EVALUATION OF ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY AND CYTOTOXICITY OF LINUM USITATISSIMUM SEEDS

Enas Ali Hassan Alkangar*¹, Elaf Badr Aldeen Osman², Maab Yosif Osman², Eman Adil khalifa², Shaima Amin Mohamed Ahmed²

ABSTRACT

Linum usitatissimum (Flax) is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. The main objectives of this study is to evaluate the antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity of Linum usitatissimum seeds and to identify the solvent of the highest capacity to extract it’s antioxidant and cytotoxic components among solvent used. In this study Linum usitatissimum seeds was extracted by maceration with petroleum ether, chloroform and ethanol 70%, those yielded 8.8, 2.3 and 11.1% respectively, all extracts were analyzed by thin layer chromatograhy. The antioxidant activity and Cytotoxicity of all extracts were evaluated using DPPH method and brine shrimp lethality bioassay respectively. Phytochemical screening and thin chromatographic analysis of Linum usitatissimum were exhibited the presence of reducing sugars, essential oils, anthraquinones, terpenoids, coumarins, alkaloids, flavonoids but saponins and cardiac glycosides exhibited with TLC only. Aquatic ethanol extract accompanied with high tannin content (1.35 mg tannic acid equivalent/mg of dry extract). Evaluation of antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity revealed that no extract was induced antioxidant activity while chloroform extract was shown to have high cytotoxicity (LC50=36.4 μg/ml) among tested extracts.

Keywords: Linum usitatissimum, Antioxidant, Cytotoxicity, Thin layer chromatography.