Biological assessment of a Meditteranean invasive weed flora for a better ecological farming management

In the framework of enhancing the biological potential of wild medicinal
plants of the Mediterranean flora, the present work investigates the
phytochemical screening of different extracts of various plant parts of
a wild medicinal plant Inula viscosa from Asteraceae botanical family
including roots, leaves, flowers, and aerial parts. This work also
highlights the quantification of the key secondary metabolites, total
polyphenols and flavonoids, present and its correlation with in vitro
antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Biological assays have shown
encouraging results for the antioxidant activities, with specific
impacts upon reducing power (FRAP test), hydrogen peroxide formation and
scavenging of hydroxyl radicals. The extract of the plant inflorescence
is a promising source of phenols and potent antioxidants with the
ability to reduce the generation of hydroxyl free radical chains,
typically produced as a result of oxidative stress.
In addition, antibacterial and antifungal activity was evaluated using
the disc diffusion assay on an agar medium. The efficacy of the extracts
evaluated has been demonstrated against five pathogenic bacterial and
fungal reference strains. Obtained results suggested that aerial parts
are a better source of plant phenols, whereas roots extracts showed
higher in vitro antimicrobial activity. Results also exhibit correlation
between metabolite abundance and activity and opportunity for broader
application of bioactive compound screening and assessment towards the
development of commercial products for organic farming. Invasive plants
may also prove useful as an unexplored source of bioactive natural
products useful for sustainable crop production systems.