An Integrated Evaluation of Anacamptis coriophora : Phytochemical profile, biological activity, and conversion of extraction residues into carbon nanoparticles

Abstract

In this study, a novel and environmentally friendly synthesis method was presented using Anacamptis coriophora flower and leaf extracts and carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) synthesized by the hydrothermal pyrolysis method from A. coriophora flower and leaf extraction residues. Findings regarding the surface functionalization of carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) synthesized from A. coriophora flower and leaf extraction residues were obtained; FTIR analyses demonstrated the presence of oxygen- and nitrogen-containing surface functional groups (–OH, –NH, C=O, C–O), consistent with the plant-derived precursor material. HR-TEM analyses revealed that the CNPs possessed a spherical morphology with a size range of 65–160 nm and exhibited regular lattice fringes (0.26 nm d-spacing). The IC₅₀ value of CNPs in the DPPH free radical scavenging assay was calculated as 3.47 ± 0.33 mg/mL, exhibiting the strongest antioxidant activity. The IC₅₀ value of CNPs in the tyrosinase inhibitory activity assay was calculated as 1.14 ± 0.00 mg/mL. The IC₅₀ value of the leaf extract in the AChE inhibitory activity assay was calculated as 0.23 ± 0.00 mg/mL. The leaf and flower extracts exhibited remarkable biological activity and displayed selective antibacterial activity against the Gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus. P. aeruginosa had the lowest MIC value (1.56 mg/mL), whereas the MIC value for S. aureus, and B. cereus was determined as 6.25 mg/mL. The MIC value for Candida albicans was determined as 3.125 mg/mL. LC–MS/MS analyses comprehensively revealed biologically active phytochemicals in the flower and leaf extracts, including cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (341.0426 ng/mL), ferulic acid (216.6739 ng/mL), chlorogenic acid (3010.5753 ng/mL), rosmarinic acid (1802.0079 ng/mL), and quinic acid (1773.7461 ng/mL). In the molecular docking analysis performed on Human Acetylcholinesterase (PDB: 4EY6), hesperidin was determined to exhibit the most favorable docking score with a binding energy of −10.77 kcal/mol. This finding suggests that hesperidin may have a high binding affinity toward the target protein under investigation. This preliminary study evaluated the antibacterial, antioxidant, anticholinesterase, and antityrosinase potentials of A. coriophora leaf and flower extracts and functionalized CNPs and demonstrated that these nanomaterials possess promising properties for biomedical applications.