Evaluation of biopotentials of Xeranthemum annuum and Bombycilaena discolor

The use of synthetic substances in the treatment of diseases has been increasinglycausing new health problems. As known, there is a relationship between the increasingprevalence of cancer, diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases in the society and the amountof synthetic substance exposed. Due to this reason, the tendency towards natural herbalproducts has increased especially in drug development studies. In the current study, theantioxidant and enzyme activities of water extracts obtained from two Asteraceae speciesXeranthemum annuum and Bombycilaena discolor were investigated. Firstly, the totalphenolic and flavonoid contents of the samples were detected. After that, antioxidant activitywere evaluated by the methods ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging activities, metalchelation, phosphomolybdate test, iron and copper ions reduction activities. Enzymeinhibition activities were also determined for acetylcholine and butyrylcholine esterase,tyrosinase, amylase and glucosidase enzymes. As a result, Xeranthemum annuum extract,which had the highest total phenolic and flavonoid content, generally showed higherantioxidant activity compared to Bombycilaena discolor which exhibited higher enzymeinhibition activity for all enzymes except glucosidase. In conclusion, the data obtained fromthis study have shown that water extracts of both studied species could be a good source in thepharmaceutical field in terms of their phytochemical composition and biological activities.