Aqueous infusions of mediterranean herbs exhibit antioxidant activity towards iron promoted oxidation of phospholipids, linoleic acid, and deoxyribose

Abstract

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been widely known to inflict biological damage upon a variety of biological sites. The ability to counteract any such activity has been the subject of this work, in an attempt to comprehend prooxidant metal ion induced oxidation and its possible physiological consequences. Five Mediterranean aqueous herb infusions have been employed in the investigation of possible pro/antioxidant activity promoted by prooxidant iron ions. In the presence of phospholipid liposomes or linoleic acid micelles or 2-deoxy-d-ribose, it was shown that all of the aqueous infusions used exhibited antioxidant activity in comparison to the iron control. The antioxidant activity, studied on 2-deoxy-d-ribose, at three concentration levels in each herb, appears to be dose dependent, albeit non-linear. The total polyphenol content of the investigated herb infusions, however, does not directly correlate with the observed antioxidant activity. The variable, yet effective, antioxidant capacity of the aqueous infusions indicates that their antioxidant components can quench ROS generating activity, brought on different substrates and likely arisen by variable mechanisms involving different ROS.

Keywords:

• Reactive oxygen species
• Mediterranean herbs and black tea
• Phospholipid peroxidation
• Antioxidant activity