ASSESSMENT OF SOME BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES OF ALYSSUM L. KNOWN AS MADWORT

In this research the phenolic composition, and antioxidant, antibacterial and cytotoxic activities of the methanolic extracts obtained from three Alyssum L. taxa (A. foliosum var. megalocarpum, A. simplex and A. strigosum subsp. strigosum) were investigated for the first time. The antioxidant activity of the extracts was evaluated by DPPH, metal chelating, phosphomolybdenum, beta-carotene/linoleic acid and ferric reducing power assays. In addition, total phenolic and flavonoid contents in the extracts were determined. The brine shrimp lethality test was used to screen for possible cytotoxic activity of the extracts. Also, the extracts were evaluated for cytotoxicity against three human cancer cell lines; MCF-7, H1299 and HeLa. HPLC analysis showed that cinnamic acid, chlorogenic acid and rutin were the major phenolics in extracts tested. Among the three Alyssum extracts evaluated, the highest biological activities were obtained from A. simplex compared to other two Alyssum L. taxa. Based upon its name, future studies will be targeted at investigating which components can be caused neurorehabilitation in Alyssum.