%0 Journal Article
%T Insights into free radicals scavenging, α-Amylase inhibition, cytotoxic and antifibrotic activities unveiled by Peganum harmala extracts.
%A Jaradat N
%A Hawash M
%A Sharifi-Rad M
%A Shakhshir A
%A Sobuh S
%A Hussein F
%A Issa L
%A Hamamrhe S
%A Al-Sheikh E
%A Ibrahim AN
%J BMC Complement Med Ther
%V 24
%N 1
%D 2024 Aug 12
%M 39135016
%F 2.838
%R 10.1186/s12906-024-04602-2
%X <B>BACKGROUND: </B>Peganum harmala L. is used in traditional medicine to treat several health ailments. Hence, the present work aimed to investigate the DPPH free radical scavenging, α-amylase, cytotoxic, and antifibrotic effects of the hydrophilic extract and fixed oil obtained from P. harmala seeds.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>The hydrophilic extract and fixed oil of P. harmala were assessed for their abilities to scavenge DPPH free radicals and inhibit α-amylase using reference bioassays. The cytotoxicity was assessed on several cancer and normal cell lines, including B16F1, Caco-2, COLO205, HeLa, Hep 3B and Hep G2, MCF-7, and HEK-293 T cells. The MTS assay was used to evaluate the antifibrotic capabilities utilizing the human hepatic stellate (LX-2) cell line.<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>P. harmala plant fixed oil has potent DPPH free radical scavenging activity with an IC50 dose of 79.43 ± 0.08 µg/ml. Besides, the hydrophilic extract has a poor anti-α-amylase effect compared with the antidiabetic drug Acarbose, with IC50 doses of 398 ± 0.59 and 25.11 ± 1.22 µg/ml, respectively. In addition, the growth of MCF-7, Hep3B, HepG2, HeLa, COLO205, CaCo2, B16F1, and HeK293t was inhibited by P. harmala hydrophilic extract with IC50 doses of 121.34 ± 1.71, 268.3 ± 0.75, 297.20 ± 1.00, 155.60 ± 1.14, 150.01 ± 0.51, 308.35 ± 0.53, 597.93 ± 1.36, and 5.38 ± 0.99 µg/ml, respectively. In addition, at 1000 µg/ml, 5-Fluorouracil reduced fibrosis cells by 0.089%, while the hydrophilic extract decreased the number of LX-2 cells by 5.81%.<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>P. harmala plant-fixed oil exhibits potential antioxidant properties. While the hydrophilic extract showed limited effectiveness as an anti-α-amylase agent and demonstrated notable cytotoxic effects against various tested cancer cell lines. Furthermore, this extract significantly reduces the number of LX-2 fibrotic cells. These findings emphasize the therapeutic potential of these products in managing various health disorders and warrant further investigation into their mechanisms of action and clinical applications.