¹Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan
²Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
³Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan
⁴Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Jerash University, Jerash, Jordan
⁵Department of Pharmacology and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Petra, Amman, Jordan DOI : 10.29228/jrp.174 Natural products are potential sources of prospective antitumor agents. The phenolic and flavonoid contents of leaves, flowers, and roots of Eryngium creticum were quantified using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS). The antioxidant capacity and antitumor activity of the three extracts were tested on MCF-7 and Hep2. The average total phenolic contents of E. creticum leaves, flowers, and roots were 12.43 ± 0.24, 10.09 ± 0.20, and 4.78 ± 0.10 mg of GAE/g of dw, respectively. The average total flavonoids were 4.77 ± 0.10, 6.23 ± 0.12, and 5.62 ± 0.12 mg of QE/g of dw, respectively. The extracts showed considerable DPPH˙ scavenger activity with average IC50 values of 1.41 ± 0.06, 2.70 ± 0.06, and 3.03 ± 0.05 μg/mL, respectively. The average IC50 values of scavenging capacity of NO˙ radicals were 0.11 ± 0.03, 0.69 ± 0.04, and 0.44 ± 0.01 μg/mL, respectively. The average IC50 values in MCF-7 were 1.25 ± 0.50, 3.75 ± 0.48, and 1.88 ± 0.28 mg/mL, respectively. In Hep2, the average IC50 values were 1.16 ± 0.58, 3.75 ± 0.79, and 1.31 ± 0.47 μg/mL, respectively. Phenolic content varied between the different extracts; leaves showed the highest levels of gallic acid (3.60 μg/mL), querciti-3-O-galactoside (0.82 μg/mL), cyanin chloride (1.52 μg/mL), and rosmarinic acid (4.65 μg/mL). Roots showed the lowest quantities of the measured phenolics, except for chlorogenic acid (6.00 μg/mL) and rosmarinic acid (1.86 μg/mL). The three extracts of E. creticum possess in vitro antitumor activities, which could be utilized as an adjunct with chemotherapy. Keywords : Eryngium; plant extract; phenolic compounds; cytotoxicity; breast cancer; antitumor agents