Affiliation:
1. Department of Physical and Analytical Chemistry University of Jaén, Campus Las Lagunillas Jaén Spain
2. Faculty of Technology Novi Sad University of Novi Sad Novi Sad Serbia
3. Department of Biology, Science Faculty Selcuk University Konya Turkey
4. Department of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine Harran University Sanliurfa Turkey
5. Dialysis Program, Vocational School of Health Services Harran University Sanliurfa Turkey
6. Department of Pharmacy, Botanic Garden “Giardino dei Semplici” Università degli Studi “Gabriele d'Annunzio” Chieti Italy
Abstract
AbstractThe Cucurbita genus has been widely used in traditional medicinal systems across different countries. In this study, we aimed to investigate the chemical composition, antioxidant properties, enzyme inhibitory, and cytotoxic effects of methanol and aqueous extracts obtained from the aerial parts, seeds, and fruit shells of Cucurbita okeechobeensis. Antioxidant properties were assessed using various chemical methods, including radical quenching (DPPH and ABTS), reducing power (CUPRAC and FRAP), metal chelation, and phosphomolybdenum assays. The extracts' enzyme inhibitory effects were tested against cholinesterase, amylase, glucosidase, and tyrosinase, whereas different cancer cell lines were used for the cytotoxicity study. The chemical composition, evaluated by HPLC‐ESI‐MSn, showed that the most abundant compounds were flavonoids (mainly quercetin glycosides) followed by phenolic acids (mostly caffeic acid derivatives). The aerial parts displayed stronger antioxidant ability than the seed and fruit shells, in agreement with the highest content in phytochemicals. In addition, the methanol extracts presented the highest bioactivity and content in phytochemicals; among them, the extract of the aerial part exhibited significant cytotoxic effects on cancer cell lines and induced apoptosis. Overall, our results suggest that C. okeechobeensis is a valuable source of bioactive compounds for the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries.