Investigation of Total Phenolic and Flavonoid Contents and Antioxidant Activity of Four Hyacinthaceae Species (Asparagales) from Northern Algeria

Context: Phenolic compounds are widely distributed in the plant kingdom; they are readily available from low-cost sources and have increased interest in their recovery and exploitation over the past decade. In this study, we analyzed crude ethanolic extracts from four Hyacinthaceae species: Bellevalia mauritanica Pomel, and Dipcadi serotinum (L.) Medik., Scilla peruviana L., and Drimia maritima (L.) Stearn. Methods: Total phenolic (TPC) and flavonoid contents (TFC) of crude extracts from leaves and bulbs were determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and aluminum chloride colorimetric assays, respectively. The antioxidant activity of the extracts was determined using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazil free radical scavenging assay. Results: TPC ranged from 1.48 ± 0.07 to 4.01 ± 0.13 mg gallic acid (Sigma-Aldrich) equivalents (mg GAE/g dry weight), with the highest TPC found in B. mauritanica leaves, whereas the leaves of D. serotinum showed the highest TFC, which ranged from 0.50 ± 0.11 to 9.04 ± 0.22 mg quercetine (Sigma-Aldrich) equivalents (mg QE/g dry weight). The antioxidant activity of all studied extracts was positively linked to the total phenolic content. Significant variations were found between the IC50 values of the examined ethanolic extracts and gallic acid, the latter showing the highest value (0.006 ± 0.002 mg/mL). Interpretation: Leaf extracts display higher TPC and TFC than bulb extracts, which positively correlated with antioxidant activity. Conclusion: Our findings strongly suggest that Bellevalia, Dipcadi, and Scilla leaf extracts may serve as a potential source of natural antioxidants.