Phenolic Composition and Evaluation of Antioxidant and Cytoprotective Activity of Chiliadenus montanus

The antioxidant and cytoprotective activities of the hydroalcoholic extract of Chiliadenus montanus, widely used in Egyptian traditional medicine, were investigated. The antioxidant potential, determined using ORAC assay, revealed that Chiliadenus montanus extracts are active radical scavengers (ORAC value 1.720 mu mol TE/mg sample). Total phenolic content, measured by Folin-Ciocalteau, was 107.4 mg galic acid/g sample. HPLC and HPLC-MS analysis allowed individual polyphenolic compounds to be identified. Furthermore, the cytoprotective effect of Chiliadenus montanus hydroalcoholic extracts was analyzed in an in vitro oxidative stress model employing H2O2 as an oxidant inductor and the human astrocytoma U373-MG cell line as cell model. The results obtained showed that Chiliadenus montanus hydroalcoholic extracts exert a protective action by decreasing cell death and by inhibiting intracellular ROS production, suggesting that these polyphenol-enriched extracts may be useful for those oxidative stress-related neurodegenerative diseases.