Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant, the anti-inflammatory, and the antitumoral activities of the aqueous ethanolic extract from Phoenix dactylifera L. parthenocarpic dates. The antioxidant activity was carried using DPPH radical scavenging activity. The result showed that parthenocarpic dates had strongly scavenging activity on DPPH reaching 94% with an IC50 value of 0.15 ± 0.011 mg/mL (p < 0.05). The anti-inflammatory potential was determined by the inhibitory effect of the aqueous ethanolic extract on phospholipase A2 activity as well as on carrageenan-induced paw oedema in mice. The in vitro study showed that the extract inhibited the phospholipase A2 activity with an IC50 value of 130 μg/mL and the in vivo study showed a significantly decrease in the paw oedema after 1 h compared to the control group. Finally, the antiproliferative activity of the aqueous ethanolic extract was assessed by MTT test against MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cancer cell lines. This extract was effective in inhibiting MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cancer cells growth with IC50 values of 8 and 18 mg/mL, respectively, after 72 h treatment. These results confirm the ethnopharmacological significance of Phoenix dactylifera L. parthenocarpic dates, which could add support for its pharmaceutical use.
Highlights
Oxidative stress is an important risk factor in the pathogenesis of numerous chronic diseases
There are many components of an inflammatory response that participate in the associated symptoms and harmful effects to tissues. It involves a complex web of intracellular cytokine signals, which activate monocytes and/or macrophages releasing a variety of inflammatory mediators such as prostaglandins, platelet-activating factor (PAF), and arachidonic acid derivatives, which can originate locally or from cells that infiltrate in the site of inflammation [3]
IC50 value, defined as the concentration of extract which required reducing diphenyl2-picrylhydrazyl free radical (DPPH) radicals by 50%
Summary
Oxidative stress is an important risk factor in the pathogenesis of numerous chronic diseases. Free radicals and other reactive oxygen species can adversely affect various important classes of biological molecules, such as protein, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), and lipids causing oxidative deterioration of biomolecules [1] This damage can lead to various human diseases, especially aging, heart disease, stroke, arteriosclerosis, diabetes, cancer, and inflammation [1]. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the most clinically important medicine used for the treatment of inflammation by inhibiting the cyclooxygenase (COX) pathway of arachidonic acid metabolism which produces prostaglandins [4]. These drugs are limited in their effectiveness and cannot regulate the production of leukotrienes or PAF that continues to cause inflammation. The inhibition of BioMed Research International phospholipase A2 (PLA2) may serve as a primary regulatory role in the development of inflammatory disorders and could deplete the sources of arachidonic acid and, its downstream metabolites and PAF, constituting an important strategy for the management of inflammatory disorders
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