Assessment of the Antioxidant Activity of Seed Extract and Its Protective Effect against DNA Oxidation, Protein Damage and Lipid Peroxidation.

Antioxidant properties of ethanol extract of (milk thistle) seeds was investigated. We have also investigated the protein damage activated by oxidative Fenton reaction and its prevention by seed extract. Antioxidant potential of seed ethanol extract was measured using different methods, such as lipid peroxidation, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing power assays. The extract significantly decreased DNA damage caused by hydroxyl radicals. Protein damage induced by hydroxyl radicals was also efficiently inhibited, which was confirmed by the presence of protein damage markers, such as protein carbonyl formation and by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The present study shows that milk thistle seeds have good DPPH free radical scavenging activity and can prevent lipid peroxidation. Therefore, can be used as potentially rich source of antioxidants and food preservatives. The results suggest that the seeds may have potential beneficial health effects providing opportunities to develop value-added products.