Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Antioxidant Activity of the Bulb and Aerial Parts of Ornithogalum sintenisii L (Liliaceae) at Flowering Stage

Mohammad Ali Ebrahimzadeh¹ , Seyed Mohammad Nabavi^1,2, Seyed Fazel Nabavi¹, Bahman Eslami³

¹Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, School of Pharmacy, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, 48189, Sari; ²Department of Biology, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar; ³Department of Biology, Islamic Azad University, Ghaemshahr Branch, Iran.

For correspondence:- Mohammad Ebrahimzadeh Email: zadeh20@yahoo.com Tel:+9815135430813

Received: 17 August 2009 Accepted: 17 February 2010 Published: 15 April 2010

Citation: Ebrahimzadeh MA, Nabavi SM, Nabavi SF, Eslami B. Antioxidant Activity of the Bulb and Aerial Parts of Ornithogalum sintenisii L (Liliaceae) at Flowering Stage. Trop J Pharm Res 2010; 9(2):141-148 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v9i2.5

© 2010 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: Ornithogalum sintenisii is an Iranian species with little known about its pharmacological effects. The purpose of the present study was to investigate some antioxidant properties of the plant.

Methods: The antioxidant potency of the freeze-dried methanol extract of O. sintenisii bulbs and aerial parts were investigated by evaluating the following parameters: linoleic acid peroxidation, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl radical (DPPH), scavenging of nitric oxide and hydrogen peroxide as well as reducing power and Fe²⁺chelating activity, using standard methods. Phenol and flavonoid contents were determined as gallic acid and quercetin equivalents, respectively.

Results: The aerial parts contained higher phenol and flavonoid contents than the bulbs. IC₅₀ for DPPH radical-scavenging activity was 368 ± 15 and 669 ± 25 µg ml^-1 for aerial parts and bulbs, respectively. The reducing power of the extracts was less than that of vitamin C (p < 0.01) with the aerial parts showing stronger activity than the bulbs (p < 0.01). The extracts did not show any activity in the peroxidation test but displayed good H₂O₂ radical scavenging activity compared with quercetin (IC₅₀= 52.0± 3.1 mg ml^-1) which was used as positive control.

Conclusion: The bulb and aerial parts of O. sintenisii aerial parts (at flowering stage) exhibited good but varying levels of antioxidant activities in nearly all the models studied.

Keywords: Ornithogalum sintenisii ; Bulbs; Aerial parts; Antioxidant activity; Flavoniods; Phenols