Total Phenolic Content, Antioxidant Activity and In vitro Cytotoxicity of the Essential Oil of Jurinea leptoloba DC.

Abstract

The essential oil from the aerial parts of<em>Jurinea leptoloba </em>DC., collected from Shiraz (South of Iran), was investigated for total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant and cytotoxic effects. TPC of <em>J. leptoloba </em>oil was determined to be 16.53 ± 5.69 μg gallic acid equivalent/mg sample (μg GAE/mg oil) using the Folin-Ciocalteau assay. The ferric reducing power of the oil was determined 0.117 ± 0.01 GAE (mg/g).<em>J. leptoloba </em>oil exhibited a dose-dependent scavenging of DPPH, with an IC₅₀ value of 24.50 mg/ml. Antioxidant activity percentage of the essential oil of <em>J. leptoloba </em>determined by β-carotene bleaching test revealed less potential than both standards BHT and BHA (62.01 ± 2.45%, 2.5 mg/ml oil). Cytotoxicity was measured using a modified MTT assay. IC₅₀valuesforHeLa and lymphocyte cells were calculated to be 290.76 and 2900.97 µg/ml, respectively. The results suggest application of <em>J. leptoloba </em>essentialoil as a moderate antioxidant and anticancer agent.