Abstract
Among the Mediterranean aromatic plants, Ruta tuberculata Forssk. (Rutaceae) has been widely used as a traditional natural remedy against various disorders resulting from its divers' pharmacological virtues. The aim of this study is to characterize for the first time the phenolic profile of its ethyl acetate (EtOAcE) and acetonic (AcE) extracts and to screen their in vitro antioxidant, antidiabetic, and neuroprotective activities. Phenolic content was determined using spectrophotometric and cLC-DAD analysis. Pharmacologically, in vitro antioxidant power was evaluated using six different antioxidant methods. Moreover, the antidiabetic and neuroprotective capacities were assessed in vitro by determining the alpha-amylase, alpha-glucosidase, and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activities. Phytochemically, the highest flavonoid content was found in EtOAcE where the major identified compounds were myrecetin, rutin, sylimarin, naringenin, and quercetin. In presence of other phenolic acids, gallic acid was exclusively detected in AcE. Furthermore, both R. tuberculata extracts showed significantly remarkable antioxidant activities, especially the EtOAcE. Interestingly, AcE strongly inhibited the acetylcholinesterase and alpha-glucosidase, with the respective IC50 values of 20.48 +/- 0.2 and 104.5 +/- 1.8 mu g/mL. In this study, we also reported the nutritional quality associated with the identified phytocompounds. R. tuberculata organic extracts may offer exciting reserves to achieve new anti-diabetic and anti-Alzheimer drugs which have also antioxidant potential.