Phenolic Contents And In Vitro Investigation Of The Antioxidant, Enzyme Inhibitory, Photoprotective, And Antimicrobial Effects Of The Organic Extracts Of Pelargonium Graveolens Growing In Morocco

Pelargonium graveolens is an aromatic plant highly appreciated for its essential oil and used to treat various illnesses. The present work focuses on the study of certain pharmacological effects Pelargonium graveolens extracts. The contents of phenolic compounds were quantified by colorimetric methods. Antioxidant, antityrosinase, and anti-urease activities were performed on a 96-well microplate. The photoprotective action of the extracts was also determined measuring the sun protection factor (SPF). Furthermore, antimicrobial activity was evaluated against six bacterial and two fungal strains using the agar-disc diffusion method and determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). The results showed that the methanolic extract contained the highest amounts of total phenolic, flavonoids, flavonols, and condensed tannins 381.25 +/- 2.65 mu g GAE/mg, 330.08 +/- 10.88 mu g QE/mg, 181.52 +/- 2.35 mu g QE/mg and 246.62 +/- 3.26 mu g CE/mg of extract, respectively. Important antioxidant activity was demonstrated by the extracts, particularly the methanol extract, which was the most powerful. In addition, an interesting inhibitory effect was exerted by the extracts against urease and tyrosinase, the methanol extract was the most potent with IC50 values of 31.05 +/- 3.76 mu g/mL and 21.11 +/- 0.38 mu g/mL, respectively. High SPF values were recorded with the extracts ranging from 31.91 +/- 0.04 to 40.06 +/- 1.04. Nevertheless, the extracts showed good to moderate antimicrobial activity at the tested concentrations. These results showed the important effects of Pelargonium graveolens as a medicinal plant, and it may present an interesting source of bioactive compounds for various applications.