Antioxidant Effects of Different Extracts from Melissa officinalis, Matricaria recutita and Cymbopogon citratus

Considering the important role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of several neurological diseases, and the growing evidence of the presence of compounds with antioxidant properties in the plant extracts, the aim of the present study was to investigate the antioxidant capacity of three plants u...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neurochemical research 2009-05, Vol.34 (5), p.973-983
Main Authors: Pereira, Romaiana Picada, Fachinetto, Roselei, de Souza Prestes, Alessandro, Puntel, Robson Luiz, Santos da Silva, Gloria Narjara, Heinzmann, Berta Maria, Boschetti, Ticiane Krapf, Athayde, Margareth Linde, Bürger, Marilise Escobar, Morel, Ademir Farias, Morsch, Vera Maria, Rocha, João Batista Teixeira
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Antioxidants - chemistry
Antioxidants - isolation & purification
Antioxidants - pharmacology
Biochemistry
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Brain - drug effects
Brain - metabolism
Cell Biology
Cymbopogon - chemistry
Cymbopogon citratus
Ferrous Compounds - pharmacology
Free Radical Scavengers - chemistry
Free Radical Scavengers - isolation & purification
Free Radical Scavengers - pharmacology
Gallic Acid - pharmacology
In Vitro Techniques
Male
Matricaria recutita
Melissa - chemistry
Melissa officinalis
Neurochemistry
Neurology
Neurosciences
Nitro Compounds - pharmacology
Nitroprusside - pharmacology
Original Paper
Oxidative Stress - drug effects
Phenols - analysis
Plant Extracts - chemistry
Plant Extracts - isolation & purification
Plant Extracts - pharmacology
Propionates - pharmacology
Quercetin - analogs & derivatives
Quercetin - pharmacology
Rats
Rats, Wistar
Rutin - pharmacology
Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances - metabolism
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Summary:Considering the important role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of several neurological diseases, and the growing evidence of the presence of compounds with antioxidant properties in the plant extracts, the aim of the present study was to investigate the antioxidant capacity of three plants used in Brazil to treat neurological disorders: Melissa officinalis, Matricaria recutita and Cymbopogon citratus. The antioxidant effect of phenolic compounds commonly found in plant extracts, namely, quercetin, gallic acid, quercitrin and rutin was also examined for comparative purposes. Cerebral lipid peroxidation (assessed by TBARS) was induced by iron sulfate (10 μM), sodium nitroprusside (5 μM) or 3-nitropropionic acid (2 mM). Free radical scavenger properties and the chemical composition of plant extracts were assessed by 1′-1′ Diphenyl-2′ picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method and by Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC), respectively. M. officinalis aqueous extract caused the highest decrease in TBARS production induced by all tested pro-oxidants. In the DPPH assay, M. officinalis presented also the best antioxidant effect, but, in this case, the antioxidant potencies were similar for the aqueous, methanolic and ethanolic extracts. Among the purified compounds, quercetin had the highest antioxidant activity followed by gallic acid, quercitrin and rutin. In this work, we have demonstrated that the plant extracts could protect against oxidative damage induced by various pro-oxidant agents that induce lipid peroxidation by different process. Thus, plant extracts could inhibit the generation of early chemical reactive species that subsequently initiate lipid peroxidation or, alternatively, they could block a common final pathway in the process of polyunsaturated fatty acids peroxidation. Our study indicates that M. officinalis could be considered an effective agent in the prevention of various neurological diseases associated with oxidative stress.
ISSN:0364-3190
1573-6903
DOI:10.1007/s11064-008-9861-z