Antioxidant Properties and Mineral Contents of Different Solvent Extracts of Some Medicinal Plants Cultivated in Algeria

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The current study aims to evaluate the antioxidant activity, total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) as well as the mineral contents of the aqueous, ethanol, and acetone extracts of three Algerian plants; Haloxylon scoparium, Artemisia campestris L., and Juniperus phoenicea L. The phytochemical screening of the extracts was done using standard methods. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents were evaluated using the Folin-Ciocalteu’s and Aluminium chloride colorimetric methods, respectively. The antioxidant activity was evaluated using the DPPH, ABTS, TAC, and CUPRAC assays. The mineral content was evaluated using ICP-AES. Phytochemical investigation revealed phenols, flavonoids and tannins as the predominant phytochemicals in the plants. The plant extracts showed various degrees of antioxidant activity. The ethanol extract of Juniperus phoenicea exhibited the highest antioxidant activity in both the DPPH and ABTS assays with EC50 values of 39.74 and 13.42 µg/mL, respectively. While the ethanol and acetone extracts of Haloxylon scoparium showed the highest antioxidant activity in the TAC and CUPRAC, respectively with EC50 values of 101.65 and 263 µg/mL, respectively. The TPC of the extracts ranged from 2.38 to 58.03 mg GAE/g DW, while the TFC ranged from 1.03 to 47.59 mg RE/g DW. The mineral content analysis reveals the presence of vital elements like Ca, Mg, Sr, Mn and Ni in the plants. These plants are considered promising natural sources of antioxidants and nutritional supplements that can be utilized in pharmaceutical formulations.