Chemical profiling and in vitro antioxidant, antibacterial and anticholinesterase activities of an endemic North African species Bellevalia mauritanica Pomel

Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate antioxidant, antibacterial, and anticholinesterase activities of different extracts of an uninvestigated endemic species Bellevalia mauritanica Pomel, and identification of its phenolic and flavonoid content by a comprehensive and validated LC-MS/MS method using 37 phytochemical standards. Moreover, the phytochemical profiling of the studied extracts was accomplished by LC-MS-IT-TOF technique. Among all the tested extracts, ethyl acetate (EtOAc) of BRCE (bulbs-roots crude extract) was the most active one. It exhibited a medium antibacterial activity, good inhibition of acetylcholinesterase and a good antioxidant activity in ABTS•+ (2,2’-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonique), DPPH• (1,1’-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical), and superoxyde DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide) alkaline scavenging assays. LC-MS/MS analysis revealed that EtOAc extract had caffeic acid (1240.7 µg/g extract) and chloroform extract had vanillin (2048.5 µg/g extract) in considerable amounts. They also contained good amounts of certain phytochemicals such as protocatechuic acid (274.3 and 145.2 µg/g extract), p-coumaric acid (382.8 and 310.9 µg/g extract), ferulic acid (361.2 and 969.4 µg/g extract) and kaempferol (146.7 and 150.6 µg/g extract) respectively. LC-MS-IT-TOF screening revealed the presence of 91 major phytochemicals in the three extracts derived from bulb-roots crude extract.