Phytochemical screening, quantitative analysis and antioxidant properties of crude extracts from stems, leaves, and flowers of three Ruta species

In this work, the stems, leaves, and flowers of Ruta chalepensis L., R. graveolens L., and R. montana L. harvested in Morocco were subject to a comparative study to determine the phytochemical composition, antioxidant capacities, and the content of total phenols and flavonoids. For this purpose, 45 crude extracts (CEs) were prepared using different solvents, including water, ethyl acetate, methanol, ethanol, and hexane. Upon undergoing secondary metabolites screening, it was discovered that the different parts of three Ruta species contain a high level of secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, catechic tannins, flavonoids, coumarins, sterols, and triterpenes. This was confirmed by the results of the quantitative analysis, which proved that the three Ruta species contain a significant amount of total phenolic compounds, ranging from 27.05 to 213.42 mg GAE/g CE. With regard to antioxidant capacities, antiradical power (ARP) results prove that the majority of CEs have great ARP (were within the range of 0.42–1.99) compared to the BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) standard (0.33 APR). In addition, the results of total antioxidant capacity (TAC) analysis of Ruta CEs showed good TAC (varies between 37.67 and 396.80 mg AAE/g CE).