Phytochemical Profile and Antioxidant Potential of Montanoa bipinnatifida C. Koch Leaf Extract: Promising Bioactives for Pharmaceutical Applications

Plants long employed in traditional medicine remain promising yet underexplored sources of antioxidant compounds. Montanoa bipinnatifida C. Koch, native to southern Mexico, is one such species with a largely uncharacterized chemical profile. In this study, a hydroethanolic of Montanoa bipinnatifida C. Koch leaf extract (MB-LE) was prepared via maceration with 70% ethanol, yielding 18% (w/w), and subsequently analyzed using spectroscopic and metabolomic approaches. UV–Vis and FTIR spectra revealed a chemically diverse matrix enriched in phenolic and nitrogen-containing constituents. High-resolution ESI-FT-ICR-MS profiling enabled the tentative identification of structurally varied metabolites, including alkaloids, saponins, glycosides, coumarins, and small peptides, while GC–MS analysis further indicated the presence of terpenoids and lipid-related compounds. These findings highlight a previously unrecognized chemical complexity in these species. Functionally, MB-LE exhibited moderate antioxidant activity in the DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP assays (IC50 = 56.21 ± 0.67 µg/mL, 724.82 ± 27.49 µmol TE/g extract, and 614.90 ± 42.63 µmol TE/g extract, respectively), while the extract’s high phenolic content (333.31 ± 11.93 mg GAE/g extract) suggests a central role of these compounds in its observed activity. Overall, this work positions M. bipinnatifida as a novel source of bioactive metabolites and establishes a foundation for future studies focused on its structural elucidation and biological validation.