Assessing the Antioxidant Properties of Larrea tridentata Extract as a Potential Molecular Therapy against Oxidative Stress

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2018-07, Vol.23 (7), p.1826
• Main Authors: Skouta, Rachid, Morán-Santibañez, Karla, Valenzuela, Carlos A, Vasquez, Abimael H, Fenelon, Karine
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; antioxidant in vitro assays; Antioxidants; Antioxidants - chemistry; Antioxidants - pharmacology; Biomedical research; Cell Survival - drug effects; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Cytotoxicity; cytotoxicity assay; Deserts; Ethanol; Flavonoids - chemistry; Food; Free Radical Scavengers - chemistry; Free Radical Scavengers - pharmacology; Free radicals; High-performance liquid chromatography; Humans; Larrea - chemistry; Larrea tridentata; Larrea tridentata extract; Liquid chromatography; Mass Spectrometry; Metabolites; Molecular Structure; Neurodegeneration; Nitrates; Nitric oxide; Nitric Oxide - metabolism; Oxidative stress; Oxidative Stress - drug effects; Phenolic compounds; Phenols; Phenols - chemistry; Phytochemicals; Phytochemicals - chemistry; Phytochemicals - pharmacology; Plant Extracts - chemistry; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Plant Leaves; Scavenging; Secondary metabolites; Superoxide
• ISSN: 1420-3049; 1420-3049
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules23071826

Oxidative stress has been linked to neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington's, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis diseases. (LT) also known as Creosote Bush is an evergreen shrub found in the Chihuahuan desert which has been used medicinally by Native American tribes in southwestern North America and the Amerindians of South America. However, studies of the antioxidant capacity of the crude extract of LT towards the discovery of novel molecular therapies bearing antioxidants and drug-like properties are lacking. In this study, we assessed the antioxidant properties of , collected specifically from the Chihuahuan desert in the region of El Paso del Norte, TX, USA. LT phytochemicals were obtained from three different extracts (ethanol; ethanol: water (60:40) and water). Then the extracts were evaluated in eight different assays (DPPH, ABTS, superoxide; FRAP activity, nitric oxide, phenolic content, UV visible absorption and cytotoxicity in non-cancerous HS27 cells). The three extracts were not affecting the HS27 cells at concentrations up to 120 µg/mL. Among the three extracts, we found that the mixture of ethanol: water (60:40) LT extract has the most efficient antioxidant properties (IC (DPPH at 30 min) = 111.7 ± 3.8 μg/mL; IC (ABTS) = 8.49 ± 2.28 μg/mL; IC (superoxide) = 0.43 ± 0.17 μg/mL; IC (NO) = 230.4 ± 130.4 μg/mL; and the highest phenolic content was estimated to 212.46 ± 7.05 mg GAE/L). In addition, there was a strong correlation between phenolic content and the free-radical scavenging activity assays. HPLC-MS study identified nine compounds from the LT-ethanol: water extract including Justicidin B and Beta peltain have been previously reported as secondary metabolites of .