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Thursday 30 April 2015

Inhibition of ROS production, photoprotection, and total phenolic, flavonoids and ascorbic acid content of fresh herb juice and extracts from the leaves and flowers of Tropaeolum majus

Volume 55, April 2014, Pages 19–24

Inhibition of ROS production, photoprotection, and total phenolic, flavonoids and ascorbic acid content of fresh herb juice and extracts from the leaves and flowers of Tropaeolum majus



Highlights

Juice strongest inhibits ROS production in skin fibroblasts after UVA irradiation.
Hydroethanolic extract is the strongest ROS scavenger/production inhibitor in almost all used models.
The highest content of the polyphenols was determined in hydroethanolic extract.
The highest content of the ascorbic acid was determined in juice.
Lack of correlation between the polyphenols amount and the activity was observed.

Abstract

The aim of our study was to determine antioxidant activity of aqueous and hydroethanolic extracts obtained from both freeze-drying leaves and flowers, as well as juice squeezed from the fresh herb of Tropaeolum majus L. In cell-free systems the scavenging of synthetic radical (DPPH) and two radicals (O2radical dot, H2O2) was evaluated. In in vitro experiments, the effect on reactive oxygen species (ROS) production by f-MLP-stimulated neutrophils, as well as the effect on ROS generation by human skin fibroblasts after UV irradiation were determined. In studies on fibroblasts, the protective effect of the extracts/juice against cell membrane damage caused by UV irradiation was also tested. The tested extracts/juice were chemically characterized by the determination of the content of flavonoids, total phenols and ascorbic acid.
Scavenging activity of the tested extracts/juice against synthetic radical-DPPH was low. Against H2O2 and O2radical dot the extracts showed stronger antioxidant activity, while the juice was significantly active only against O2radical dot. In the human neutrophils model the hydroethanolic extract most strongly inhibited production of ROS. The weakest activity was shown by the juice. Studies on human skin fibroblasts showed no cytotoxic activity of the tested extracts/juice. We also observed inhibition of ROS production by tested extracts/juice induced by UVA as well as by UVB irradiation. The strongest inhibition of ROS production after UVA irradiation was shown by the juice, while after UVB irradiation the most potent was the hydroethanolic extract. Our results partly explain the use of extracts from nasturtium in skin diseases, such as sunburns.

Graphical abstract

Full-size image (30 K)

Keywords

  • Tropaeolum majus L.;
  • Tropaeolaceae;
  • Reactive oxygen species;
  • Neutrophils;
  • Skin fibroblasts;
  • Ultraviolet

Corresponding author. Tel.: +48 22 57 20 942; fax: +48 22 57 20 985.