title: Antioxidant and antitumor activities of Artemisia campestris and Thymelaea hirsuta from southern Tunisia.
abstract: The essential oil of Artemisia campestris and the ethanol-water, hexane and water extracts of A. campestris and Thymelaea hirsuta collected in southern of Tunisia were investigated for their antioxidant (DPPH, ABTS and beta-carotene methods) and antitumor growth inhibition of human colon cancer HT-29 cells using MTT test activities. All the A. campestris extracts tested at high concentrations (100 μg/ml) showed activity ranging from 19.5% for essential oil to 64.4% of negative control growth for infusion extract, except the hexane extract. With T. hirsuta, all the extracts tested (hexane and ethanol-water), except the infusion extract, also exhibited antitumor activity (58.2% and 65.5% of control growth respectively). The ethanol-water and infusion extracts of A. campestris showed higher antioxidant activity, polyphenol and flavonoid contents than those of T. hirsuta. These results show that there is a positive correlation between the antitumor activity and the antioxidant activity, and of these two activities and with the levels of polyphenols and flavonoids. The essential oil and the other extracts of A. campestris, which exhibited significant antitumor activity against the HT-29 cells deserve further research into the chemoprevention and treatment of colon cancer.
authors.affiliation: Institut des Régions Arides, Médenine, Tunisia. ahmed.akrout@ira.rnrt.tn
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Akrout
authors.forename: Lidia Alarcon
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
authors.forename: Hajer
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: El Jani
authors.forename: Pablo Campra
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Madrid
mesh_terms: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000975:Antioxidants; D019306:Artemisia / Q000737:chemistry*; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D019073:HT29 Cells; D006801:Humans; D019787:Linoleic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D010636:Phenols / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D035261:Plant Components, Aerial; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D059808:Polyphenols; D029645:Thymelaeaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D014416:Tunisia; D019207:beta Carotene / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D000975:Antioxidants; D005419:Flavonoids; D010636:Phenols; D010936:Plant Extracts; D010938:Plant Oils; D059808:Polyphenols; D019207:beta Carotene; D019787:Linoleic Acid