Pharmacognosy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Fayoum University, Fayoum, 63514, Egypt.
Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Benghazi University, Benghazi, Libya.
Sci Rep. 2024 Oct 25;14(1):25318. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-74544-9.
Crithmum maritimum (sea fennel), is a halophytic plant species found globally in coastal environments. This study is the first investigation into the chemical composition and biological activities of C. maritimum growing wildly in Jebel Akhdar, Libya. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis was utilized to identify and profile the plant's volatile components; it resulted in the identification of twenty-four components, representing 99.17% of the total peaks in the GC-MS chromatogram. The analysis revealed that thymyl methyl ether, γ-terpinene, and ledene oxide, were the major volatile constituents of the plant at relative percentage levels of 56.86, 16.17, and 4.32%, respectively. The analysis also indicated substantial variations in the volatile composition of C. maritimum Libyan species compared to those from various geographic regions. The plant's volatile oil quality was evaluated by investigating its in vitro antioxidant activity and the oil's ability to inhibit acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and tyrosinase enzymes. The oil markedly scavenged the free radicals and reduced the ferric ions in the DPPH and FRAP assays at levels of 34.30 ± 0.10 and 38.90 ± 0.51 Trolox equivalents, respectively. The plant's volatile oil has substantially reduced the AChE at the IC value of 34.43 ± 0.25 compared to its effect against tyrosinase (IC 12.449 ± 0.68). The in silico approach was used to highlight the mechanisms underlying the enzyme inhibitory effect of the plant volatile oil. The stigmastene and γ-santonin demonstrate stronger binding affinity towards AChE and tyrosinase compared to the co-crystalized controls, donepezil and tropolone. The study provides significant information for the environmental changes effect on the volatile constituents of C. maritimum and highlights the plant's importance within the scope of its antioxidant and enzyme inhibition activities.
海茴香（Crithmum maritimum）是一种盐生植物物种，在全球沿海环境中都有发现。本研究首次调查了在利比亚杰贝勒阿克达尔野生生长的 C. maritimum 的化学成分和生物活性。利用气相色谱-质谱联用技术（GC-MS）对植物的挥发性成分进行鉴定和分析；结果鉴定出 24 种成分，占 GC-MS 色谱图中总峰的 99.17%。分析表明，麝香草基甲基醚、γ-萜品烯和 ledene 氧化物是植物的主要挥发性成分，相对百分比分别为 56.86%、16.17%和 4.32%。分析还表明，利比亚 C. maritimum 物种的挥发性成分与来自不同地理区域的物种有很大差异。通过研究其体外抗氧化活性和抑制乙酰胆碱酯酶（AChE）和酪氨酸酶的能力，评估了植物挥发性油的质量。该油在 DPPH 和 FRAP 测定中明显清除自由基并减少铁离子，水平分别为 34.30±0.10 和 38.90±0.51 Trolox 当量。与对酪氨酸酶的作用相比（IC 12.449±0.68），植物挥发性油在 IC 值 34.43±0.25 时大大降低了 AChE 的活性。采用计算机模拟方法突出了植物挥发性油对酶抑制作用的机制。甾醇和γ-当归内酯对 AChE 和酪氨酸酶的结合亲和力强于与对照物（多奈哌齐和曲利本蓝）的共晶。该研究为环境变化对 C. maritimum 挥发性成分的影响提供了重要信息，并强调了该植物在抗氧化和酶抑制活性范围内的重要性。
