Phytochemical analysis and biological activities of Scabiosa atropurpurea L. aerial parts growing on Northern Algeria

The use of natural materials and treatments derived from them is steadily growing in a variety of industries, including medicine, agriculture, food, and cosmetics. UPLC/ESI/MS ⁿ was utilized to analyze the aqueous (AqE) and methanol (ME) extracts of Scabiosa atropurpurea . The antioxidant activity was tested using hydroxyl radical and hydrogen peroxide scavenging assays. In addition, the in vitro anti-protein denaturation and xylene-, croton oil-induced mouse ear and formalin-induced paw edematous assays were applied for anti-inflammatory assessment. Besides, the analgesic activity was evaluated using aspirin as a reference standard. Phytochemical investigation had revealed higher polyphenolic content in ME than AqE, and UPLC-MS-MS analysis of both extracts has resulted in thirty-four secondary metabolites belonging to different chemical classes with major presence of flavonoids and tannins. AqE showed a high antioxidant potential and anti-protein denaturation effect compared to ME. Both extracts revealed a significant and comparable in vivo anti-inflammatory activity in xylene, croton oil and formalin induced oedema. ME showed more potent analgesic activity compared to AqE in the acetic acid-induced writhing test. Further investigation into S. atropurpurea is warranted for developing antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and analgesic products. Moreover, in silico pharmacodynamic profile was performed on the major tentatively identified compounds. It was observed that di-caffeoylquinic acid elicited the most promising inhibitory activity against cyclooxygenase-2 (5F19) with a docking score equal to -10.1 Kcal/mol comparable to the standard drug diclofenac.