Influence of Extraction Solvent on Phytochemical Constituents, Phenolic and Flavonoid Contents, and Antioxidant, Anti-Lipid-Oxidation, Anti-Hemolytic, and Anti-Lipoxygenase Activities of Two Algerian Medicinal Plants

Abstract

The present study investigated the phytochemical composition, antioxidant, anti-peroxidative, antihemolytic, and anti-lipoxygenase activities of Cistus villosus and Globularia arabica extracts obtained from different plant organs using solvents of increasing polarity (hexane, dichloromethane, methanol, and DMSO). Phytochemical screening revealed a solvent- and organ-dependent distribution of secondary metabolites, with methanol showing the highest efficiency for recovering polar compounds, particularly phenolics, flavonoids, tannins, and glycosides. Methanolic extracts exhibited the highest extraction yields, reaching 43.46% in G. arabica leaves/flowers and 23.54% in C. villosus leaves/flowers. These extracts also showed the greatest total phenolic and flavonoid contents, with maximum values of 46.99 mg GAE/g DR and 8.54 mg RE/g DR, respectively. Antioxidant evaluation using DPPH, ABTS, and CUPRAC assays demonstrated strong activities of methanolic extracts, especially C. villosus leaves/flowers, which reached 2.706 mg VEEAC/mg DR in the DPPH assay. Antioxidant activities were strongly correlated with phenolic composition, with significant correlations observed between TPC and DPPH (r = 0.884), ABTS (r = 0.936), and CUPRAC (r = 0.949) (p < 0.05). Methanolic extracts also exhibited the highest lipid peroxidation inhibition, while dichloromethane extracts showed remarkable antihemolytic and anti-lipoxygenase activities. The findings demonstrate that solvent polarity and plant organ selection are key factors influencing bioactive compound recovery and biological properties, highlighting C. villosus and G. arabica as promising sources of natural antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents.