Volume 6, Number 2, p.p. 63-65
Antioxidant and radical scavenging activity of flavonoid extract from Satureja hortensis L
Zurab Kuchukashvili, Nata Avaliani, David Mchedlishvili and Gia Davitaia
Iv. Javakhishvili State University, Laboratory of Bioenergetics and Biotechnology, Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences, Tbilisi, Georgia
The antioxidative effect of the flavonoid fraction (F) derived from the annual herb Satureja hortensis L. was studied and compared with other known natural (rutin, quercetin) and synthetic (ionol) antioxidants. All the samples were incubated in hydrophilic and lipophilic model systems and oxidation was measured in terms of the formation of malone dialdehyde. Experiments revealed that F is a potent antioxidant in both systems. In the hydrophilic system, F as well as quercetin inhibited thermal oxidation of arachidonic acid (AA) more strongly than ionol and rutin. F also strongly inhibited thermal autoxidation of AA in the lipophilic system, as did ionol. Natural antioxidants (rutin, quercetin) were not strong inhibitors in this case. The antioxidative effects of F on scavenging reactive oxygen species were also studied. F reduced the hydrogen peroxide-activated chemiluminescence of luminol sixfold compared with the control, and the effect was stronger than that of other antioxidants. The order of antioxidant activity was as follows: F > quercetin > ionol > rutin. The experimental data indicates the potential use of flavonoids from Satureja hortensis for pharmaceutical purposes.
Keywords: antioxidant free radicals, arachidonic acid, flavonoids, inflammation, Satureja hortensis L