In-depth study of phytochemical composition, antioxidant activity, enzyme inhibitory and antiproliferative properties of Achillea filipendulina: a good candidate for designing biologically-active food products

Achillea species (Asteraceae) are important medicinal foods widely used as traditional medicine, herbal tea, and food additives. In the present study, the chemical composition, antioxidant, cytotoxicity, and enzyme inhibitory activities (α-amylase, α-glucosidase, cholinesterase, and tyrosinase) of the essential oils (EOs) and ethanolic (EtOH) extracts from flowers and leaves of Achillea filipendulina were investigated. The EOs were characterized by the presence of 35 and 38 volatile constituents, representing 98.88% and 97.26% of the flowers and leaves oils, respectively. Chrysanthenyl acetate (19.11% and 16.26%), 1,8-cineole (17.18% and 12.01%), borneol (9.70% and 7.66%), and α-pinene (9.60% and 8.77%) were identified as the major compounds. Phenolics profiling showed 11 phenolic acid and flavonoids are presented in this herb flower and leaves EtOH extracts of which chlorogenic acid (214.95 and 154.54 mg/100 g extract), cinnamic acid (116.67 and 90.41 mg/100 g extract), and apigenin (204.89 and 228.28 mg/100 g extract) were the major ingredients. Moreover, the extracts contained significant amounts of total phenolics, flavonoids, tannins, and saponin compounds. All samples showed moderate to high inhibitory effects against key enzyme linked to Alzheimer’s and diabetes diseases. Furthermore, the extracts exhibited promising antityrosinase activity. Evaluation of antiproliferative activity exerted that flower of the plant had the highest effect on MCF-7 and Hep-G2 cell lines, while the plant essential oil didn’t have significant effect. Overall, our findings indicated that A. filipendulina has great potential for designing novel industrial formulations including pharmaceuticals and cosmeceuticals.