title: Antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of Helleborus odorus Waldst. & Kit, H. multifidus Vis. and H. hercegovinus Martinis.
abstract: This study was undertaken in order to evaluate possible antioxidative and antiproliferative activities of three Helleborus taxa. The dry leaves and roots of three Helleborus taxa were extracted with ethanol and water. A phytochemical evaluation of the selected extracts was performed using spectrophotometric methods and a 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity assay was used for measuring the antioxidative activity of extracts. The antiproliferative activity of the three Helleborus taxa was studied using Burkitt's lymphoma B cells (BJAB) cell lines. The phytochemical evaluation showed that the leaves contain high levels of total phenolic and flavonoid content. Results from the DPPH assay indicated that the activity of the ethanol and water extracts of the leaves was higher than that of positive control (thymol). Extracts from the roots of H. odorus also displayed higher antioxidant activity than the positive probe, while H. mulifidus and H. hercegovinus root extracts were less effective. A statistically significant correlation between total phenolic content and antioxidative properties indicates that these compounds contribute to the antioxidant activity. The highest percentage of cell growth inhibition was observed when testing the water root extracts of H. multifidus (50.14%) and H. hercegovinus (49.04%). In contrast, the water leaf extract of H. hercegovinus exhibited the lowest inhibition of cell growth (8.59%), although it showed strong antioxidant activity.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. jasmina.hindija@ingeb.ba
authors.forename: Jasmina
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cakar
authors.forename: Adisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Parić
authors.forename: Danijela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vidic
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Haverić
authors.forename: Sanin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Haverić
authors.forename: Milka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maksimović
authors.forename: Kasim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bajrović
mesh_terms: D000975:Antioxidants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001713:Biphenyl Compounds; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects*; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000032:analysis; D039322:Helleborus / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D010636:Phenols / Q000032:analysis; D010851:Picrates; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000737:chemistry*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013053:Spectrophotometry
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D001713:Biphenyl Compounds; D005419:Flavonoids; D010636:Phenols; D010851:Picrates; D010936:Plant Extracts; C004931:1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl