Phytochemical Profiles, in vitro Antioxidants, and Anti-inflammatory Activities of Flowers and Leaves of Lantana camara L. Grown in South of Tunisia

The current study assesses the photochemical profiles, the in vitro antioxidant (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), reducing power ferric and silver nanoparticule) and anti-inflammatory activity of Lantana camara L. leaves and flowers collected from the South of Tunisia. Bioactive extracts of two organs were prepared through an ultrasound-assisted extraction in ethanol. Herein, multivariate statistical analysis was performed to define the relationship between biological activities and the bioactive molecules content and composition. Phytochemical profiling showed higher phenolic and flavonoids contents in leaves extracts than in those obtained from flowers, while the condensed tannins was absent in both organs. LC-MS analysis identified 16 and 15 phenolic compounds from flowers and leaves extracts, respectively. The flowers extract was especially rich in Kaempferol, luteolin-7-O-glucoside, quinic acid and apigenin-7-O-glucoside. Kaempferol, luteolin-7-O-glucoside, quinic acid and syringic acid were identified as the prevalent compounds in leaves extract. The latter exhibited the highest DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging potentials. Whereas flowers extracts revealed the highest reducing potential of ferric and silver ions. However, the leaves and flowers extracts are unable to protect bovine serum albumin (BSA) from thermal denaturation. Furthermore, significant correlations (p < 0.05) were recorded between phytochemical profile and biological activities, as well as between different antioxidant studied assays. The obtained results present practical data for the potential application of L. camara as a sustainable source of multi-functional molecules in food and medicinal industries.