Bioactive compounds, antioxidant, tyrosinase inhibition, xanthine oxidase inhibition, anticholinesterase and anti inflammatory activities of Prunus mahaleb L. seed

Abstract

Prunus mahaleb L. plant is cultivated for its seeds which are known as a spice. There is lack of information about its biological activities although it has long history of ethnopharmacological application. Therefore, this research was conducted to evaluate the bioactive compounds, antioxidant, tyrosinase inhibition, xanthine oxidase (XO) inhibition, anticholinesterase and anti inflammatory activities of the P. mahaleb L. seeds. Results showed that the total phenolic and flavonoid compounds concentration in the methanolic extract were 75.7±0.18 and 28.5±0.37 mg/g dry weight (DW) whereas in the hexane extract were 34.6±0.24 and 16.2±0.31 mg/g dry weight, respectively. The 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) activity and nitric oxide (NO) scavenging activity of the methanolic extract at the concentration of 100 µg/ml of crude extract were 44.3, 51.9 and 36.9% respectively, while for the hexane extract were 26.8, 32.8 and 21.8%, respectively. Both extracts showed antioxidant activity although they were lower than reference antioxidants (vitamin C, E and butylated hydroxyltoluene (BHT)). Ferric thiocyanate (FTC) and thiobarbituric acid (TBA) tests results showed the antioxidant activity of extracts. Methanolic extract in XO, tyrosinase, acetylthiocholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) inhibition assays showed the significant (p<0.05) lower IC50 with values of 59.8, 21.0, 52.1 and 86.2 µg/ml as compared to the hexane extract with the values of 94.1, 54.2, 85.2 and 110.7 µg/ml. Anti-inflammatory assay using LPS/IFN-γ stimulated RAW 264.7 cells indicated that methanolic extract is a potent source of anti-inflammatory agent. Consequently, the methanolic extracts of P. mahaleb seeds possess strong tyrosinase inhibitory activity and moderate antioxidant potential, XO inhibitory, anticholinesterase and anti inflammatory activities. Key words: Prunus mahaleb, phenolics, flavonoids, antioxidant, xanthine oxidase, tyrosinase, anticholinesterase, anti inflammatory.