Background: The genus Asphodeline (Liliaceae) is represented in Turkey by 20 taxa, which are traditionally used for medicinal purposes in Anatolia.
Materials and Methods:In this study, we tested the phytochemical content and antioxidant effect of different solvent extracts obtained from different anatomical parts of Asphodeline anatolica. The different extracts of each plant parts were tested for antioxidant activity using different chemical assays. The total antioxidant components were also calculated. Results: Generally, acetone extracts produced the seed and root exhibited significantly higher antioxidant activity with high antioxidant components. Total phenolic content of extracts were significantly correlated with antioxidant potentials (except for, metal chelating activity). Conclusion: On the basis of the results obtained, A. anatolica extracts should be regarded as a valuable source of natural antioxidants for food and therapeutic applications.Key words: Asphodeline, Antioxidant activity, Free radical scavenging, Phenolics, Solvent extracts, Turkey.
IntroductionFree radicals, especially reactive oxygen species (ROS), are highly unstable molecules; react with various organic substrates such as lipids, proteins, carbohydrates and DNA. The excessive production of free radicals is called "oxidative stress" and can result in serious diseases including cancer, atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and neurodegenerative diseases (Arouma, 2010). Defense against oxidative stress is therefore very important in preventing the development of diseases mentioned. Antioxidants are vital substances which possess the ability to protect the body from the damage caused by these radicals (Silva et al., 2005). Hence, it has been suggested that there is an inverse relationship between dietary intake of antioxidants and the incidence of the diseases related to oxidative stress (Rice-Evans et al., 1997;Lu and Foo, 2000). Although synthetic antioxidants such as butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), propyl gallate (PG) are commonly used for food processing, their toxic properties and unwanted side effects limit their widespread use (Lindenschmidt et al., 1986;Kehrer and DiGiovanni, 1990). For this reason, there has been a particular interest in the potential health benefits of natural antioxidants in medicinal and aromatic plants. In fact, many functional phytochemicals such as phenolics, flavonoids and carotenoids possessed powerful antioxidant activities (Wang et al., 2013) The genus Asphodeline belongs to the Liliaceae family and is present in south-west of Asia, Middle-Eastern countries and Mediterranean region. The genus comprises of 14 species worldwide. In Turkey, this genus represented by 20 taxa and 11 of them are endemic to Turkey (Mathews and Tuzlaci, 1984;Tuzlaci, 1987). The high number of endemics shows that Turkey is one of the gene centre of this genus. The Asphodeline species are known as çiriş plants and are abundant especially in the mountains and steppes of inner Anatolia regio...