Determination of phenolics composition, antioxidant activity, and therapeutic potential of Golden marguerite ( Cota tinctoria )

Yellow chamomile (Cota tinctoria) is used for dye production in food industries and some health benefits as an herbal tea. This work was designed to comprehensively evaluate phenolic profiling, antioxidant activity, and therapeutic target enzymes' inhibitory effect of C. tinctoria using chromatographic and spectroscopic methods. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis and total phenol and flavonoid content determination were performed to investigate phenolics composition and concentration. Chlorogenic acid (6518 and 8338 µg/g extract), rutin (752 and 1196 µg/g extract), catechin (764 and 804 µg/g extract), and apigenin (662 and 164 µg/g extract) were determined as the major phenolics of methanolic extract and infusion, respectively. The antioxidant ability of methanolic extract and infusion of the herb was tested using six different mechanisms. Promising antiradical properties were recorded in DPPH and ABTS test (125–275 mg Trolox equivalents/g sample). Also, methanolic extract and infusion exhibited high reducing power (207–350 mg TE/g sample). Moreover, yellow chamomile showed moderate cholinesterase inhibitory (0.2–1.7 mg GALE/g extract), antidiabetic (0.06–0.55 mmol AE/g extract), and tyrosinase inhibitory (11.12 mg KAE/g extract) activities. Results suggested that this plant could be used more in food and pharmaceutical products due to its valuable ingredients and biological activities.