Unveiling the Phytochemical Profiling, hypolipidemic, hypoglycemic and antioxidant effects of different extracts from Lavandula stoechas L. (French lavender) grown in Palestine

Background: Lavandula stoechas L. (French lavender; Lamiaceae) is a well-known Lavender species in the Mediterranean Sea Basin. It is widely used in traditional medicine owing to its wound healing, antispasmodic, and expectorant properties. As a result, the current study was the first to investigate the phytochemical composition, phenol, tannin, flavonoid contents, DPPH free radicals, porcine pancreatic lipase, and α-amylase inhibitory capacities of L. stoechas various polarities fractions from Palestine.
Methods: Specific coloring and precipitation procedures were used for phytochemical screening. Total phenolic content was quantified using the colorimetric technique Folin-Ciocalteu. The aluminum chloride technique was used to determine the total flavonoid level, while the vanillin approach was used to determine tannins. The antioxidant value was determined using the DPPH technique. At the same time, porcine pancreatic lipase and α-amylase inhibitory effects were estimated by p-nitrophenyl butyrate (PNPB) and 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid (DNSA) approaches, respectively.
Results: The results indicate that L. stoechas methanol fraction exhibited the highest total flavonoid content (18.028 ±1.51 mg of QUE/g) and notable total phenol contents of 127.13 ±2.07 mg of GAE/g. While acetone fraction yielded the highest total tannin content (94.01±1.08 mg of CAE/g). Moreover, among the L. stoechas fractions, the aqueous one has a higher antioxidant (IC50= 47.86±0.08 µg/ml) compared to methanol (IC50= 66.06±0.06 µg/ml), acetone (IC50= 63.09±0.29 µg/ml), and hexane (IC50= 79.43±0.1 µg/ml) fractions. All plant fractions showed weak porcine pancreatic lipase and α-amylase inhibitory effects compared with the employed positive controls.
Conclusions: The present study has provided valuable insights into the phytochemical composition and bioactivity of different fractions obtained from L. stoechas. Based on the results obtained, it is recommended that the specific bioactive compounds responsible for the observed effects be explored and identified.