Studies on the Bioactivity (Antioxidant, Enzyme Inhibitory, Antimicrobial and Cytotoxic) and Chemical Composition of Aqueous Extracts of Some Plant Species Collected from Turkmenistan

Abstract Alhagi persarum (AP), Alhagi persarum flowers (APF), Ephedra equisetina (EE) and Glycyrrhiza glabra root (GGR) have been utilized in Central Asian folk medicine for centuries. In the present study, antioxidant, enzyme inhibition, antimicrobial and cytotoxic effects the aqueous extracts of these plants were studied. In addition, 23 compounds were identified in the extracts using UHPLC‐DAD‐QqQ‐MS/MS analysis. The four plant samples demonstrated promising antioxidant activities in vitro for scavenging of 2, 20‐azinobis‐(3‐ethylbenz‐thiazoline‐6‐sulphonate) radical (ABTS), 1, 1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH), and total reducing power. AP (DPPH: 47.39 mg TE/g; ABTS:108.58 mg TE/g; CUPRAC: 117.41 mg TE/g; FRAP: 82.22 mg TE/g) and EE (DPPH: 46.75 mg TE/g; ABTS: 110.51 mg TE/g; CUPRAC: 140.77 mg TE/g; FRAP: 91.00 mg TE/g) displayed the strongest antiradical and reduction abilities in the test system. In terms of enzyme inhibition efficacy, AP and EE showed higher bioactivity. Aqueous extracts demonstrated the most potent efficacy against eight different bacterial and fungal strains in antibacterial (MIC values: 1.5–4 mg/ml) and antifungal (MIC values: 1–8 mg/ml) testing. Contrary to other activities, these aqueous extracts did not show cytotoxic effects against HaCaT cells. All bioactivities suggested that the plants could be utilized as candidate resources in the food and pharmaceutical industries.