A view on antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory activity of senecio hercynicus herbal drugs

Senecio hercynicus Herborg. (Asteraceae) is a perennial plant containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids and sesquiterpene lactones due to which it has analgesic, hypoglycaemic and insecticidal properties. Herein, a phytochemical profile of S. hercynicus together with an assessment of the antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory potential, is presented. The herbal drugs (flower heads, aerial parts and roots) were collected on Vitosha Mt., Bulgaria. The methanol-aqueous extracts were analyzed by UHPLCHRMS and then 60 phenolic compounds comprising hydroxybenzoic, hydroxycinnamic acids and glycosides, sugar esters, acylquinic acids and flavonoids were identified or tentatively elucidated. The highest total phenolic and flavonoid contents were found in the flower heads (41:53 ± 1:17 mgGAE/g and 10:01 ± 0:10 mgRE/g, respectively). Accordingly, flower heads revealed the most pronounced radical scavenging activity (94.93 mgTE/g DPPH and 164.97 mgTE/g ABTS), reducing power (183.34 mgTE/g CUPRAC) and antioxidant potential in phosphomolybdenum assay (1.12 mmol TE/g). The highest metal-chelating capacity was found for the aerial parts (79:39 ± 2:58 mg EDTAE/g). Flower heads and roots extracts exhibited prominent acetylcholinesterase (4.02 mg GALAE/g) and butyrylcholinesterase (4.00 mg GALAE/g) inhibitory activity, respectively. The highest α-glucosidase inhibition (1:16 ± 0:07 mmolACAE/ g) was registered for the flower heads. The study indicated that S. hercynicus flower heads extracts could be focus of further phytopharmacological research.