Evaluation of the Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory Activities of Launaea acanthoclada Extracts

Abstract

Launaea acanthoclada is a medicinal plant traditionally used for its various therapeutic properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of stem extracts of this plant: crude extract (CrE), ethyl acetate (EAE), and aqueous (AqE) fractions.The total polyphenol and flavonoid contents were determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu and aluminum chloride methods, respectively. The results showed that of polyphenols and flavonoids contents ranged from 15.32 to 92.12 mg GAE/g, and 0.61 to 23.49 µg QE/mg, respectively. The highest amounts of these phenolic compouds were obtained with CrE. The antioxidant activity of the extracts was evaluated using different in-vitro assays. Thus, EAE ad CrE exhibited similar and highest ABTS radical scavenging activity with an IC50 value of 24.37 ± 0.04 and 26.43 ± 1.37 µg/ml, respectively. However, CrE showed the strongest total antioxidant activity (TAC) with an EC50 of 55 ± 2.22 µg/ml and iron chelating capacity with an IC50 of 0.388 ± 0.005 mg/ml. In addition, both the bovine serum albumin (BSA) denaturation and the xylene-induced ear edema model in mice assay were used to assess the anti-inflammatory activity. All extracts showed concentration-dependent inhibition of protein denaturation and the anti-inflammatory activity ranged from 23.67 to 78.55%. The most potent extract was EAE followed by CrE and AqE. In the xylene-induced ear edema model, CrE possesses a significant anti-inflammatory activity and was more efficient than the positive control (aspirin). These findings suggest that Launaea acanthoclada may represent a promising natural source of bioactive compounds with important antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.