HPLC-DAD phenolic screening and in vitro assessment of antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of Tanteboucht dates

The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is one of the most important crops in arid and semi-arid zones. Date fruit occupies a good place in traditional medicine among the Saharan residents, due to its therapeutic virtues; although there may be several therapeutic virtues yet to be discovered. The aim of this study was to investigate the phytochemical and pharmacological properties of the hexanic (EHx), chloroformic (ECh), ethyl acetate (EAc) and aqueous (EAq) extracts of Tanteboucht pulp. The phytochemical characterization and estimation of phenolic compounds were done based on an HPLC-DAD approach. The antioxidant activity was evaluated by a DPPH scavenging effect test. The sensitivity of 7 bacterial strains and Candida albicans to Tanteboucht extracts was tested using the diffusion disc on agar medium method. The membrane stabilization test was used to determine the in vitro anti-inflammatory effect of the fruit extracts. Fourteen phenolic compounds were detected in organic extracts and EAc was the richest followed by ECh and finally EHx which was very poor in these molecules. All extracts showed antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties which differ in rate. Indeed, ECh had the greatest scavenging effect on DPPH, followed by EAc and then EAq. EAc was the most potent inhibitor of microbial strains. EAc and ECh were more efficient at membrane stabilization followed by EAq and the three extracts had more anti-inflammatory capacity than the positive control acetyl salicylic acid. The obtained considerable activities were significantly correlated with flavonoid and tannin contents in the extracts.