Exploration of chemical content and biological activities: a promising source on <i>Capparis sicula</i> subsp. <i>herbacea</i> grown in Türkiye with in vitro and in silico insights

Yenigun S., Basar Y., Demirtaş İ., Özen T., Tel A. Z.

EUROPEAN FOOD RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY, cilt.252, sa.2, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus) identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 252 Sayı: 2
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1007/s00217-025-05016-1
  • Dergi Adı: EUROPEAN FOOD RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, ABI/INFORM, BIOSIS, Chemical Abstracts Core, Compendex, Hospitality & Tourism Complete, Hospitality & Tourism Index
  • Ondokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Capparis sicula subsp. herbacea (CSH) has various biological properties, including antioxidant, anti-diabetic, and anti-inflammatory effects. It is also consumed as a food. In traditional medicine, the different parts of CSH (seeds, fruits, and leaves) are primarily used for their diuretic, blood sugar-lowering, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic properties. In this study, fruits, seeds, and leaves of CSH were extracted using n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and methanol, respectively. According to the results of the GC-MS/MS analysis, linoleic acid methyl ester (42.39-49.70%) and oleic acid methyl ester (29.22-36.67%) were identified as the main components present in varying proportions in the leaves, fruits, and seeds of CSH. LC-ESI-MS/MS analysis revealed high levels of rutin (13505.757 and 4085.376 mu g/g extract) and hesperidin (30214.749 and 9304.823 mu g/g extract) in the methanol extract of the leaves and fruits, respectively. The highest activities were observed for DPPH scavenging with the fruit n-hexane extract (1.16 mu g/mL), xanthine oxidase inhibition with the fruit methanol extract (1.58 mu g/mL), alpha-glucosidase inhibition with the seed n-hexane extract (2.46 mu g/mL), and alpha-amylase inhibition with the seed methanol extract (5.60 mu g/mL). Regarding anti-inflammatory activity, the methanol extract of the fruit showed a similar effect to the diclofenac sodium used as a drug at concentrations of 512 and 256 mu g/mL. The synergistic effect of the hesperidin/rutin adduct was determined by molecular docking and dynamics simulation. Principal component analysis and Gibbs free energy calculations were performed after dynamics. The hesperidin/rutin adduct was found to be effective for alpha-glucosidase. Therefore, the characteristic dwarf type of CSH growing in T & uuml;rkiye, which is widely used in folk medicine, can serve as a pioneer for studies exploring its potential applications in areas such as food and medicine.