Phytochemical Components, Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Activities of Mulberry Mistletoe (Loranthus parasiticus Merr) Leaves Extracts

Abstract

Herein, we investigated the effects of solvents on the phytochemical components, antioxidant activities, and cytotoxicity of Mulberry mistletoe leaves. An FT-IR method was performed to identify the essential functional groups of crude powder. Total phenolic compounds, ascorbic acid content, and total flavonoids content were measured. Further, in vitro antioxidant activities were performed using different assays including 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical-scavenging activity, ferrous ion-chelating activities, reducing power, total antioxidant capacity. The cytotoxicity of each extract was tested using the MDCK cell line. The results showed that different solvents showed a significant difference in phytochemical contents, antioxidant activities, as well as cytotoxicity. We found that pure water extraction had remarkably higher phytochemical values and greater antioxidant activities than pure ethanol or the water-ethanol system. In this sense, pure water may thus be considered a suitable solvent based on its acceptability for human consumption without toxicity, low cost and environmental friendliness.