Phytochemical profiling, polyphenol composition, and antioxidant activity of the leaf extract from the medicinal halophyteThespesia populneareveal a potential source of bioactive compounds and nutraceuticals

Abstract

The present study evaluated the phytochemical constituents, nutritional attributes, and the antioxidant capacity of the medicinal halophyte Thespesia populnea. The metabolite profiling by GC‐QTOF‐MS analysis identified 37 metabolites among which sucrose, malic acid, and turanose were the most abundant. A total of 18 polyphenols and 17 amino acids were identified by the HPLC‐DAD analysis. The most abundant polyphenols in T. populnea were gallic acid, catechin, and myricetin. Other polyphenols like protocatechuic acid, epigallocatechin gallate, rosmarinic acid, ellagic acid, rutin, and naringenine were also detected in ample amounts. The leaf extract demonstrated higher antioxidant as well as lipid peroxidation inhibition activities. A correlation analysis revealed a positive correlation between the antioxidant capacity and the phenolic compounds viz. gallic acid, catechin, myricetin, quercetin, apigenin, cinnamic acid, and coumarin which indicates that these phenolic compounds are the main contributors of the antioxidant potential of T. populnea. The results of this study establish T. populnea as a potential source of nonconventional functional food. Practical applications The data presented here indicate that T. populnea can be considered as a nonconventional functional food and potential source of energy, antioxidants, minerals, essential amino acids, and bioactive compounds in herbal formulations, food supplements, or nutraceuticals. The metabolites identified from this halophyte have pharmacological and nutraceutical potentials, suggesting T. populnea as an ideal candidate for application in the food and phytopharmaceutical industries to produce health‐promoting products, functional foods, and herbal medicines.

Physiological and metabolic adjustments in the xero‐halophyte Haloxylon salicornicum conferring drought tolerance

“…The reduction of growth during water stress condition has earlier been reported in other halophytes such as Astragalus gombiformis, Halopyrum mucronatum, Salicornia brachiata, and Salvadora persica (Boughalleb et al, 2016;Parida & Jha, 2013a;Rangani, Kumari, et al, 2018;Siddiqui et al, 2016). The regaining of growth upon recovery is considered a tolerant feature in plants to overcome the negative effects of drought stress.…”

“…Level of various photosynthetic pigments in H. salicornicum decreased in response to drought (Figure 1I-K). Drought-induced decrease in the chlorophyll level has earlier been reported in Vaccinium myrtillus, sunflower plant, S. persica, and African eggplant (Kiani et al, 2008;Mibei et al, 2017;Rangani, Kumari, et al, 2018;Tahkokorpi et al, 2007). It has been well established that the decrease of various photosynthetic pigments is considered as an adaptive measure to minimize the risk of photooxidative damage under water stress condition (García-Plazaola et al, 2000).…”

Evaluation of nutritional value of Asystasia mysorensis and Sesamum angustifolia and their potential contribution to human health

“…The powdered plant samples were analyzed for moisture content, protein, fat, and ash content by methods adopted from literature, while carbohydrate content was determined by difference (100−[% moisture + % protein + % fat + % ash + % fiber]) (Olaniyi, Lawal, & Olaniyi, ; Rangani, Kumari, Patel, Brahmbhatt, & Parida, ; Thangaraj, ).…”

“…The extract was obtained after 2 g of each sample was extracted with 0.8% metaphosphoric acid, followed by centrifugation at 10397.4 g , filtering through 0.45‐µM filter and diluted with 10 ml of 0.8% metaphosphoric acid. A calibration curve was obtained by preparing a series of standard solutions comprising of ascorbic acid at different concentrations which were used to estimate the vitamin C content of the plant samples (Rangani et al, ; Vikram, Ramesh, & Prapulla, ).…”

“…The powdered plant samples were analyzed for moisture content, protein, fat, and ash content by methods adopted from literature, (Olaniyi, Lawal, & Olaniyi, 2018;Rangani, Kumari, Patel, Brahmbhatt, & Parida, 2019;Thangaraj, 2016).…”