Chemical Analysis and Metal Chelating Power of Crude Extracts from Three Medicinal Plants: Cistus creticus, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, and Rosmarinus officinalis

This work focuses on the chemical analysis and the study of the metal chelation capacities of three medicinal plants widely used in Algeria: Rosmarinus officinalis, Cistus creticus, and Cinnamomum zeylanicum. Flowers and leaves were subjected to adequate extraction and chemical analysis to evaluate the contents of polyphenols and alkaloids. We determined the capacities of polyphenols and alkaloids to form complexes with copper ions. The results obtained show that these plants contain variable amounts of polyphenols, flavonoids, and condensed tannins. For total polyphenols, the highest level obtained was for Cinnamomum zeylanicum while the lowest was for Cistus creticus. Regarding the chelating capacity of the secondary metabolites studied, the results  revealed that both classes have high capacities to bind copper ions, however, alkaloids  exhibited greater efficiencies  in forming chelates with copper ions than polyphenols.