Phytochemical and biological investigation of nitraria retusa asch

الملخص EN

Nitraria retusa Asch (Zygophyllaceae) of Jordanian origin has been investigated phytochemicals and biologically.

Three compounds, two new and one previously known, have been isolated and identified.

The new compounds are 5, 7-dihydroxy-3-deoxy vasicine (I) and 7-hydroxy-3-deoxy-1-vasiciene (II), while the known compound is O-acetyl nitraraine (I) but reported for the first time from this species.

The relative levels of antioxidant activity and total phenolic content of the methanolic extract of Nitraria retusa and fraction B (the alkaloid rich fraction) were determined using the improved ABTS•+ method and the Folin-Ciocalteau colorimetric method, respectively.

The total phenolic content of the methanolic extract and fraction B was found to be 234.66 and 114.53 mg GAE / g extract, respectively, while the total antioxidant capacity was found to be 429.3 and 809.9 μmol TE / g extract, respectively.

The methanolic extract and fraction B were also tested for their general cytotoxicity using the brine shrimp lethality test (BSLT),but no activity was detected (LC50 > 1000 ppm).