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EXPLORING THE THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL OF SOUR CHERRY LEAF EXTRACT (PRUNUS CERASUS L.): A COMPREHENSIVE IN VITRO AND IN VIVO EVALUATION

CHAIMA MAMOUN 1, FATIMA ZAHRA GHANEMI 1*, NABILA YELLES 2, FATIMA ZOHRA CHENNI 3, RYM ESSID 4, DANISH PATOLI 5, IMAD ABDELHAMID EL HACI 1,6, KADDOUR BENARIBA 1, ASMAA RAHMOUN 1, OMAR KHAROUBI 7, MERIEM BELARBI 1, OLFA TABBENE 4

1 Laboratory of Natural Products « LAPRONA », Department of Biology, Abou Bakr Belkaid University, Tlemcen. Algeria
2 Faculty of Medicine, Abou Bakr Belkaid University, Tlemcen. Algeria
3 Laboratory of Biotoxicology. Department of Biology-Faculty of Life Science and Nature. Djillali Liabes University. Sidi-Bel-Abbes, Algeria
4 Laboratory of Bioactive Substances, Biotechnology Center of Borj-Cedria Technopole, BP 901, 2050 Hammam-Lif, Tunisia
5 Faculty of Pharmacy, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS), Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan
6 Center of Scientific and Technical Research in Physico-Chemical Analysis (CRAPC), Bou-Ismail, Tipaza, Algeria
7 Laboratory of Biotoxicology Experimentale, Biodepollution and Phytoremediation, Faculty of Life and Natural Sciences, University Oran1, Oran, Algeria

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Sour cherry leaves Prunus cerasus (PC) are a valuable natural source of bioactive compounds. This study assessed the anti-inflammatory and anti-obesity properties of sour cherry aqueous extract. The phenolic profile was evaluated by high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC-PDA). The studied extract has a total phenolic content of 7.13 ± 0.12 mg GAE per gram and exhibits a notable antioxidant effect determined by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. Adding PC extract and orlistat (reference drug) to the high-fat diet (HFD) ameliorates the serum's lipid profile and reduces body gain by 9.84% and 15.61%, respectively. The histological sections demonstrate the effectiveness of the extract. The PC extract had no cytotoxic effect on RAW 264.7 cells and macrophages and inhibited nitrite production in a dose-dependent manner with an IC50 of nitric oxide inhibitory activity (NO) of 58.25 ± 0.36 μg/mL. The carrageenan-induced rat paw oedema model confirms the extract's anti-inflammatory potential in reducing paw thickness and improving oxidative stress parameters. In summary, sour cherry leaves could potentially be interesting for therapeutic use in controlling obesity and the treatment of inflammation.