Cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities of four different extracts of Galega officinalis L (Goat’s rue)

Purpose: To evaluate the cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities of four different solvent extracts obtained from the aerial parts of Galega officinalis L Methods: The hexane, DCM, methanol and water extracts of G. officinalis were successively obtained by soxhlet extraction method. The cytotoxic activity of the extracts was assessed against human lung carcinoma (A-549), human colorectal adenocarcinoma (HT-29), human brain glioblastoma (U-87), and colon adenocarcinoma (DLD-1) by Resazurine test. The antioxidant activity of extracts were determined by Folin-Ciocalteau, oxygen radical absorbing capacity (ORAC), and 2’.7’-dichlorofluorescin-diacetate (DCFH-DA) cell-based assay while their anti-inflammatory activity was determined by nitric oxide (NO) assay. Results: DCM extract showed strong cytotoxic activity against lung adenocarcinoma and brain glioblastoma cell lines, with IC50 (concentration inhibiting 50 % of cell growth) values of 11 ± 0.4 and 16 ± 3 μg/mL, respectively. The hexane extract showed moderate anticancer activity against the same cell lines (59 ± 13 and 63 ± 16 μg/mL, respectively). DCM extract also showed significant anti-inflammatory activity, inhibiting NO release by 86.7 % at 40 μg/mL in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) - stimulated murine RAW 264.7 macrophages. Of all test extracts, the methanol extract of G. officinalis showed the highest antioxidant activity with 2.33 ± 0.09 μmol Trolox/mg , 7.10 ± 0.9 g tannic acid equivalent (TAE), and IC50 of 44 ± 4 μg/mL. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that DCM extract may possess anticancer effect against lung adenocarcinoma and brain glioblastoma, as well as serve as an anti-inflammatory agent.

Effects of aqueous extract from Asparagus officinalis L. roots on hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis hormone levels and the number of ovarian follicles in adult rats

Background: Asparagus is a plant with high nutritional, pharmaceutical, and industrial values. Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of aqueous extract of asparagus roots on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis hormones and oogenesis in female rats. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 40 adult female Wistar rats were divided into five groups, which consist 8 rats. Groups included control, sham and three experimental groups receiving different doses (100, 200, 400 mg/kg/bw) of aqueous extract of asparagus roots. All dosages were administered orally for 28 days. Blood samples were taken from rats to evaluate serum levels of Gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH), follicular stimulating hormone (FSH), Luteinal hormone (LH), estrogen, and progesterone hormones. The ovaries were removed, weighted, sectioned, and studied by light microscope. Results: Dose-dependent aqueous extract of asparagus roots significantly increased serum levels of GnRH, FSH, LH, estrogen, and progestin hormones compared to control and sham groups. Increase in number of ovarian follicles and corpus luteum in groups treated with asparagus root extract was also observed (p<0.05). Conclusion: Asparagus roots extract stimulates secretion of hypothalamic- pituitary- gonadal axis hormones. This also positively affects oogenesis in female rats.