Abstract

Objectives : This study was conducted to evaluate the antioxidative and anticancer activity of extracts from Scutellaria baicalensis, Zizyphus jujuba and Atractylodes macrocephala. Methods : Three kinds of medicinal herbs were extracted with distilled water and 70% ethanol, and the extracts were tested for their antioxidant activity and growth inhibition activity against cancer cells. Results : Electron donating abilities (EDA) of the water and ethanol extract from Zizyphus jujuba and Atractylodes macrocephala were over than 87% at 1,000 ${\mu}g/mL$, respectively. The highest nitrite scavenging abilities (NSA) of the water and ethanol extracts from Scutellaria baicalensis were 68.9 and 79.2% at 1,000 ${\mu}g/mL$, respectively. Atractylodes macrocephala extracts had shown the highest growth inhibition activity against both of MDA and A549 cells and the water extract had higher activity than ethanol extract. Conclusions : These results suggest that the extracts of medicinal herbs used for this experiment had specific biological activity and they can be used as natural antioxidant to prevent oxidative damage in normal cells.

Keywords

• medicinal herb extracts;
• polyphenol;
• antioxidative activity;
• anticancer activity