Total Antioxidant Potential, Total Phenolic Profile and Cytotoxic Activity Against Brain Cancer: Melocan and Galdirik.

Research Background: Brain cancer is known to be one of the most difficult types of cancer to cure. It has a serious impact on the lives of diagnosed people due to the insufficient treatment options and their side effects. The search for new alternative treatments is therefore ongoing. Melocan ( L.) and galdirik () are of great importance in both traditional culinary culture and traditional medicine around the Black Sea; however, the knowledge about their antioxidant and cytotoxic effects remains fairly limited.

Experimental Approach: The aim of this study is to determine the antioxidant and cytotoxic activity of and on the C6 glioblastoma cell line. The plants of and were dried and extracted and then their total phenolic content (TPC) and phenolic profiles were studied. In addition, their total antioxidant status (TAS) and total oxidant status (TOS) were determined using an assay kit. We also analysed the total antioxidant activity (TAA) using the DPPH radical scavenging assay and the cytotoxic effect on the glioma cells using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium (MTT) assay.

Results And Conclusions: According to the results, the water extracts of and had higher TPC (expressed in gallic acid equivalents on dry mass basis: 1158.17 and 262 mg/100 g, respectively) than the ethanol extracts. TAA expressed in Trolox equivalents on dry mass basis was 192.86 and 131.92 mg/100 g for and , respectively. The MTT assay showed that had a greater cytotoxic effect. In conclusion, the findings of the current study are promising for the development of new drugs.

Novelty And Scientific Contribution: This is the first study that aims to evaluate the potential cytotoxic activity of two local Turkish plants, and against C6 glioblastoma cells. The results confirm that both plants could be used as good therapeutic agents for the treatment of cancer in the future.