Screening of Two Algerian Spontaneous Plants for Anti-lipase and Antioxidant Activities

Lipase inhibitors have a high pharmacological interest because they could help in the therapy of diseases in which lipases play an important role such as obesity. Extracts from two Algerian spontaneous plants: Oudneya africana and Pulicaria crispa, were screened for potential lipase inhibitory activity. The enzymatic inhibition produced by these plants extracts is described here for the first time. Additionally, the antioxidant activity of extracts was investigated using 1, 1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activities, 2,2-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) radical cation scavenging activities and phosphomolybdenum complex. The results have shown that ethyl acetate fraction of Pulicaria crispa extract obtained by 70% (v/v) aqueous acetone was the best extract based on its lipase inhibitory activity (IC50 1.33±0.03mg/ml). The extracts of Oudneya africana and Pulicaria crispa showed a pronounced scavenging activity on DPPH, ABTS radicals and had a potent reductive ability on phosphomolybdate assay.