Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory and Antinociceptive Activities of Turkish Medicinal Plants

Abstract

Hypericum orientale L. (Hypericaceae), Helichrysum plicatum Dc. subsp. plicatum (Asteraceae), Centaurea drabifolia Sm. subsp. drabifolia (Asteraceae), Centaurea drabifolia Sm. subsp. detonsa (Bornm.) Wagenitz (Asteraceae), Achillea wilhelmsii C. Koch (Asteraceae), and Rubus canescens Dc. var. canescens (Rosaceae) are used for the treatment of hemorrhoids, abdominal pains, and wound healing in traditional Turkish medicine. in order to assess these uses, methanol extracts prepared from their aerial parts were investigated for antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antinociceptive activities. All extracts demonstrated scavenging properties against superoxide anion (O-2(-)) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in a non-cellular system, and toward 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical. They also inhibited Cu2+-induced low-density lipoprotein (LDL) peroxidation. Among the tested plants, R. canescens var. canescens, H. orientale, and H. plicatum subsp. plicatum were the most effective on ROS in a non-cellular system. Another goal in this work was to test in vivo anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities of some of these plants not previously studied. The methanol extracts of C. drabifolia subsp. drabifolia, H. orientale, and C. drabifolia subsp. detonsa were shown to possess significant inhibitory activity in mice against carrageenan-induced hind paw edema and in p-benzoquinone-induced writhings.