LC-ESI-TOF-MS and GC-MS profiling of Artemisia herba-alba and evaluation of its bioactive properties

•LC-ESI-TOF-MS and GC-EI-MS were adopted for the analysis of Artemisia herba alba.•86 metabolites including flavones, quinic acid derivatives, coumarins and terpenoids were identified and have antioxidant and potential anticancer effects.•herba alba metabolites have antioxidant and potential anticancer effects.

In this work, LC-ESI-TOF-MS and GC-EI-MS were used to assess the potential of Artemisia herba alba as a source of health-promoting constituents. Besides, the antioxidant, the antimicrobial and the cytotoxic potentials were evaluated. A total of 86 metabolites, including C-glycosylated and methylated flavones, quinic acid derivatives, coumarins, sesquiterpenes lactones, terpenoids, fatty acids, carbohydrates, organic acids and alkaloids were identified, sixty five of them were reported for the first time in A. herba alba. The main compounds were di-O-caffeoylquinic acids, artemisinic acid, menthol, α-ketoglutaric acid, scopolin, isoschaftoside and sucrose. Furthermore, results showed that A. herba alba possess high total antioxidant activity (Total antioxidant activity = 423 mg gallic acid equivalent/g dry weight), strong potential anticancer capacity against MCF-7 breast cancer and HeLa human cervical cell lines (IC50 of 15 and 70 μg/ml, respectively), and moderate antibacterial activity against S. aureus, B. thurigiensis and A. hydrophila. These results support the use of this plant as alternative bioactive ingredient for functional foods, dietary supplements or nutraceuticals.

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