An evaluation of the antioxidant potential and in vitro enzyme inhibition profile of selected bryophytes from Northeast Anatolia (Türkiye)

Abstract

Interest in the use of bryophytes in pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food industrial applications is growing worldwide due to their secondary metabolites. In this study, n-hexane crude extracts and further fractions (aqueous, ethyl acetate and n-butanol) of aqueous ethanol (80:20, ethanol:H₂O, v/v) were obtained from five different bryophytes (Pellia epiphylla, Conocephalum conicum, Porella platyphylla, Plagiomnium cuspidatum and Mnium spinulosum) collected from Trabzon, Türkiye. The total phenolic compound (TPC) content, antioxidant capacity (AC) and enzyme inhibition activity (acetylcholine esterase, butyrylcholine esterase, tyrosinase, α-amylase and α-glucosidase) of the extracts and fractions were species-specific and varied significantly between the crude extracts and fractions. Among the different bryophytes, Porella platyphylla and Pellia epiphylla in n-butanol and Plagiomnium cuspidatum and Mnium spinulosum in ethyl acetate fraction exhibited the highest TPC contents and AC values. The contents of phenolic acids liberated in free, ester and glycoside forms were also species-specific. p-Hydroxybenzoic acid (p-HBA) in free form in P. cuspidatum and P. platyphylla, p-coumaric acid (p-CoA) in ester form and m-hydroxybenzoic acid (m-HBA) in glycoside form in M. spinulosum were the major phenolic acids in the bryophytes. The n-hexane extracts of the bryophytes, in particular M. spinulosum, had IC₅₀ values ​​almost 100 times lower than acarbose. This suggests that M. spinulosum in particular may represent a possible candidate for the production of new antidiabetic agents.

Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma

Keywords:

• Bryophyte
• antioxidant capacity
• enzyme inhibition
• α-glucosidase
• choline esterases
• tyrosinase

View correction statement:

Correction

Data availability statement

Data will be made available on request.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study received financial support from The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) (Project Number 119Z160).