Echinops taeckholmiana Amin: Optimization of a Tissue Culture Protocol, Biological Evaluation, and Chemical Profiling Using GC and LC-MS

[Image: see text] There have been no reports published on the rare Echinops taeckholmiana growing wildly in Egypt. So, this study aimed to preserve it through method optimization of in vitro seed germination, besides callus formation from induced seedlings. Chemical profiling using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of the n-hexane fraction afforded 29 identified components, mainly fatty acids esters, sesquiterpenes, triterpenes, one thiophene, and bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electron spray ionization/tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI/MS-MS) analysis of total alcoholic root and induced calli extracts resulted in 68 metabolites. Taraxeryl acetate, β-sitosterol, stigmasterol-3β-d-glucoside, and 1,1,1-kestopentaose were identified from the defatted root extract, which inhibited α-amylase (IC(50) 54.6 μg/mL) and α-glucosidase (60.4 μg/mL) enzymes compared with acarbose (IC(50) values of 30.57 and 34.71 μg/mL, respectively). Moreover, it showed moderate activity against HepG2 (IC(50) 31.1 ± 1.4 μg/mL) and no activity against M-NFS-60 cell lines compared to cisplatin (IC(50) 3.25 ± 1.4 and 8.37 ± 0.25, respectively).