Phytochemical and Biological Activities in Limonium Species Collected in Different Biotopes of Tunisia

Abstract

A particular interest is nowadays given to natural antioxidants occurring in foods which can reduce the risk of several diseases through their protective effect. The genus Limonium is widely distributed in different salt regions of Tunisia and known in traditional medicine for the presence of highly effective viral and bacterial replication inhibitors. Limonium leaves have possible beneficial effects on human health for their antioxidant activities and free radical scavenging abilities. To exploit the potential of plants from extreme environments as new sources of natural antioxidants, we studied the extracts from leaves of eight Limonium species growing in extreme environments in Tunisia. Antioxidant molecules (polyphenols, flavonoids, flavonols, ascorbate, tocopherols), in vitro (DPPH, ORAC) and ex vivo antioxidant potential on human erythrocytes, antioxidant enzymes activities (superoxide dismutase, peroxidases, glutathione reductase) were evaluated to identify the species with the best antioxidant capacity. The results showed variability among the species considered in function of the environmental conditions of their natural biotopes, as for the antioxidants measured. In particular, L. vulgare from Oued Rane biotope, characterized by dryness and high temperatures, was the species with the highest enzymatic activity and antioxidant capacity, making it interesting as possible edible halophyte plant or as food complement.

Chemical Composition and Antioxidant, Antiparasitic, Cytotoxicity and Antimicrobial Potential of the Algerian Limonium Oleifolium Mill. Essential Oil and Organic Extracts

“…Microorganisms such as Escherichia coli or Staphylococcus aureus are responsible for these infectious diseases. A few phytochemical and biological investigations have been performed using extracts of L. oleifolium , specifically obtained from species growing in Tunisia and Italia [24–26] . In addition, these studies revealed the presence of phenolic compounds either as aglycons or glycosides and confirmed exciting bioactivities.…”

Multidisciplinary studies supporting conservation programmes of two rare, endangered Limonium species from Spain

“…Phenolic compounds, especially the subgroup of flavonoids, include many secondary metabolites that are potent antioxidants and increase under stressful conditions in many plant species (Di Ferdinando et al 2012). Many Limonium species contain efficient free radical scavengers and have strong antioxidant properties (Senizza et al 2021;Souid et al 2019;Ruiz-Riaguas et al 2020). Field studies on several Limonium species from Tunisia indicated a variation in the levels of polyphenols and flavonoids in relation to seasonal constraints in their natural habitats (Souid et al 2018(Souid et al , 2019.…”

“…Many Limonium species contain efficient free radical scavengers and have strong antioxidant properties (Senizza et al 2021;Souid et al 2019;Ruiz-Riaguas et al 2020). Field studies on several Limonium species from Tunisia indicated a variation in the levels of polyphenols and flavonoids in relation to seasonal constraints in their natural habitats (Souid et al 2018(Souid et al , 2019. In salt-treated plants of some species, an increase in the concentration of these compounds has been reported (Wang et al 2016), but in others, only small increases (Souid et al 2016) or no significant variations under water stress (González-Orenga et al 2019a, b) were observed.…”

Response to Salinity in Legume Species: An Insight on the Effects of Salt Stress during Seed Germination and Seedling Growth

“…Cellular defense strategies developed in plant tolerant species include stress adaptation effectors that mediate ion homeostasis, osmolyte biosynthesis, toxic radical scavenging, water transport and long‐distance response co‐ordination [11] . In addition, enzymatic (catalase, glutathione reductase and several peroxidases) and non‐enzymatic (ascorbate, carotenoids, flavonoids and other phenolics) antioxidant systems are also involved [12,13] . However, the effect of salt stress and plant responses depend on many parameters, including the concentration and time of exposure to salt, plant genotypes and environmental factors [14,15] …”