FREE RADICAL SCAVENGING ACTIVITY AND DETAILED FLAVONOID PROFILING OF ALGERIAN YEW (TAXUS BACCATA L.) BY LC–ESI–MS/MS

According to recent studies, the antioxidant related properties of Taxus baccata L. needle extracts are remarkable making it a possible raw material for the pharmaceutical industry, hence requiring the identification of major bioactive compounds and the assessment of the antioxidant properties of the extracts. The aim of this study was to investigate for the first time the individual flavonoids and the in vitro free radical scavenging activity of the methanol needle extracts from two Algerian Taxus baccata populations. The identification process was carried out using liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC–ESI–MS/MS). A total of twenty compounds have been characterized and identified. Some of which have never been previously reported in T. baccata L. The total flavonoid contents in Taxus baccata showed significant differences (p<0.05) according to the populations. The total flavonoid contents were relatively greater at the Chrea population (TFC = 220.1 ± 6.36 mg RE/g dry extract) compared to the Tikjda population (TFC = 166.6 ± 1.73 mg RE/g dry extract). Similarly, the highest antioxidant activity was observed with the methanolic extracts from the Chrea population [(DPPH IC₅₀ = 29.44 ± 0.99 µg/ml, ABTS IC₅₀ = 10.94 ± 1.06 µg/m). The findings indicated that the Taxus baccata needles possessed strong antioxidant properties and could be an important source of natural compounds for development of new drugs.