Phytochemical Study and Antioxidant Potential of Three Leaf Extracts of Cannabis sativa L from the Al-Hoceima Region, Morocco

Applied Chemistry Research Unit (URCA), Faculty of Science and Techniques, Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Tetouan, Morocco

^* Corresponding author: naoufal.ahidar@etu.uae.ac.ma

Abstract

Within Morocco's efforts to increase the value of cannabis, we investigated the 'Beldeya' cannabis sativa L plant, which is produced in the Ketama area of northern Morocco. In this investigation, we performed phytochemical screening and quantitative analyses of ethanol, chloroform, and hexane extracts from cannabis leaves. Additionally, we explored the antioxidant potential using two extraction methods: Maceration and Soxhlet extraction. According to the results of the phytochemical screening, most metabolites were present in the extracts, except for alkaloids and anthraquinones which were not detected in any of the extracts. We employed standard methods for the quantitative measurement of total phenol (TPC) and flavonoid content (TFC), and the results showed that the TPC and TFC were abundantly present in the hexane extract using both maceration and Soxhlet extraction methods. Antioxidant potential was assessed through the Assay for reducing 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl(DPPH). The findings demonstrate that the ethanolic extract shown greater activity for both extraction techniques, displaying an IC50 value of 222.96 μg/ml for Soxhlet extraction and 256.21 μg/ml for the maceration method.