Chemical profile and antioxidant activity of Sesbania bispinosa (Jacq.) W. Wight aerial parts and seeds extracts

Sesbania bispinosa (Jacq.) W. Wight is a medicinal plant used by traditional healers from India and now introduced in southern Algeria, for which the chemical composition still needs to be uncovered. This work aimed to establish the chemical profile of this important medicinal plant and determine the antioxidant effects of the 80% methanol extract of the aerial parts of the plant via the study of DPPH radical scavenging activity (2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl). Chemical profiling of its extract’s major constituents was tentatively done by using liquid and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The mineral analysis was conducted using an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry technique (ICP‐OES). Practical applications The secondary metabolites were identified using ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled to photodiode‐array detection and electrospray ionization/ion trap mass spectrometry (UHPLC–DAD–ESI‐MS/MS) and gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC‐MS). Sesbania bispinosa (Jacq.) W. Wight aerial part and seeds are rich in known bioactive secondary metabolites such as glycosylated sterols, flavonoid, cinnamic acid, sugar, and fatty acid derivatives. Several of these compounds can explain this species’ remarkable antioxidant power (DPPH with IC50 equals 59.7 µg/ml extract) and some of its medicinal uses. The results showed that S. bispinosa is rich in some health‐promoting minerals like Na (2.034 mg/g), K (11.51 mg/g), Ca (26.82 mg/g), and Fe (0.16 mg/g), whose levels are within the World Health Organization’s (WHO) permissible limits. Moreover, the results herein presented can also establish the nutritional value of S. bispinosa.