Abstract:
In this study, the ethyl acetate extract of two Linum species, L. numidicum Murb. (EAELN)
and L. trigynum L. (EAELT) and the vacuum liquid chromatography (VLC) fractions of nBuOH extract of L. numidicum Murb. (BELN) were examined, for the first time, for their
antioxidant, anticholinesterase and anticancer capacity. The composition of secondary
metabolites was analyzed by LC-HRMS/MS.
The antioxidant effects of EAELN and EAELT were evaluated in vitro by several
complementary methods (DPPH, ABTS, CUPRAC, phenanthroline, and galvinoxyl radical
scavenging). The anticholinesterase activity was determined by measuring the enzymatic
activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE). The
antiproliferative effect of EAELN, EAELT and VLC fractions against PC3 and MDA-MB-
231 lines was evaluated by MTT assay. Apoptosis of PC3 cells was detected by annexin VFITC/PI staining, cell cycle was determined using a detection kit (PI/ RNase), and cell DNA
content was quantified using a flow cytometer.
The antioxidant activity results showed for the first time that both EAELN and EAELT
exert antioxidant activity. EAELN showed better activity compared to EAELT, this could be
explained by its richness in polyphenols and flavonoids which were identified by LCHRMS/MS. However; EAELN and EAELT showed low anticholinesterase activity compared
to the galantamine standard. EAELN and EAELT exerted anticancer activity by inducing
apoptosis and blocking the cell cycle. EAELN showed the highest antiproliferative and
apoptotic activities against the tested lines. The most active VLC fractions (F1 and F6) of
BELN exerted anticancer activity by inhibiting cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis. The
LC-HRMS/MS profile of the extracts revealed the presence of known compounds that could
be responsible for the observed antioxidant and anticancer activities.
