Phenolic Profile, EPR Determination, and Antiproliferative Activity against Human Cancer Cell Lines of Extracts.

In the current work, the leaf and flower extracts of were evaluated for their chemical characterization using HPLC-MS and for their radical scavenging capacity toward methoxy radicals produced by a Fenton-type reaction using an electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy assay. The in vitro antiproliferative activity of these extracts against several human-derived cancer cells (breast: MCF-7; cervical: HeLa; hepatocellular: HepG2) was also evaluated. The results showed that the leaf extract was characterized by 17 different phenolic compounds, among which phenolic acids were the most abundant, while its flower extract exhibited higher contents of flavonoids. Furthermore, extracts demonstrated a potent radical scavenging activity against methoxy radicals. Both extracts also significantly reduced the viability of the different cancer cell lines. The results of the current study suggested that extracts are a promising source of antioxidant compounds with health benefits and pointed to their potential use for treating cancer and developing novel therapeutic agents.