Phytochemical profile, antioxidant capacity, acetylcholinesterase inhibition and GC-MS characterization of Myosotis sylvatica flowers
Paper Details
Phytochemical profile, antioxidant capacity, acetylcholinesterase inhibition and GC-MS characterization of Myosotis sylvatica flowers
Abstract
The biological activity of Myosotis sylvatica flowers remains poorly characterized despite the use of the genus in edible and ornamental preparations. This study evaluated extraction yield, phenolic and flavonoid indices, antioxidant capacity, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition, and the derivatized gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) profile of a dried ethanolic flower extract. Three independent extraction batches were prepared from 100 g dried flowers per batch; after ethanol maceration, rotary evaporation and oven drying at 40 °C to constant mass, the extraction yield was 23.70 ± 0.275% (w/w). All quantitative assays were performed across three independent trials using separately prepared batches. Matched extract blanks were incorporated at each test concentration to correct intrinsic absorbance of the naturally colored extract. IC₅₀ values refer to operational concentrations in the final assay reaction mixture or microplate well. Total phenolic content was 117.937 ± 1.074 mg gallic acid equivalents/g extract and total flavonoid content was 26.418 ± 0.278 mg quercetin equivalents/g extract. DPPH radical-scavenging activity gave an IC₅₀ of 113.25 µg/mL, while ferric-reducing antioxidant power and total antioxidant capacity were 380.84 mM Fe²⁺ equivalents and 514.71 mM Trolox equivalents, respectively. AChE inhibition yielded an IC₅₀ of 28.44 µg/mL compared with 0.39 µg/mL for galantamine. Derivatized GC-MS produced 44 library-matched peaks, with relevant putative annotations including γ-sitosterol, linoleic acid, syringic acid, campesterol, stigmasterol and phytol. Together, the results demonstrate a consistent antioxidant and AChE-inhibitory profile in independently prepared dried ethanolic Myosotis sylvatica flower extracts and provide a chemically informed basis for bioassay-guided fractionation.
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