Antioxidant and anxiolytic activities of Crataegus nigra Wald. et Kit. berries.

Hawthorn has been present for a long time in traditional medicine as antihypertensive, hypolipidemic, anti-inflammatory, gastroprotective, antimicrobial agent. Hawthorn can be used for the cure of stress, nervousness but there is no published paper about actions of Crataegus nigra Wald. et Kit. fruits. The present study was carried out to test free-radical-scavenging and anxiolytic activity of C. nigra fruits. DPPH (alpha,alpha-diphenyl-beta-picrylhydrazyl) assay was used to measure antioxidant activity. BHT, BHA, PG, quercetin and rutin were used as standards. The total amount of phenolic compounds, procyanidins, and flavonoids in the extracts, was determined spectrophotometrically. Results were expressed as equivalents of gallic acid, cyanidin chloride and quercetin equivalents, respectively. LC-MS/MS was used for identification and quantification of phenolic composition. The anxiety effect, expressed as the difference in time spent in the open and closed arms, was measured and compared between groups. Phenolic compound content of Crataegus nigra fruits was 72.7 mg/g. Yield of total flavonoid aglycones was 0.115 mg/g. Procyanidins were 5.6 mg/g. DPPH radical-scavenging capacity of the extracts showed linear concentration dependency, IC50 value were 27.33 microg/mL. Anxiolytic effect was observed. Species Crataegus nigra fruits hydroalcoholic extract showed antioxidant and anxiolytic activity.

Immortelle (Xeranthemum annuum L.) as a natural source of biologically active substances.

Antioxidant and antimicrobial effects, total phenolic content and flavonoid concentrations of methanolic, acetone and ethyl acetate extracts from Xeranthemum annuum L. were investigated in this study. The total phenolic content was determined using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and ranged between 101.33 to 159.48 mg GA/g. The concentration of flavonoids in various X.annuum extracts was determined using spectrophotometric method with aluminum chloride and the results varied from 22.25 to 62.42 mg RU/g. Antioxidant activity was monitored spectrophotometrically using DPPH reagent and expressed in terms of IC50 (µg/ml), and it ranged from 59.25 to 956.81 µg/ml. The highest phenolic content and capacity to neutralize DPPH radicals were found in the acetone extract. In vitro antimicrobial activity was determined by microdilution method. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum microbicidal concentration (MMC) have been determined. Testing was conducted against 24 microorganisms, including 15 strains of bacteria (standard and clinical strains) and 9 species of fungi. Statistically significant difference in activity between the extracts of X. annuum L. was observed and the acetone extract was found most active. The activity of acetone extract was in accordance with total phenol content and flavonoid concentration measured in this extract. The tested extracts showed significant antibacterial activity against G+ bacteria and weak to moderate activity against other microorganisms. Based on the obtained results, X. annuum can be considered as a rich natural source of polyphenolic compounds with very good antioxidant and antimicrobial activity.