Phytochemical Study, Biotechnological Applications and Experimental Evaluation of the Pharmacological Quality of Tamarix Africana Stems Fractions

Abstract

Since antiquity, phytomedicine played a crucial role and many comprehensive texts documenting the medicinal impact of plants were discovered during many civilization eras, suggesting folk medicine is the foundation of modern medicine. This work look into the phytochemical composition, as well as the pharmacological properties, of Tamarix Africana stems organic fractions. The phytochemical study was carried out using phytochemical screening method while phenolic, flavonoids, condensed and hydrolysable tannins contents by spectrophotometric approach. The antioxidant assay was measured using five approaches. Anti-diabetic capacity was investigated with two assays. Furthermore, the cytotoxicity of the extracts was tested against Artemia Salina nauplii and the photoprotective test was assessed using sun protection factor measurement (SPF). Data revealed that both extracts contained phenolic substances, the EA fraction had the highest proportion of phenolics, flavonoids, condensed and hydrolysable tannins (825.47±2.34 μg GAE/mg), (238.4±2.11 μg QE/mg), (8.44±1.05 μg CE/mg), (508.23±3.65 μg TAE/mg) respectively. The antioxidant, antidiabetic, and cytotoxicity of these extracts evolved in dose-dependent manner. EA activity was higher than MeOH extract in antioxidant tests. A moderate antidiabetic effect was expressed by EA extract, while this effect was higher for MeOH extract. A significant cytotoxic and photoprotective effects was observed for both MeOH and EA extracts when compared to the corresponding standards. This study suggests that Tamarix Africana stems has certain pharmacological effects, especially to cure disorders linked to oxidative stress, glycemia perturbation, dermatopathology and some cancers.