Argan: Phytochemical profiling and evaluation of the antioxidant, hypoglycemic, and antibacterial properties of its fruit pulp extracts.

Herein, we isolated three triterpenoid saponins from the methanol extract of the fruit pulp of argan The structures of the identified compounds were determined using comprehensive NMR spectroscopy analyses (H, C NMR, COSY, TOCSY, ROESY, and HSQC), combined with mass spectroscopy. Gas chromatography (GC) was utilized to determine the monosaccharide contents after the samples underwent methanolysis and their glycoside configuration was proved their trimethylsilyl derivatives. Furthermore, the methanol extract of the fruit pulp and its n-butanol fraction were evaluated for their antioxidant properties DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP assays, antidiabetic activity using α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition activities, and antibacterial properties utilizing microdilution and antibiofilm assays. Compared to the crude methanol extract, our results showed that the n-butanol fraction exhibited more potent antioxidant activity and antibacterial potential against and (MIC = 12.5-50 mg/mL); while no effect on the bacterial biofilm was observed. The methanol extract was more effective in inhibiting α-glucosidase (EC = 0.15 mg/mL), however, the n-butanol fraction elicited strong α-amylase inhibition (EC = 0.49 mg/mL). These findings suggest that the fruit pulp of argan could serve as a potential source of phytochemicals suitable for the treatment of diabetes and its related complications.