title: In vitro antioxidant and antitumor activities of six selected plants used in the Traditional Arabic Palestinian herbal medicine.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Despite several pharmacological applications of the medicinal plants in the Traditional Arabic Palestinian Herbal Medicine in Palestine (TAPHM), studies on their antioxidant properties are still scarce.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This work evaluates the antioxidant and antitumor activities of the ethanol extracts from different parts of six plants: [Arum palaestinum Boiss (Araceae), Urtica pilulifera L. (Urticaceae), Coridothymus capitatus (L.) Reichb (Lamiaceae), Majorana syriaca (L.) Rafin. (Lamiaceae), Teucrium creticum L. (Lamiaceae), and Teucrium capitatum L. (Lamiaceae)] used in the TAPHM.
  
  
  METHODS
  The antioxidant activity was evaluated for the ethanol extracts by DPPH and β-carotene-linoleic acid assays together with total contents of phenols and flavonoids. For the anti-carcinogenic evaluation, the extracts were tested for the ability to inhibit the proliferation of breast cancer cells (MCF-7) using the MTT reduction assay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the extracts, the U. pilulifera had the highest amount of total phenolics, possessing the second highest total flavonoids. It also showed a maximum cytotoxic activity (IC50 = 63 µg/ml), followed by C. capitatus, and A. palaestinum. Otherwise, the extract of T. creticum was demonstrated to be an efficient scavenger of O2 (IC50 = 83 µg/ml), followed by M. syriaca, C. capitatus, T. capitatum, A. palaestinum, and U. pilulifera.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest that the investigated plants have shown varied antioxidant capacities which were strongly correlated with their contents of phenolics. Accordingly, this study proposes that the therapeutic benefit of these plants can be, at least in part, attributed to its potential inhibition of oxidative processes.
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity & Environmental Research Center (BERC) , Til, Nablus , Palestine and.
authors.forename: Ahmad Ibrahim
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Husein
authors.forename: Mohammed Saleem
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Ali-Shtayeh
authors.forename: Waheed Jebril
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Jondi
authors.forename: Nidal Abd-Aljapar
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Zatar
authors.forename: Ibrahim M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Abu-Reidah
authors.forename: Rana M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Jamous
mesh_terms: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology; D018912:Arabs; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D029001:Herbal Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D061986:MCF-7 Cells; D008514:Medicine, Arabic; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000379:methods; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology; D010946:Plants, Medicinal
chemical_list: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D000975:Antioxidants; D010936:Plant Extracts
keywords: Anti-scavenging activity; Araceae; Lamiaceae; Mediterranean flora; folk medicine; reactive oxygen species (ROS); total flavonoids; total phenols