Screening of Antioxidant Potentials and Bioactive Properties of the Extracts Obtained from Two <i>Centaurea</i> L. Species (<i>C. kroumirensis</i> Coss. and <i>C. sicula </i>L. subsp <i>sicula</i>)

• Main Authors: Nedra Dhouibi, Simona Manuguerra, Rosaria Arena, Abdelkharim Madhi, Concetta Maria Messina, Andrea Santulli, Hatem Dhaouadi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-03-01
• Series: Applied Sciences
• Subjects: <i>centaurea</i> spp.; antioxidant; phenolics; plant extract; protective effect
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/7/2267

Herbal medicines, dietary supplements, or infusions with health promoting effects can note strong consumer demand. Hence, researchers and scientists have been increasingly focusing on the promotion of medicinal plants. In this respect, the present study has the evaluation of the biological properties of different extracts (hexane, chloroform, methanol, ultrasonic, essential oil, and supercritical) obtained from two <i>Centaurea</i> species (<i>C. kroumirensis (Coss.)</i> and <i>C. sicula </i>L. subsp<i> sicula</i>) as purpose. Antioxidative activities were assessed by in vitro assays including total phenolic content, free radical scavenging assay and ferric ion reducing power. Among the fourteen extracts examined, the highest total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant abilities were recorded in ultrasonic ethanol extracts of both <i>Centaurea</i> species. Additionally, these extracts exhibited a noticeable strong protective effect of the human skin fibroblast cell line (HS-68) that was exposed to oxidative stress induced by hydrogen peroxide. According to our results, the sonication with ethanol might be an ideal, rapid, and eco-friendly extraction method for obtaining a polyphenol-rich extract that exhibited high antioxidant activity. The results presented herein suggest that <i>Centaurea</i> species could be promoted as an antioxidant resource that could be exploited for the development of nutraceuticals or in pharmacology industry.