Chemical profile, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and enzyme inhibition activities of Pilosella hoppeana subsp. cilicica

Pilosella hoppeana subsp. cilicica has been traditionally used for healing many diseases in folk medicine in Anatolia. However, there are, to date, no studies aimed to verify this local usage with scientific data. In the present study, phenolic content and biological activities such as the antioxidant, antimicrobial and enzyme inhibition activities of different extracts of this plant’s aerial part were investigated for the first time. According to the obtained data, the biological activity of methanol extract was found to be significantly higher than the others. Moreover, the major components detected were chlorogenic acid (61.79 mg g−1 extract), apigenin (2.727 mg g−1 extract), and luteolin (1.110 mg g−1 extract) in this extract. This extract showed a strong enzyme inhibitory activity including α-amylase (96.66 mmol ACAE g−1 extract), α-glucosidase (17.27 mmol ACAE g−1 extract), AChE (10.42 mg GALE g−1 extract), and BChE (102.35 mg GALE g−1 extract). On the other hand, the extract exhibited remarkable antimicrobial effect on Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, and Staphylococcus epidermidis (64 µg/mL MIC value); intermediate (128–256 µg/mL MIC value) antimicrobial activity on Proteus vulgaris, Listeria innocua, and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium. To sum up, it is clearly seen that Pilosella hoppeana subsp. cilicica has significant potential as a source of bioactive compounds in pharmaceutical industries.