Chemical Constituents and Biological Potentials of Teucrium scordium subsp. scordioides Extracts: In Vitro...

This study was undertaken to examine, for the first time, the antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory properties of several extracts obtained from the aerial parts of Teucrium scordium subsp. scordioides (Schreb.) Arcang (family: Lamiaceae). Among the extracts, the EtOH extract contained the highest total phenolic (89.96 mg  GAE/g) and flavonoid (45.74 mg  RE/g) contents. Phenylethanoid glycosides were predominant, particularly in the ethanol and aqueous extracts, and teucroside/forsythoside B and verbascoside/forsythoside A were tentatively identified as the major compounds. EtOH and 70% EtOH extracts showed comparable (p > 0.05) anti-DPPH activity (201.89 and 188.52 mg  TE/g), Cu⁺⁺ (562.81 and 547.88 mg  TE/g), and Fe⁺⁺⁺ (329.13 and 320.08 mg  TE/g) reducing capacities. The EtOH extract showed the best antityrosinase activity (72.00 mg   KAE/g). The EtOAc extract inhibited human carbonic anhydrase (CA) isoenzymes I and CAII (IC₅₀ = 26.86 and 65.37 μg/mL, respectively). Complementary in silico analyses of the major phenylethanoid and flavonoid glycosides supported their possible multitarget interaction patterns and identified the Forsythoside A-BChE complex as a computationally favorable model for future experimental validation. Overall, these findings indicate that T. scordium subsp. scordioides may represent a natural source of antioxidants and enzyme inhibitors for use in different health-promoting formulations.