In Vitro Antioxidant and Anticancer Activities of Borago Officinalis L. Flower

Much research has been conducted on the benefits of various phytochemicals in many herbs,fruits and vegetables and their significant impact on human health. The importance ofphytochemicals in tying up free radicals and thus fighting deadly diseases including cancer,stroke, and heart related health problems is now recognized. The flower of Borago officinalisL. has been used for long time in traditional medicine in Iran and it is used as tonic,diaphoretic agents and a remedy for cough, sore throat and pneumonia. The ethnomedicalapplications of this plant prompted us to investigate the bioactive compounds and todetermine the antioxidant and anticancer activities of Borago officinalis flower extract. Basedon the results obtained in this study, the total phenolics of Borago officinalis flower was 3.56± 0.13 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g dry weight (DW), and the total flavonoids was 2.75± 0.04 mg rutin equivalent/g DW. The antioxidant activity of the extract evaluated by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl assay, nitric oxide scavenging activity and the ferric reducingantioxidant power (FRAP). The overall results of antioxidant properties with all the aboveassays at the concentration of 300 μg/mL, were 87.2%, 54.1% and 66.7%, respectively. Theantioxidant potential of the extract was found to be lower than reference antioxidants such asvitamin C and vitamin E. Finally, the anticancer activity of the extracts was investigated invitro against human liver cancer cell line (HPG2), human prostate tumor cell line (LNCaP),human colon carcinoma cell line (HT-29) and normal human hepatocyte (Chang). Theobtained result indicated the moderate to appreciable activities against all the tested celllines. These findings suggest the potential use of Borago officinalis flower as a naturalmedicine and indicated the possible application of this medicinal plant such anti oxidantactivity and anticancer agents.

کلیدواژه ها:

Borago Officinalis Flower ، Anticancer Potential ، Antioxidant Activity ، DPPH ، FRAP