Wild Daucus carota Subsp. maximus: Phytochemicals, Bioactivities, and Pharmacokinetic Insights for Future Food and Therapeutic Applications.

Daucus carota subsp. maximus, a biennial plant from the Apiaceae family, is valued for its aromatic properties. It is the largest wild carrot subspecies found in Algeria, characterized by its tall stem, triangular leaves, and large umbels. This study aimed to characterize the phenolic profile of organic extracts of D. carota subsp. maximus and evaluate their antioxidant, antibacterial, α-amylase inhibitory, and ADME properties. The acetone extract contained the highest polyphenol content (305.17 ± 0.56 μg GAE/mg E), while the methanol extract had the highest flavonoid content (135.54 μg QE/mg E) and exhibited superior antioxidant activity across multiple assays through lower IC50 values in the DPPH (32.67 ± 0.74 μg/mL) and ABTS (13.76 ± 0.06 μg/mL) assays, and lower A 0.5 values in the CUPRAC (47.79 ± 0.12 μg/mL), phenanthroline (131.65 ± 1.38 μg/mL), potassium ferricyanide (36.34 ± 0.83 μg/mL), and SNP (92.92 ± 0.73 μg/mL) assays. Using LC-ESI-MS/MS, a total of 19 phenolic compounds were detected, with rutin being the predominant one. The acetone extract exhibited marked antibacterial effects, especially against Micrococcus luteus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, while the hexane extract achieved the greatest α-amylase inhibitory activity, reaching 52.15% at 400 μg/mL. In silico ADME analysis suggested favorable absorption profiles for several compounds and possible BBB permeability for selected molecules. D. carota subsp. maximus exhibits significant bioactive properties, highlighting its potential applications as a source of antioxidant, antibacterial, and enzyme-inhibitory agents. However, further in vivo investigations and formulation studies are required to validate these potential applications.