Effects of extraction techniques on bioactive compounds and biological properties of Silene behen L.

The present research evaluated the maceration and ultrasonication-assisted extraction methods on the phytochemical composition, antioxidant activity, and enzyme inhibition effects of Silene behen. The spectrophotometric methods determined the total bioactive compounds. 22 phenolic compounds were analyzed in S. behen extracts. Benzoic acid was the major phenolic compound (S. behen MAC: 3552.7 µg/g; S. behen UAE: 4215.2 µg/g), followed by gallic acid and epicatechin. S. behen UAE (19.47 mg GAE/g) contained higher total phenolic content compared to S. behen MAC (16.57 mg GAE/g) extract. Similarly, S. behen UAE showed higher antioxidant activity than S. behen MAC. S. behen UAE showed the strongest radical scavenging activity, with DPPH (31.66 mg TE/g) and ABTS (49.54 mg TE/g). The highest reducing power activity was found in the S. behen UAE (CUPRAC: 96.56 mgTE/g; FRAP: 36.29 mgTE/g). The antioxidant results indicated that UAE can be used to extract natural antioxidant agents from S. behen. The tested extracts displayed inhibitory effects against tyrosinase, cholinesterase, α-amylase, and α-glucosidase. S. behen UAE (2.38 mg GALAE/g) demonstrated the highest activity against butyrylcholinesterase enzyme. Inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase was similar across the two extracts. The anti-tyrosinase effect of S. behen MAC (47.49 mgKAE/g) was higher than that of S. behen UAE (45.65 mgKAE/g). These results highlight that S. behen extract may serve as a promising source of natural antioxidants and enzyme inhibitors.