ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES OF VISCUM ALBUM'S LEAVES FROM VARIOUS HOST TREES

Abstract

Aqueous extract of European mistletoe have been widely used for decades as alternative treatment and adjuvant cancer therapy. The aim of this study was to determine in vitro, the antioxidant activity of different aqueous extracts of V. album, depending on the host trees and on the harvesting time, using different methods: TEAC, ORAC and DPPH. Different V. album plants were harvested in two different seasons (May and July) from five different host trees (Acer campestre, Mallus domestica, Fraxinus excelsior, Populus nigra and Robinia pseudoacacia) located in the N-W region of Romania. The values obtained by TEAC assay varied from 9.19 ± 0.009 µmol of Trolox equivalents/g of fresh leaves for the VAM extract to 5.93 ± 0.01 µmol of Trolox equivalents/g of fresh leaves for the VAP extracts. In the case of values obtained from ORAC assay, no significant differences were obtained between the antioxidant activity of the mistletoe. The extract originating from Robinia pseudocacia (VAS) mistletoe host exhibited the highest activity (% DPPH inhibition), while the lowest activity was noticed for the extract originating from Populus nigra (VAP) mistletoe (42.2 versus 17.4). We noticed differences between the antioxidant capacity of mistletoe harvested on the different season as well as from different host trees.