Metabolite‐Profiling and DNA‐Fingerprinting of Some Selected Species of Family Zygophyllaceae With Assessment of Their Bioactive Potential

Zygophyllaceae R.Br. is a family with a high level of variability in plasticity that results in many conflicts about its taxa ranking and authenticating processes. Five selected Egyptian species belonging to genera, Fagonia, Tribulus, and Zygophyllum were applied for a comparative chemical and molecular study to assess their range of variations. The plants were evaluated for their 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity. Liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry profiling of the aqueous methanol extracts of the investigated plants and Global Natural Product Social molecular networking tentatively identified 174 compounds belonging to various chemical classes. Flavonoids are predominant, and myricetin derivatives were reported for the first time from Fagonia glutinosa. Diethyl ether extract analysis with gas chromatography with flame ionization detection detected 10 unsaturated and 13 saturated fatty acids. T. terrestris possessed the largest concentration of unsaturated fatty acids (up to 76.39%) whereas Z. simplex had the highest concentration of the saturated ones (76.82%). DNA fingerprinting was performed using Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat markers and variations with 75.32% polymorphism were detected. Chemical and molecular data suggest the distinction of Tribulus sp. from the other studied taxa and grouping Fagonia close to Zygophyllum. Moreover, the DPPH assay showed weak to moderate radical scavenging activity at 500 µg/mL with cell viability ranging from 63.5% to 90.1%.