Hana M. Hammad, Suzan A. Matar, Simona-Carmen Litescu, Sawsan Abuhamdah, Hala I. Al-Jaber, Fatma U. Afifi

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Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan;.
Centre of Bioanalysis, National Institute for Biological Sciences, Bucharest, Romania.
Department of Biopharmaceutics and Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan.
Department of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Engineering Technology, Al-Balqa Applied University, Amman, Jordan.
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan.
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Abstract: Aqueous and hydro-alcoholic extracts of Achillea fragrantissima L. (Asteraceae) grown in Jordan were screened for their antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiplatelet, anti-proliferative and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition efficacy. Total phenols and flavonoids were determined colorimetrically. The radical scavenging activities were evaluated using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2’-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) radical scavenging activity assays. High performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLCMS) analysis resulted in the identification of 7 phenolic compounds in the hydro-alcoholic extract and 4 compounds in the aqueous extract; quercetin 3-β-D-glucoside was the main component for both extracts. Antimicrobial activities were determined by antimicrobial susceptibility testing such as agar well-diffusion method, minimum inhibition concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration. Gram positive bacteria showed sensitivity to hydro-alcoholic extract in the agar-well diffusion test. No significant activity was observed against gram negative bacteria and Candida albicans. Hydro-alcoholic extract had a bactericidal activity against Streptococcus pneumoniae and Bacillus cereus at high concentrations (MIC 12.5 mg/ml) rather than inhibitory effect. In vitro antiplatelet activity was tested on human whole blood using an electrical impedance method. At concentrations (50, 100, and 200 μg/ml), no effect on platelet aggregation was noticed. Anti-proliferative activity was investigated using the MTT assay. At concentrations up to 200 μg/ml, extracts did not possess cytotoxic activity against the MCF-7 cells. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory capacity of A. fragrantissima extracts was tested using TLC assay method, and neither aqueous, nor hydroalcoholic extracts showed AChE inhibition. The present investigation supported the traditional use of A. fragrantissima in the Jordanian folk medicine as an antimicrobial active representative of the genus Achillea. A. fragrantissima extracts should be further studied for their potential use in preventing/treating diseases in which oxidative stress is a part of the pathophysiology.

Keywords: Achillea fragrantissima; Asteraceae; Antioxidant Activity; Antiplatelet Activity; Cytotoxicity; Jordan

Cite this paper: Hammad, H. , Matar, S. , Litescu, S. , Abuhamdah, S. , Al-Jaber, H. and Afifi, F. (2014) Biological activities of the hydro-alcoholic and aqueous extracts of Achillea fragrantissima (Forssk.) grown in Jordan. Natural Science, 6, 23-30. doi: 10.4236/ns.2014.61005.

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