Chemical Composition and Biological Prospects of Essential Oils and Extracts of Aphyllocladus spartioides Growing in Northwest Argentina

Aphyllocladus spartioides Wedd . is a native and aromatic herb used in traditional medicine, however it is still poorly investigated. In this work, the volatile profile of A . spartioides growing in Hornillos‐Northwest Argentina was determined by GC / MS / FID and the phenolic compounds of hydroethanolic and decoction extracts were analyzed by HPLC ‐ DAD . The antibacterial potential, antioxidant activity and α ‐glucosidase inhibition activity were checked by in vitro assays. The volatile profile allowed the identification of 68 compounds, being α ‐pinene and cadinene the main ones. Eighteen phenolics were identified, isorhamnetin derivatives and different phenolic acid derivatives were found in higher amounts, mainly in the hydroethanolic extract. A concentration‐dependent activity was noticed against DPPH · , O 2· − ,· N Oand α ‐glucosidase, these activities being reported for the first time. Hydroethanolic extract was most active against DPPH · , · NO and α ‐glucosidase ( IC 50 = 79, 206 and 181 μg/ml). Decoction extract proved to be better against O 2· −( IC 50 = 20 μg/ml). Regarding the antibacterial activity, hydroethanolic extract was more active compared with decoction and essential oil. MIC s of 0.3 – 0.6 mg/ml were obtained against Staphylococcus aureus , Bacillus cereus , and Micrococcus luteus . Results suggest that the extracts of A . spartioides from Northwest Argentina may be interesting to use as a source of natural antioxidants/antimicrobials for pharmaceutical incorporations or food supplementation.