title: The antioxidant and antimutagenic activities of Ankaferd blood stopper,a natural hemostatic agent used in dentistry.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study investigated the antioxidant and antimutagenic properties of Ankaferd blood stopper (ABS), a plant-based topical hemostatic agent used in Turkey to treat external hemorrhages and bleeding during dental surgery. While previous studies have examined the antimicrobial, antiinflammatory, and anticarcinogenic properties of ABS, to our knowledge, this is the first study to report on the antioxidant and antimutagenic activities of this drug.
  
  
  METHODS
  Antioxidant activity was evaluated using DPPH radical-scavenging and β-carotene-linoleic acid tests. Antimutagenic activity was assessed using the Ames Salmonella/microsome mutagenicity test with the bacterial mutant strains Salmonella typhimurium TA98 and TA100.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Although ABS demonstrated no free-radical-scavenging activity in DPPH assays at the tested concentrations, β-carotene-linoleic acid testing found ABS to have a total antioxidant activity rate of 47.06 ± 4.41%. Antimutagenic effects were observed on TA100 at plate concentrations of 5%, 0.5%, and 0.05%, and on TA98 only at a plate concentration of 5%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ABS was shown to possess antioxidant and antimutagenic properties that could be of potential value in the fields of medicine and dentistry.
authors: Section of Medical Microbiology, Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors: Aysel
authors: A
authors: Uğur
authors: Medical Laboratory Program, Vocational School of Health Services, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Muğla, Turkey.
authors: Nurdan
authors: N
authors: Saraç
authors: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department, Faculty of Dentistry, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors: Dilek Aynur
authors: DA
authors: Çankal
authors: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department, Faculty of Dentistry, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors: Murat
authors: M
authors: Özle
mesh_terms: D016587:Antimutagenic Agents; D000975:Antioxidants; D003813:Dentistry; D006490:Hemostatics; D009152:Mutagenicity Tests; D010936:Plant Extracts; D014421:Turkey
chemical_list: D016587:Antimutagenic Agents; D000975:Antioxidants; D006490:Hemostatics; D010936:Plant Extracts; C539751:ankaferd blood stopper
keywords: Ames test; Ankaferd; Salmonella typhimurium; antioxidant