Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antinociceptive activities of Turkish medicinal plants

Abstract

Hypericum orientale L. (Hypericaceae), Helichrysum plicatum Dc. subsp. plicatum (Asteraceae), Centaurea drabifolia Sm. subsp. drabifolia (Asteraceae), Centaurea drabifolia Sm. subsp. detonsa (Bornm.) Wagenitz (Asteraceae), Achillea wilhelmsii C. Koch (Asteraceae), and Rubus canescens Dc. var. canescens (Rosaceae) are used for the treatment of hemorrhoids, abdominal pains, and wound healing in traditional Turkish medicine. In order to assess these uses, methanol extracts prepared from their aerial parts were investigated for antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antinociceptive activities. All extracts demonstrated scavenging properties against superoxide anion (O₂^•–) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) in a non-cellular system, and toward 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical. They also inhibited Cu²⁺-induced low-density lipoprotein (LDL) peroxidation. Among the tested plants, R. canescens var. canescens, H. orientale, and H. plicatum subsp. plicatum were the most effective on ROS in a non-cellular system. Another goal in this work was to test in vivo anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities of some of these plants not previously studied. The methanol extracts of C. drabifolia subsp. drabifolia, H. orientale, and C. drabifolia subsp. detonsa were shown to possess significant inhibitory activity in mice against carrageenan-induced hind paw edema and in p-benzoquinone-induced writhings.

Keywords::

• Hypericum orientale
• Helichrysum plicatum
• Centaurea drabifolia
• Achillea wilhelmsii
• Rubus canescens
• antioxidant activity
• anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Ahmet Sezgin and Oyku Arisan for authenticating the plant specimens.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest.