Phytochemical Characterization and Antioxidant Potential of Peganum harmala L. Seeds: A Natural Source of Bioactive Compounds.

Abstract

This study investigated the antioxidant potential and biochemical composition of Peganum harmala (üzerlik) using ethanol (ETOH) and water (AQUA) as extraction solvents. Antioxidant capacity was assessed via ABTS, DPPH, and FRAP assays, alongside total protein quantification and chromatographic analysis of phenolic compounds. The ethanol extract demonstrated markedly higher ABTS (782 μM TE/gDW) and DPPH (150 μM TE/gDW) activities compared to the aqueous extract (160.25 and 60.94 μM TE/gDW, respectively), indicating ethanol’s greater efficiency in extracting lipophilic antioxidants. Conversely, FRAP activity was higher in the aqueous extract (684.69 μM TE/gDW) than in ethanol (520.69 μM TE/gDW), suggesting better recovery of hydrophilic antioxidants. Protein content was also higher in ethanol extracts (54.41 µg/gDW) than in aqueous (39.37 µg/gDW). Phenolic profiling revealed that aqueous extracts were richer in 3-hydroxybenzoic, 4-hydroxybenzoic, ferulic, and p-coumaric acids, while ethanol extracts contained gallic and chlorogenic acids absent in aqueous samples. Flavonoids such as hesperidin and hyperoside were detected only in the aqueous extract. Overall, ethanol favored the extraction of proteins, lipophilic antioxidants, and certain phenolic acids, while water was more effective for hydrophilic phenolics and some flavonoids. These findings underscore the solvent-dependent selectivity in bioactive compound recovery from P. harmala, providing a comprehensive insight into its functional potential.

Keywords

• Peganum harmala L.
• antioxidant activity
• phenolic compounds
• ethanol and water extraction
• Protein content.

Peganum harmala L. Tohumlarının Fitokimyasal Karakterizasyonu ve Antioksidan Potansiyeli: Biyoaktif Bileşiklerin Doğal Bir Kaynağı

Abstract

Bu çalışmada, Peganum harmala (üzerlik) bitkisinin antioksidan potansiyeli ve biyokimyasal bileşimi, çözücü olarak etanol (ETOH) ve su (AQUA) kullanılarak değerlendirilmiştir. Antioksidan kapasite ABTS, DPPH ve FRAP yöntemleriyle belirlenmiş; toplam protein miktarı ile fenolik bileşik profili kromatografik analizlerle incelenmiştir. Etanol ekstraktı, ABTS (782 μM TE/gKM) ve DPPH (150 μM TE/gKM) aktivitelerinde sulu ekstrakta (160,25 ve 60,94 μM TE/gKM) kıyasla belirgin üstünlük göstermiş, bu da lipofilik antioksidanların ekstraksiyonunda etanolün daha verimli olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Buna karşın, FRAP aktivitesi sulu ekstrakta (684,69 μM TE/gKM) etanol ekstraktına (520,69 μM TE/gKM) göre daha yüksek bulunmuş ve hidrofilik antioksidanların su ile daha iyi ekstrakte edildiğini göstermiştir. Protein içeriği de etanol ekstraktında (54,41 µg/gKM) sulu ekstrakta (39,37 µg/gKM) göre daha yüksek tespit edilmiştir. Fenolik profil analizinde, sulu ekstraktın 3-hidroksibenzoik, 4-hidroksibenzoik, ferulik ve p-kumarik asit bakımından zengin olduğu; etanol ekstraktında ise sulu örneklerde bulunmayan gallik ve klorojenik asit tespit edilmiştir. Ayrıca, hesperidin ve hiperosid yalnızca sulu ekstrakta belirlenmiştir. Bulgular, P. harmala’da çözücüye bağlı biyoaktif bileşik seçiciliğini ortaya koymakta ve fonksiyonel potansiyeli hakkında kapsamlı bilgi sunmaktadır.

Keywords

• Peganum harmala L.
• antioksidan aktivite
• fenolik bileşikler
• etanol ve su ekstaksiyonu
• protein içeriği.

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