Chemical composition and potential antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic efficacy of Cistus albidus L.

This study aims to assess the chemical composition of the aqueous extract of Cistus albidus L. leaves, as well as the potential of aqueous and hydroethanol extracts of the leaves and seeds as analgesic, anti--inflammatory, and antioxidant agents. The contents of phenolics and inorganic constituents were determined in C. albidus seeds and leaves; antioxidant capacity was assessed by 3 complementary and diverse tests. The carrageenan-induced paw edema technique was used to investigate the anti-inflammatory effect in vivo, and albumin denaturation to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect in vitro. The acetic acid-induced contortion test, the tail-flick test, and the plantar test were used to assess the analgesic effi cacy in vivo.

Chemical analysis was performed by UPLC-MS/MS to quantify several phenolic compounds including catechin (1,627.6 mg kg⁻¹), quercitrin (1,235.8 mg kg–1) and gallic acid (628. 2 mg kg⁻¹). The ICP analysis revealed that potassium and calcium were the main inorganic components in the seeds and leaves of C. albidus. The hydroethanolic extract of the leaves showed the highest content of polyphenols/flavonoids, whereas the highest value of proantho cyanidins was detected in the aqueous extract of the seeds. All extracts showed potent antioxidant activity related to different phenolic compounds (quercetin, gallic acid, astragalin, catechin, and rutin). The aqueous extract of the leaves strongly inhibited paw edema (76.1 %) after 6 h of treatment and showed maximal inhibition of protein denaturation (191.0 µg mL⁻¹ for 50 % inhibition) and analgesic activity in different nociceptive models. The presented data reveal that C. albidus extracts potentially show antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic activities that could confirm the traditional use of this plant.