Laboratory of Rangeland Ecosystems and Valorization of Spontaneous Plants and Associated Microorganisms (LR16IRA03), Arid Regions Institute, University of Gabes, Medenine, Tunisia.
Laboratory of Plant, Soil and Environment Interactions (LIPSE), University of Tunis, El Manar 1068, LR21ES01, Tunis, Tunisia.
Appl Biochem Biotechnol. 2023 Oct;195(10):5903-5915. doi: 10.1007/s12010-023-04370-8. Epub 2023 Jan 31.
Most Ephedra species are adapted to arid and desert conditions and are widely used in folk medicine to treat several disorders. The design of the current study was to determine the functional properties of seeds of two Ephedra species (E. alata and E. altissima) naturally growing in Tunisian arid zones by evaluating their mineral contents and bioactive compounds. The flame atomic absorption spectrometry revealed that seeds contained remarkable amounts of sodium (Na), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and iron (Fe). The colorimetric investigation revealed high total polyphenol, flavonoid, and condensed tannin contents. Furthermore, by utilizing high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry method (HPLC-ESI/MS), a total of 11 phenolics were identified and quantified including 7 flavonoid compounds and 4 phenolic acids that were mostly predominated by gallic acid and quercetrin. Results so far have been very encouraging and proved that Ephedra seeds are a valuable source of natural bioactive compounds and minerals which could potentially be used for industrial and pharmaceutical purposes.
大多数麻黄属植物都适应干旱和沙漠环境，广泛用于民间医学治疗多种疾病。本研究旨在通过评估两种自然生长在突尼斯干旱地区的麻黄属植物（麻黄和木贼麻黄）种子的矿物质含量和生物活性化合物，来确定它们的功能特性。火焰原子吸收光谱法显示，种子中含有大量的钠（Na）、钾（K）、钙（Ca）、镁（Mg）、铜（Cu）、锌（Zn）和铁（Fe）。比色法研究显示，总多酚、类黄酮和缩合单宁含量很高。此外，通过利用高效液相色谱-电喷雾电离-质谱联用（HPLC-ESI/MS）方法，共鉴定和定量了 11 种酚类化合物，包括 7 种类黄酮化合物和 4 种酚酸，其中以没食子酸和槲皮苷为主。到目前为止，结果非常令人鼓舞，证明麻黄种子是天然生物活性化合物和矿物质的宝贵来源，这些化合物可能被用于工业和制药目的。
