Affiliations: Laboratório de Farmacognosia, Faculdade de
Farmácia and Centro de Estudos Farmacêuticos, Universidade de
Coimbra, 3000-295 Coimbra, Portugal | Laboratório de Bioquímica, Faculdade de
Farmácia, Universidade de Coimbra and Centro de Neurociências,
Universidade de Coimbra, 3000-295 Coimbra, Portugal
Note: [] Corresponding author: Teresa C.P. Dinis, Laboratório de
Bioquímica, Faculdade de Farmácia, Couraça dos
Apóstolos, 51, r/c, 3000-295 Coimbra, Portugal. Tel.: +351 239852562;
Fax: +351 239852569; E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Agrimonia eupatoria L. (agrimony) is a medicinal plant largely used
in traditional medicine. Recently, phytochemical studies on an agrimony
hydro-alcoholic extract and a polyphenol-enriched fraction obtained from it
were carried out. The fraction was found to possess a high concentration of
flavan-3-ols, flavonols, flavones and phenolic acids. So, the main purpose of
this study was to search out, the extract and fraction antioxidant potential
and scavenging activity against the reactive species formed during inflammation
and to establish a relationship between such activity and the phenolic
composition. Results showed that both the extract and the fraction promptly
reacted with DPPH denoting a general radical scavenger activity and a potential
antioxidant capacity. They also reacted with superoxide anion, peroxyl and
hydroxyl radicals as well as with the oxidant species, hydrogen peroxide,
hypochlorous acid and peroxynitrite, strengthening their radical scavenger and
antioxidant activities. In most assays, the polyphenol-enriched fraction was
more efficient, pointing to a significant contribution of the polyphenols
content to those activities. Our data suggest that the significant scavenging
capacity of reactive species by polyphenols from Agrimonia eupatoria L., could
be a mechanism of its anti-inflammatory activity.
