ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ACTIVITIES OF RUBUS FRUTICOSUS AND ZIZYPHUS VULGARIS METHANOL EXTRACTS
<p class="Default"><strong>Objective</strong>:<strong> </strong>This report is an attempt to study the phenolic composition of <em>Rubus fruticosus </em>(RFE) and<em> Zizyphus vulgaris (</em>ZVE<em>) </em>methanol<em> </em>extracts<em> and </em>evaluate their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects <em>in-vitro</em> and <em>in-vivo</em>.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Total phenolic and total flavonoids contents of extracts were determined by spectrophotometric methods. Phenolic compounds were identified by<strong> </strong>HPLC-TOF/MS. The antioxidant activities were evaluated <em>in vitro</em> using DPPH, ABTS and FRAP assays. The effect of RFE and ZVE<em> </em>on DNA cleavage induced by H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> UV-photolysis was also investigated. The antioxidant effect of RFE and ZVE was tested <em>in vivo</em> using the blood total antioxidant capacity test in mice. On the other hand, the anti-inflammatory activity was assessed <em>in vivo</em> using two models of acute inflammation ear edema and vascular permeability.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The phytochemical analysis of these extracts showed that RFE possesses higher polyphenolic and flavonoid content than ZVE. in the same way RFE exerted the highest antioxidant capacity with IC<sub> 50 </sub>value of 14 µg/ml in DPPH assay, 1.58 mmol of Trolox E/mg extract and 3.39 of mmol FesO<sub>4</sub>/mg extract in ABTS, and FRAP assay respectively. The studied extracts showed a concentration-dependent protective effect on DNA cleavage induced by H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> UV-photolysis. The daily oral administration of 200 mg/kg of RFE or ZVE during three weeks showed an improvement of the blood total antioxidant capacity; the HT<sub>50</sub> values were151.45 min and 146.72 min for the groups treated with RFE and ZVE, respectively <em>versus</em> 122.5 min for the control group. The topical application of 2 mg/ear of RFE inhibited the croton oil-induced ear edema by 75.72%, while the inhibition exerted by ZVE was 64.24%. These inhibitions were higher than that of indomethacin, used as a reference. Moreover, the oral administration of 400 mg/kg of RFE inhibited significantly (33.57%) acetic acid induced vascular permeability in mice. However, this effect was lower than this of indomethacin. The inhibition effect exerted by ZVE was not significant.</p><p><strong>Conclusion</strong><strong>:</strong><strong> </strong>The results obtained in this investigation showed that RFE possesses strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential in comparison with ZVE, which may be attributed to the presence of polyphenolic phytoconstituents.</p>