Elucidation of Antioxidant Compounds in Moroccan <i>Chamaerops humilis</i> L. Fruits by GC–MS and HPLC–MS Techniques
Hafssa El Cadi,
Hajar El Bouzidi,
Ginane Selama,
Btissam Ramdan,
Yassine Oulad El Majdoub,
Filippo Alibrando,
Katia Arena,
Miguel Palma Lovillo,
Jamal Brigui,
Luigi Mondello,
Francesco Cacciola,
Tania M. G. Salerno
Affiliations
Hafssa El Cadi
Laboratory of Valorization of Resources and Chemical Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Tangier 90000, Morocco
Hajar El Bouzidi
Laboratory of Valorization of Resources and Chemical Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Tangier 90000, Morocco
Ginane Selama
Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Tangier 90000, Morocco
Btissam Ramdan
Department of Biology, Laboratory of Biotechnology and Valorization of Natural Resources, Faculty of Science, University Ibn Zohr, Agadir 80000, Morocco
Yassine Oulad El Majdoub
Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy
Filippo Alibrando
Chromaleont s.r.l., c/o Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy
Katia Arena
Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy
Miguel Palma Lovillo
Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Agrifood Campus of International Excellence (ceiA3), University of Cadiz, IVAGRO, 11510 Cadiz, Spain
Jamal Brigui
Laboratory of Valorization of Resources and Chemical Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Tangier 90000, Morocco
Luigi Mondello
Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy
Francesco Cacciola
Department of Biomedical, Dental, Morphological and Functional Imaging Sciences, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy
Tania M. G. Salerno
BeSep s.r.l., c/o Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy
The aim of this study was to characterize the phytochemical content as well as the antioxidant ability of the Moroccan species Chamaerops humilis L. Besides crude ethanolic extract, two extracts obtained by sonication using two solvents with increased polarity, namely ethyl acetate (EtOAc) and methanol-water (MeOH-H2O) 80:20 (v/v), were investigated by both spectroscopy and chromatography methods. Between the two extracts, the MeOH-H2O one showed the highest total polyphenolic content equal to 32.7 ± 0.1 mg GAE/g DM with respect to the EtOAc extract (3.6 ± 0.5 mg GAE/g DM). Concerning the antioxidant activity of the two extracts, the EtOAc one yielded the highest value (1.9 ± 0.1 mg/mL) with respect to MeOH-H2O (0.4 ± 0.1 mg/mL). The C. humilisn-hexane fraction, analyzed by GC–MS, exhibited 69 compounds belonging to different chemical classes, with n-Hexadecanoic acid as a major compound (21.75%), whereas the polyphenolic profile, elucidated by HPLC–PDA/MS, led to the identification of a total of sixteen and thirteen different compounds in both EtOAc (major component: ferulic acid: 104.7 ± 2.52 µg/g) and MeOH-H2O extracts (major component: chlorogenic acid: 45.4 ± 1.59 µg/g), respectively. The attained results clearly highlight the potential of C. humilis as an important source of bioactive components, making it a valuable candidate to be advantageously added to the daily diet. Furthermore, this study provides the scientific basis for the exploitation of the Doum in the food, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries.
