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Peer-reviewedCC BY-NC-NDBMC plant biology

Phytochemical profile and biological activities of Nerium Oleander L. flowers and leaves.

  • Amen Bouabidi1,2,3
  • Ahlem Zrig4,3
  • Kaouther Ben Yahia5
  • Mohammad K Okla6
  • Ibrahim A Alaraidh6
  • Abd Alhamed Alkhaled7
  • Yousef Alhaj Hamoud8
  • Mehrez Romdhane2
  • Maria Gabriela Maridueña-Zavala9
  • Ezzeddine Saadaoui1
9 affiliations
  1. 1Agricultural Experimentation Unit of Gabes, LGVRF, (LR11INRGREF01), University of Carthage, Gabès, Tunisia.
  2. 2Laboratory of Energy, Water, Environment and Processes (LR18ES35), National Engineering School of Gabes, University of Gabes, Gabes, Tunisia.
  3. 3Faculty of Sciences of Gabes, University of Gabes, Gabes, 6029, Tunisia.
  4. 4Laboratory of Engineering Processes and Industrial Systems, Chemical Engineering Department, National School of Engineers of Gabes, University of Gabes, Gabes, 6029, Tunisia.
  5. 5LEF (LG16INRGREF03), INRGREF, University of Carthage, Tunis, Tunisia.
  6. 6Botany and Microbiology department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
  7. 7Department of Field Crops, Faculty of Agriculture Engineering, Idlib University, Idlib, Syria.
  8. 8School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China.
  9. 9Centro de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas del Ecuador (CIBE), Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, ESPOL, Campus Gustavo Galindo, Km. 30.5 Vía Perimetral, Guayaquil, 090902, Ecuador. [email protected].
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Abstract

This study investigated the phytochemical composition and biological activities of leaves and flowers from seven Nerium oleander L. cultivars grown in Tunisia to evaluate their potential for industrial and crop-related applications. Primary metabolite analysis showed that flowers had a higher accumulation of metabolites than leaves, with the 'Roseum Plenum' (RP) cultivar reaching a peak total soluble sugar concentration of 31.57 µg/ml, dominated by sucrose (19.47 µg/ml). Amino acid profiles were also significantly higher in flowers; glycine peaked at 50.66 µg/ml in 'Villa Romaine' (VRS), while 'RP' flowers showed elevated levels of asparagine (3.17 µg/ml) and glutamine (1.18 µg/ml), suggesting elevated amino acid production and stress resilience. Regarding the secondary metabolome, catechin emerged as the predominant compound, reaching 13.67 µg/ml in 'Petit Salmon' (PS) flowers compared to 6.64 µg/ml in 'R' leaves. Other abundant polyphenols identified across the profiles included caffeic and ferulic acids. In addition, quercetin and quercitrin were identified as the main flavonoids, with particularly high concentrations observed in the 'PS' cultivar. Biological assays demonstrated that floral extracts generally possess superior bioactivity. 'RP' flower extracts exhibited exceptional antimicrobial potency, specifically against Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium, significantly outperforming leaf extracts. Antioxidant tests (DPPH, FRAP, and lipid peroxidation) further confirmed that 'PS' and 'Mont Blanc' (MB) cultivars are the most active. These findings indicate that N. oleander flowers, particularly from the 'Roseum Plenum' and 'Petit Salmon' cultivars, serve as high-value sources of bioactive compounds for the development of natural antioxidants and botanical antimicrobial agents in the industrial and agricultural sectors.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{bouabidi2026phytochemical,
  title = {{Phytochemical profile and biological activities of Nerium Oleander L. flowers and leaves.}},
  author = {Amen Bouabidi and Ahlem Zrig and Kaouther Ben Yahia and Mohammad K Okla and Ibrahim A Alaraidh and Abd Alhamed Alkhaled and Yousef Alhaj Hamoud and Mehrez Romdhane and Maria Gabriela Maridueña-Zavala and Ezzeddine Saadaoui},
  journal = {BMC plant biology},
  year = {2026},
  month = jul,
  doi = {10.1186/s12870-026-09528-0},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42894127},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Phytochemical profile and biological activities of Nerium Oleander L. flowers and leaves.
AU  - Amen Bouabidi
AU  - Ahlem Zrig
AU  - Kaouther Ben Yahia
AU  - Mohammad K Okla
AU  - Ibrahim A Alaraidh
AU  - Abd Alhamed Alkhaled
AU  - Yousef Alhaj Hamoud
AU  - Mehrez Romdhane
AU  - Maria Gabriela Maridueña-Zavala
AU  - Ezzeddine Saadaoui
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/07/01
JO  - BMC plant biology
DO  - 10.1186/s12870-026-09528-0
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42894127
AB  - This study investigated the phytochemical composition and biological activities of leaves and flowers from seven Nerium oleander L. cultivars grown in Tunisia to evaluate their potential for industrial and crop-related applications. Primary metabolite analysis showed that flowers had a higher accumulation of metabolites than leaves, with the 'Roseum Plenum' (RP) cultivar reaching a peak total soluble sugar concentration of 31.57 µg/ml, dominated by sucrose (19.47 µg/ml). Amino acid profiles were also significantly higher in flowers; glycine peaked at 50.66 µg/ml in 'Villa Romaine' (VRS), while 'RP' flowers showed elevated levels of asparagine (3.17 µg/ml) and glutamine (1.18 µg/ml), suggesting elevated amino acid production and stress resilience. Regarding the secondary metabolome, catechin emerged as the predominant compound, reaching 13.67 µg/ml in 'Petit Salmon' (PS) flowers compared to 6.64 µg/ml in 'R' leaves. Other abundant polyphenols identified across the profiles included caffeic and ferulic acids. In addition, quercetin and quercitrin were identified as the main flavonoids, with particularly high concentrations observed in the 'PS' cultivar. Biological assays demonstrated that floral extracts generally possess superior bioactivity. 'RP' flower extracts exhibited exceptional antimicrobial potency, specifically against Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium, significantly outperforming leaf extracts. Antioxidant tests (DPPH, FRAP, and lipid peroxidation) further confirmed that 'PS' and 'Mont Blanc' (MB) cultivars are the most active. These findings indicate that N. oleander flowers, particularly from the 'Roseum Plenum' and 'Petit Salmon' cultivars, serve as high-value sources of bioactive compounds for the development of natural antioxidants and botanical antimicrobial agents in the industrial and agricultural sectors.
SN  - 1471-2229
ER  -