Abstract

PHYTOCHEMICAL STUDIES AND EVALUATION OF ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY AND CYTOTOXICITY OF ARTEMISIA ABSINTHIUM FLOWERS

Enas Ali Hassan Alkangar*¹, Mayada Mawyah Siddig², Manazil Elhaj Ibrahim², Ola Alfadel Abozeid², Olla Siddig Elawad Alshaikh² and Tagwa Mohammed Sabah²

Abstract

Artemisia absinthium Linn. (Wormwood) is an important perennial shrubby plant that belongs to the family Asteraceae. This study aimed to evaluate cytotoxicity of Artemisia absinthium L. using different extraction methods and solvents and To determine the extraction method and solvent of the highest extraction capacity for the cytotoxic components of A. absinthium among the methods and solvents used. In this study Artemisia absinthium flowers was extracted by two methods, maceration and exhaustively by soxhlet using petroleum ether, chloroform, acetone and ethanol 70%. All extracts were subjected to Phytochemical screening and TLC using standard methods and evaluated for cytotoxicity using brine shrimp lethality bioassay. Petroleum ether (soxhlet) extract was evaluated for antioxidant activity and analyzed using GC. Total flavonoid and tannin content of acetone (soxhlet) and ethanol 70% (maceration) extracts was calculated. Phytochemical screening and thin layer chromatographic analysis of Artemisia absinthium flowers was exhibited the presence of essential oils, saponins, tannins, flavonoids, alkaloids, anthraquinones, cardiac glycosides and coumarins. Total flavonoid content of acetone (soxhlet) and ethanol (maceration) extracts was 0.86 and 0.02 mg quercetin equivalent/mg of dry extracts respectively, both exhibited total tannin of 1.0 and 1.25 mg tannic acid equivalent/mg of dry extracts respectively. About 18 compounds were detected by GC analysis of soxhlet ether extract. Soxhlet ether extract was shown to has low antioxidant activity (RSA, 46%) and has the highest cytotoxicity among tested extracts (LC50= 63.0 μg/ml, highly toxic) and thus it is the best to retrived cytotoxic components of Artemisia absinthium through exhaustive soxhlet extraction by petroleum ether. Soxhlet extracts revealed the highest cytotoicity and the lowest yield% in comparison with maceration extracts.

Keywords: Artemisia absinthium, Antioxidant, Cytotoxicity, Thin layer chromatography, Soxhet, GC.