Purpose: Ornithogalum sintenisii
is an Iranian species with little known about its pharmacological
effects. The purpose of the present study was to investigate some antioxidant properties of the plant.
Methods: The antioxidant potency of the freeze-dried methanol extract of
O. sintenisii bulbs and aerial
parts were investigated by evaluating the following parameters: linoleic acid peroxidation, 1,1-diphenyl-
2-picryl hydrazyl radical (DPPH), scavenging of nitric oxide and hydrogen peroxide as well as reducing
power and Fe
2+ chelating activity, using standard methods. Phenol and flavonoid contents were
determined as gallic acid and quercetin equivalents, respectively.
Results: The aerial parts contained higher phenol and flavonoid contents than the bulbs. IC
50 for DPPH
radical-scavenging activity was 368 ± 15 and 669 ± 25 μg ml
-1 for aerial parts and bulbs, respectively.
The reducing power of the extracts was less than that of vitamin C (p < 0.01) with the aerial parts
showing stronger activity than the bulbs (p < 0.01). The extracts did not show any activity in the
peroxidation test but displayed good H
2O
2 radical scavenging activity compared with quercetin (IC
50=
52.0± 3.1 μg ml
-1) which was used as positive control.
Conclusion: The bulb and aerial parts of
O. sintenisii aerial parts (at flowering stage) exhibited good but
varying levels of antioxidant activities in nearly all the models studied.
