This investigation was designed to evaluate the anti-tyrosinase and antioxidant potentialities of leaves and inflorescences of six Ocimum species. Currently, cosmaceutical and nutraceutical industries are looking for sources that are substitutes for synthetic agents which are natural or plant-derived bioactive components which are non-toxic skin lightening agents and anti-browning agents for fruits and vegetables. Both leaves and inflorescences of all the Ocimum species demonstrated anti-tyrosinase activities in a dose-dependent manner. GC/MS revealed seven phenolic compounds viz., p-arbutin, quinic acid, ferulic acid, 1,2,4-benzene triol, gallic acid, vanillic acid, and p-coumaric acid present in the studied plant parts and exhibited anti-tyrosinase activity with significant IC50 values. Metabolomic and chemometric strategies deciphered metabolome classification of the studied species. Seven identified phenolic compounds showing anti-tyrosinase activity were further subjected to in silico analysis to explore their binding mechanism with tyrosinase enzyme, and were found to interact with the targeted enzyme with high binding affinity. تفاصيل المقالة

Hydro-methanolic extracts of pericarps and seeds of 10 different Capsicum cultivars from three different species viz., Capsicum chinense, C. annuum and C. frutescens were assessed to determine metabolic variations and anti-cholinesterase, anti-malarial and anti-protein denaturation activities at four different stages of ripening, namely green unripe (GU), turning green-orange (TGO), orange ripe (OR) and red fully ripe (RFR) stages. Many of the ripening stages of the tested cultivars showed significant bioactivities in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, metabolites were identified using GC/MS. On the other hand, HPLC analysis revealed the highest capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin content in the pericarp of GU, TGO and RFR stages of C. chinense. β-Carotene, capsanthin and lutein contents of C. chinense were also measured using HPTLC technique. The GU and RFR stages of C. chinense contained appropriate amounts of all three carotenoids. These results may be helpful in selecting the cultivars with the best attributes. تفاصيل المقالة