Influence of plant matrix, solvent polarity and extraction technique on phytochemical profile and in vitro biological activity of Ziziphus nummularia (Burm. f.) Wight and Arn. grown in Rafha, Saudi Arabia

The current research evaluates the influence of plant matrix, solvents and methods of extraction on phytoconstituents and in vitro anti-inflammatory activities of Ziziphus nummularia (Burm.f.) Wight and Arn.(Z.nummularia) seeds and leaves.Methanol, chloroform and petroleum ether were used as solvents.The methods used for extraction were maceration (ME), Soxhlet (SE) and microwave-assisted extraction (MWE).Proteinase inhibitory and albumin denaturation activity were utilised to access the anti-inflammatory properties.The results reveal that plant matrix, solvent and the method of extraction play an important role in the quantity of phytoconstituents, which in turn affect biological activities.Use of green technologies like MWE, led to the highest total phenolic content (TPC) (630.66 ± 2.8 GAE/g) and total flavonoid content (TFC) (142.66 ± 2.8 QE/g).Methanol proved to be the best solvent.Concerning the plant matrix, the leaves were found to be richer in these constituents as compared to the seeds.The methanol leaf extract obtained from the MWE method offered the maximum anti-inflammatory activity at 500 µg/ml in the albumin denaturation as well as the proteinase inhibitory method.The percentage inhibition of protein inhibition was 88.79 % at 500 µg/ml, while proteinase inhibitory activity was found to be 73.83% at the same concentration.In conclusion, the best method for extraction of polyphenols from the leaves was found to be MWE using methanol as a solvent.This study provides useful insight into the extraction conditions (technique, solvent, and plant matrix) for the evaluation of anti-inflammatory property.