
Imane Larkem,
Hamza Ouakouak,
Abdelkrim Rebiai,
Siham Boubekeur,
Mohamed Amine Ferhat,
Adel Benarfa,
Samir Begaa,
Mokhtar Benmohamed,
Diena M. Almasri,
Rawan H. Hareeri,
Fadia S. Youssef
Affiliations
Naima Benchikha
Laboratory of Applied Chemistry and Environment (LCAE), Chemistry Department, University of Hamma Lakhdar El-Oued, B.P.789, El-Oued 39000, Algeria
Mohammed Messaoudi
Laboratory of Applied Chemistry and Environment (LCAE), Chemistry Department, University of Hamma Lakhdar El-Oued, B.P.789, El-Oued 39000, Algeria
Imane Larkem
Laboratory of Diversity of Ecosystems and Dynamics of Agricultural Production Systems in Arid Zones, Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Nature and Life Science, Biskra University, Biskra 07000, Algeria
Hamza Ouakouak
Laboratory of Applied Chemistry and Environment (LCAE), Chemistry Department, University of Hamma Lakhdar El-Oued, B.P.789, El-Oued 39000, Algeria
Abdelkrim Rebiai
Laboratory of Applied Chemistry and Environment (LCAE), Chemistry Department, University of Hamma Lakhdar El-Oued, B.P.789, El-Oued 39000, Algeria
Siham Boubekeur
Research and Development Centre RDC-SAIDAL, 35Benyoucef Khattab Avenue, Mohammadia, El-Harrah, Algiers 16000, Algeria
Teucrium polium L. is commonly used in folk medicine to treat hypertension and diabetes and to heal wounds. The present work aimed to evaluate the different biological activities of T. polium hydroalcoholic extract, its total phenol and flavonoid content, and its mineral elements. Results showed that T. polium extract showed significant antioxidant potential in 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay with IC50 equal to 8.68 μg/mL but with moderate activity in galvinoxyl assay with IC50 of 21.82 μg/mL and mild activity in the β-carotene assay. It also showed a pronounced anti-hyperglycemic activity using α-amylase inhibitory assay (IC50 = 111.68 µg/mL) and exceeds that of acarbose. T. polium showed excellent activity against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) with IC50 values of 28.69 and 4.93 μg/mL, respectively, postulating its promising anti-Alzheimer potential. The plant extract exhibited a strong anti-inflammatory effect with Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) denaturation inhibitory potential estimated by 97.53% at 2 mg/mL, which was further confirmed by the in vivo carrageen-induced edema model. The extract revealed its richness in flavonoids and phenols, evidenced by its polyphenols content (36.35 ± 0.294 μg GAE/mg) and flavonoids (24.30 ± 0.44 μg QE/mg). It is rich in minerals necessary for human health, such as calcium, potassium, iron, sodium, magnesium, manganese and zinc. Molecular docking performed for previously identified compounds on human α-amylase, 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) and acetylcholine esterase confirmed the results. Thus, it can be concluded that T. polium can be a good candidate for alleviating many health-debilitating problems and can be highly beneficial in the pharmaceutical industry and medical research.
