Abstract
Eruca sativa is a wholesome yearly shrubbery herb in Saudi Arabia. Eruca sativa leaves are a conventional food and are consumed raw in salads. The present research reports the phytochemical analysis, in-vitro anti-lipid peroxidation, total anti-oxidant capability, cyclooxygenase-1, and -2 (COX1 and COX2) inhibition activities of Saudi Eruca sativa leaves water decoction (EWD). Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) of EWD revealed seventeen constituents of six different chemical groups: phenolics (23.60%), aromatic and aliphatic esters (16.97%), terpenoids (31.91%), heterocyclics (14.83%), sulfur containing organics (11.25%), and silyl compounds (1.44%). The presence of Astaxanthin (1.96%), Clionasterol (12.81%), Ingol-12-acetate (4.77%), and Phytol (12.37%) in EWD indicated that the decoction technique was effective in extracting thermostable terpenoids. This research is the first report on Eruca sativa unraveling the thermostable phytochemicals. The EWD exhibited a straight-line relationship between liver lipid peroxidation inhibition and 150 to 400 mu g/ml concentrations. The % anti-lipid peroxidation effect produced by EWD and Quercetin was statistically significant. At the highest 400 mu g/ml dose, EWD exhibits 68.46 +/- 0.01% anti-lipid peroxidation activity. The demonstrated IC50 of EWD and Ascorbic acid concerning the total anti-oxidant capability is 217.90 mu g/ml and 74.91 mu g/ml. The in-vitro assay protocols delineated the modes of inhibition of the biological oxidation processes by Eruca sativa, indicating transfer of hydrogen ion and metal ions reduction. The COX inhibitory potential was screened using Ellmann's reagent. The IC50 values for COX1 and COX2 inhibitions were 152.31 mu g/ml and 146.4 mu g/ml, respectively, indicating that EWD has a potent COX inhibitory potential compared to Indomethacin. The COX2/COX1 ratio of inhibition, less than one, suggested that EWD phytochemicals would be preferential inhibitors of COX2. The current investigation justifies Eruca sativa leaves as a beneficial health food by establishing the chemical composition of water decoction that contributed to the anti-oxidant and COX inhibition activity.