Romanian Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences

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PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS, ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTI- INFLAMMATORY ACTIVITIES OF TARAXACUM GRACILENS DAHLST. AERIAL PARTS

SECIL KARAHUSEYIN 1, TUGBA YILMAZ-OZDEN 2, NURTEN OZSOY 2, AYNUR SARI 3*

1Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Çukurova University, 01330 Sarıçam, Adana, Turkey
2Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Istanbul University, 34116 Beyazıt-Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey 3Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Istanbul University, 34116 Beyazıt-Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey

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A phytochemical investigation of the aerial parts of Taraxacum gracilens Dahlst. (Asteraceae) yielded two coumarins (esculetin (1) and cichorin (2)), two flavonoids (luteolin (3) and chrysoeriol (4)) and four phenolic acids (caffeic acid (5), ferulic acid (6), chlorogenic acid (7) and 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid (8)). The presence of these compounds has been acknowledged for the first time in this species. The polyphenolic content and antioxidant activities of EtOH extract and PE, CHCl3, AcOEt and BuOH fractions of the EtOH extract from the aerial parts of Taraxacum gracilens Dahlst. were investigated. We evaluated the antioxidant activities of the extract and its fractions by measuring their ability to inhibit lipid peroxidation induced by Fe3+ascorbate, their reducing power and their hydrogen donor activities. Also, the inhibitory activity against COX-2 was evaluated to determine the anti-inflammatory activity of the samples. The AcOEt and CHCl3 fractions showed the highest antioxidant activity due to their richest phenolic contents, followed by the BuOH fraction, whereas the EtOH extract, containing the least phenolics, showed the weakest activity. The PE fraction did not show any antioxidant activity due to its lack of phenolic content. EtOH extracts and their fractions showed inhibitory activity against COX-2.