Untapped potential of wild medicinal flora: HPLC-based characterization, enzyme inhibition and antioxidant properties of Macrochloa tenacissima (L.) kunth and Sinapis arvensis extracts

This study investigated the chemical composition and biological activities of Macrochloa tenacissima and Sinapis arvensis using HPLC-DAD and in vitro assays. HPLC analysis revealed that M. tenacissima flowers contained apigenin (1.15 mg/g), luteolin (0.74 mg/g) and epicatechin (0.52 mg/g), along with traces of theobromine, theophylline and coumarins, whereas S. arvensis was rich in caffeic (0.80 mg/g) and ferulic acids (0.09 mg/g). Antioxidant assays demonstrated that methanol extracts of M. tenacissima exhibited strong DPPH (148.45 ± 5.88 µg/mL) and ABTS (50.44 ± 5.94 µg/mL) scavenging, while S. arvensis showed the highest cupric reducing power (138.61 ± 3.17 µg/mL). Enzyme inhibition assays indicated that M. tenacissima exerted the strongest butyrylcholinesterase (446.92 ±-23.96 µg/mL) and tyrosinase inhibition (693.57 µg/mL). These findings, representing the first report on M. tenacissima bioactivities, highlight the pharmacological potential of both species as valuable sources of natural antioxidants and enzyme inhibitors.