Ilias Marmouzi

Proximate analysis, fatty acids and mineral composition of processed Moroccan Chenopodium quinoa Willd. and antioxidant properties according to the polarity

Quinoa is an Andean seed crop of a high nutritional value, recently introduced to Morocco. Quinoa can resist to drought and high salinity, which is important for developing countries in arid regions especially in Africa. This study focuses on the nutritional characteristics of fresh and cooked Moroccan quinoa (proteins, fibres, minerals, fatty acids and phenolic) and the antioxidant properties of its polar and nonpolar extracts, using three different systems (DPPH, ß-carotene bleaching, and ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP)). The proximate analysis has shown that quinoa is a good source of proteins (12.51–14.50%), fibres (NDF, ADF, ADL and cellulose) and carbohydrates. Moreover, fatty acids composition of quinoa oil demonstrated that quinoa is high in omega 3. Furthermore, mineral analysis by ICP-AES demonstrated that quinoa seeds are rich in potassium, magnesium and other minerals with many health benefits. It was observed that phenolic compounds were more soluble in weak polar solvent than in polar and nonpolar organic solvents. Accordingly the antioxidant activity is correlated to the phenolic content of the extracts.RésuméLa quinoa, récemment introduite au Maroc, est une culture de semence andine, avec une haute valeur nutritionnelle. Sa résistante à la sécheresse et à la salinité élevée, lui donne le privilège de constituer une solution pratique pour les alarmes de faim surtout dans les pays d’Afrique. Cette étude se concentre sur les caractéristiques nutritionnelles de la quinoa Marocaine fraiche et cuite (protéines, fibres, minéraux, acides gras et phénolique) et les propriétés antioxydantes de ses extraits polaires et apolaires, en utilisant trois différents systèmes (DPPH, blanchiment du ß-carotène, et le pouvoir réducteur du fer). L’analyse a montré que la quinoa est une source riche en protéines (12.51–14.50%), en fibres (NDF, ADF, ADL et cellulose) et en sucres. De plus l’analyse des huiles de quinoa a montré que ces grains ont une teneur intéressante d’omega 3. En outre, les taux de minéraux analysés par ICP-AES ont démontré que les graines de quinoa sont riches en potassium, magnésium et autres minéraux. On a observé que les composés phénoliques sont plus solubles dans les solvants faiblement polaires que dans les solvants organiques polaires et apolaires. En conséquence, l’activité anti-oxydante est corrélée à la teneur en composés phénoliques des extraits.

Analyse approximative et composition en acides gras et minéraux de Chenopodium quinoa Willd. Marocain, et propriétés antioxydantes selon la polarité

Quinoa is an Andean seed crop of a high nutritional value, recently introduced to Morocco. Quinoa can resist to drought and high salinity, which is important for developing countries in arid regions especially in Africa. This study focuses on the nutritional characteristics of fresh and cooked Moroccan quinoa (proteins, fibres, minerals, fatty acids and phenolic) and the antioxidant properties of its polar and nonpolar extracts, using three different systems (DPPH, ß-carotene bleaching, and ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP)). The proximate analysis has shown that quinoa is a good source of proteins (12.51–14.50%), fibres (NDF, ADF, ADL and cellulose) and carbohydrates. Moreover, fatty acids composition of quinoa oil demonstrated that quinoa is high in omega 3. Furthermore, mineral analysis by ICP-AES demonstrated that quinoa seeds are rich in potassium, magnesium and other minerals with many health benefits. It was observed that phenolic compounds were more soluble in weak polar solvent than in polar and nonpolar organic solvents. Accordingly the antioxidant activity is correlated to the phenolic content of the extracts.RésuméLa quinoa, récemment introduite au Maroc, est une culture de semence andine, avec une haute valeur nutritionnelle. Sa résistante à la sécheresse et à la salinité élevée, lui donne le privilège de constituer une solution pratique pour les alarmes de faim surtout dans les pays d’Afrique. Cette étude se concentre sur les caractéristiques nutritionnelles de la quinoa Marocaine fraiche et cuite (protéines, fibres, minéraux, acides gras et phénolique) et les propriétés antioxydantes de ses extraits polaires et apolaires, en utilisant trois différents systèmes (DPPH, blanchiment du ß-carotène, et le pouvoir réducteur du fer). L’analyse a montré que la quinoa est une source riche en protéines (12.51–14.50%), en fibres (NDF, ADF, ADL et cellulose) et en sucres. De plus l’analyse des huiles de quinoa a montré que ces grains ont une teneur intéressante d’omega 3. En outre, les taux de minéraux analysés par ICP-AES ont démontré que les graines de quinoa sont riches en potassium, magnésium et autres minéraux. On a observé que les composés phénoliques sont plus solubles dans les solvants faiblement polaires que dans les solvants organiques polaires et apolaires. En conséquence, l’activité anti-oxydante est corrélée à la teneur en composés phénoliques des extraits.

Phytochemical, organoleptic and ferric reducing properties of essential oil and ethanolic extract from Pistacia lentiscus (L.)

Abstract Objective To study the phytochemical composition and organoleptic properties of Pistacia lentiscus (L.) (P. lentiscus) from Algeria and to investigate the antioxidant activities of its essential oil and ethanolic extract. Methods Aerial parts of P. lentiscus were collected at Hammam Melouane (Blida), 50 km from Algiers. Different solvent extractions were made for the preliminary screening of phytochemicals. Additionally, the physicochemical and organoleptic properties of the Algerian variety have been characterized. Moreover, P. lentiscus essential oil and ethanolic extract were studied for their antioxidant potential by ferric reducing power test. Results Phytochemical screening of P. lentiscus revealed the presence of various biochemicals, including leuco-anthocyanins, condensed tannins, gallic tannins, saponoside, coumarins, and flavonoids, while others were absent (anthocyanins and alcaloids). Essential oil showed lower antioxidant potential compared to the ethanolic extract, reflecting the potential phenolic content responsible for this activity. Conclusions The present study reveals the presence of various phytochemical classes in P. lentiscus, and the antioxidant experiment shows a good bioactivity of the aerial parts of the Algerian P. lentiscus. The literature review of the essential oil composition shows also important variations due to geographic and environmental conditions. This preliminary investigation will help explore the bioactive compounds of P. lentiscus, and will bring data for a better physicochemical and organoleptic classification of the Algerian variety.

Antioxidant Activity and Inhibitory Potential of Cistus salviifolius (L.) and Cistus monspeliensis (L.) Aerial Parts Extracts against Key Enzymes Linked to Hyperglycemia

Cistus genus (Cistaceae) comprises several medicinal plants used in traditional medicines to treat several pathological conditions including hyperglycemia. These include Cistus salviifolius L. (CS) and Cistus monspeliensis L. (CM), still not fully explored as a source of metabolites with therapeutic potential for human diseases. In this study, the antioxidant α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzyme inhibitory effects of aqueous and hydromethanolic extracts from the aerial parts of Moroccan CS and CM were investigated. Antioxidant activity has been assessed using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) radicals and ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP) methods. The α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity has been assessed using an in vitro model. Moreover, mineral and phenolic contents of CS and CM were analyzed. The extracts of both species exhibited potent antioxidant activity in all used systems and possess strong inhibitory effect towards α-glucosidase (IC50: 0.95 ± 0.14 to 14.58 ± 1.26 μg/mL) and significant inhibitory potential against α-amylase (IC50: 217.10 ± 0.15 to 886.10 ± 0.10 μg/mL). Furthermore, the result showed high levels of phenolic content and unexpectedly some higher levels of mineral content in CS. The results suggest that the phenolic rich extracts of CS and CM may have a therapeutic potential against diseases associated with oxidative stress and may be useful in the management of hyperglycemia in diabetic patients.

Phytochemical and pharmacological variability in Golden Thistle functional parts: comparative study of roots, stems, leaves and flowers

Abstract Scolymus hispanicus or the Golden Thistle, locally known as ‘Guernina’ or ‘Taghediwt’, is one of the most appreciated wild vegetables in Morocco. This study aims to characterise the functional chemical and pharmacological variability of Scolymus hispanicus parts (roots, stems, leaves and flowers). The chemical analysis revealed higher content of α-tocopherol in the flowers (2.79 ± 0.07 mg/100 g) and lead to the identification of 3 flavonoids and 13 phenolic acids, with high content of gallic acid in leaves (187.01 ± 10.19 mg/kg); chlorogenic (936.18 ± 92.66 mg/kg) and caffeic (4400.14 ± 191.43 mg/kg) acids in flowers, roots were much more higher in sinapic acid (0.25 ± 0.03 mg/kg) compared to the other parts. Moreover, Scolymus hispanicus ethanolic extracts exhibited interesting antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, promising anti-amylase and anti-glucosidase activities and relevant diuretic effect that confirms its traditional uses.

Chemical composition, acute toxicity, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of Moroccan Tetraclinis articulata L.

Hydro-distilled essential oil (EO) from the leaves of the western Mediterranean and Moroccan endemic plant Tetraclinis articulata was analyzed by GC/MS and examined for its acute toxicity on mice, in order to establish the safe doses. Furthermore, the anti-Inflammatory activity was evaluated based on carrageenan and trauma induced rats paw edema and the antioxidant potential has been investigated using different methods including DPPH radical-scavenging assay, Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) and Ferric-reducing antioxidant power assay (FRAP). The major identified compounds in GC/MS analysis were bornyl acetate (26.81%), camphor (22.40%) and α-pinene (7.16%), with 25 other minor constituents. No mortalities in acute toxicity were observed, indicating that the LD50 of T. articulata essential oil is highest than 5 g/kg. In the anti-inflammatory test based on chemical and mechanical induced trauma, the EO demonstrated an effective reduce swelling by 64.71 ± 9.38% and 69.09 ± 6.02% respectively obtained 6 h after administration at the dose of 200 mg/kg when compared to the control groups. Moreover in the antioxidant testing battery, T. articulata essential oil showed a promising scavenging effect measured by DPPH, TEAC and ferric-reducing power assays with IC50 values of 12.05 ± 0.24 mg/mL, 8.90 ± 0.17 mg/mL and 0.15 ± 0.01 mg/mL respectively. These results suggest that, the EO from the leaves of T. articulata constitutes a valuable source of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant metabolites. These findings argue for the possible integration of this oil in pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries.

Radical-Scavenging Activity and Ferric Reducing Ability of Juniperus thurifera (L.), J. oxycedrus (L.), J. phoenicea (L.) and Tetraclinis articulata (L.).

Objective. The aim of this work is to study and compare the antioxidant properties and phenolic contents of aqueous leaf extracts of Juniperus thurifera, Juniperus oxycedrus, Juniperus Phoenicea, and Tetraclinis articulata from Morocco. Methods. Antioxidant activities of the extracts were evaluated by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical-scavenging ability, Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. Also the total phenolic and flavonoids contents of the extracts were determined spectrophotometrically. Results. All the extracts showed interesting antioxidant activities compared to the standard antioxidants (butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), quercetin, and Trolox). The aqueous extract of Juniperus oxycedrus showed the highest antioxidant activity as measured by DPPH, TEAC, and FRAP assays with IC50 values of 17.91 ± 0.37 μg/mL, 19.80 ± 0.55 μg/mL, and 24.23 ± 0.07 μg/mL, respectively. The strong correlation observed between antioxidant capacities and their total phenolic contents indicated that phenolic compounds were a major contributor to antioxidant properties of these plants extracts. Conclusion. These results suggest that the aqueous extracts of Juniperus thurifera, Juniperus oxycedrus, Juniperus phoenicea, and Tetraclinis articulata can constitute a promising new source of natural compounds with antioxidants ability.

Curcumin in Liver Diseases: A Systematic Review of the Cellular Mechanisms of Oxidative Stress and Clinical Perspective

Oxidative stress has been considered a key causing factor of liver damage induced by a variety of agents, including alcohol, drugs, viral infections, environmental pollutants and dietary components, which in turn results in progression of liver injury, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, non-alcoholic liver disease, liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. During the past 30 years and even after the major progress in the liver disease management, millions of people worldwide still suffer from an acute or chronic liver condition. Curcumin is one of the most commonly used indigenous molecules endowed by various shielding functionalities that protects the liver. The aim of the present study is to comprehensively review pharmacological effects and molecular mechanisms, as well as clinical evidence, of curcumin as a lead compound in the prevention and treatment of oxidative associated liver diseases. For this purpose, electronic databases including “Scopus,” “PubMed,” “Science Direct” and “Cochrane library” were extensively searched with the keywords “curcumin or curcuminoids” and “hepatoprotective or hepatotoxicity or liver” along with “oxidative or oxidant.” Results showed that curcumin exerts remarkable protective and therapeutic effects of oxidative associated liver diseases through various cellular and molecular mechanisms. Those mechanisms include suppressing the proinflammatory cytokines, lipid perodixation products, PI3K/Akt and hepatic stellate cells activation, as well as ameliorating cellular responses to oxidative stress such as the expression of Nrf2, SOD, CAT, GSH, GPx and GR. Taking together, curcumin itself acts as a free radical scavenger over the activity of different kinds of ROS via its phenolic, β-diketone and methoxy group. Further clinical studies are still needed in order to recognize the structure-activity relationships and molecular mechanisms of curcumin in oxidative associated liver diseases.

Selected-ion flow-tube mass-spectrometry (SIFT-MS) fingerprinting versus chemical profiling for geographic traceability of Moroccan Argan oils

This study investigated the effectiveness of SIFT-MS versus chemical profiling, both coupled to multivariate data analysis, to classify 95 Extra Virgin Argan Oils (EVAO), originating from five Moroccan Argan forest locations. The full scan option of SIFT-MS, is suitable to indicate the geographic origin of EVAO based on the fingerprints obtained using the three chemical ionization precursors (H3O+, NO+ and O2+). The chemical profiling (including acidity, peroxide value, spectrophotometric indices, fatty acids, tocopherols- and sterols composition) was also used for classification. Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA), K-nearest neighbors (KNN), and support vector machines (SVM), were compared. The SIFT-MS data were therefore fed to variable-selection methods to find potential biomarkers for classification. The classification models based either on chemical profiling or SIFT-MS data were able to classify the samples with high accuracy. SIFT-MS was found to be advantageous for rapid geographic classification.

In Vitro and In Vivo Antioxidant and Anti-Hyperglycemic Activities of Moroccan Oat Cultivars

Improvement of oat lines via introgression is an important process for food biochemical functionality. This work aims to evaluate the protective effect of phenolic compounds from hybrid Oat line (F11-5) and its parent (Amlal) on hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress and to establish the possible mechanisms of antidiabetic activity by digestive enzyme inhibition. Eight phenolic acids were quantified in our samples including ferulic, p-hydroxybenzoic, caffeic, salicylic, syringic, sinapic, p-coumaric and chlorogenic acids. The Oat extract (2000 mg/kg) ameliorated the glucose tolerance, decreased Fasting Blood Glucose (FBG) and oxidative stress markers, including Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Catalase (CAT), Glutathione peroxidase (GPx), Glutathione (GSH) and Malondialdehyde (MDA) in rat liver and kidney. Furthermore, Metformin and Oat intake prevented anxiety, hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis in diabetic rats. In vivo anti-hyperglycemic effect of Oat extracts has been confirmed by their inhibitory activities on α-amylase (723.91 μg/mL and 1027.14 μg/mL) and α-glucosidase (1548.12 μg/mL & 1803.52 μg/mL) enzymes by mean of a mixed inhibition.