Antioxidant Activity and DNA Damage Protective Effect of Essential Oil from Rubia cordifolia

Abstract:

The antioxidant activity and DNA damage protective effect of the essential oil from the roots of Rubia cordifolia（REO） by hydrodistillation were studied. Five different antioxidant systems，evaluated by DPPH radical method，?OH and O2-? scavenging activity，reducing power assay and the FRAP assay were employed in order to evaluate the antioxidant activities of the essential oil as compared with natural and synthetic antioxidants. The DNA damage protective activity of essential oil was evaluated by pBR322 plasmid induced by ?OH radicals. The results revealed that the oil exhibited varying degrees of efficacy in each assay and a dose-dependent free-radical-scavenging activity against DPPH radical，superoxide anions and hydroxyl radical，as well as the oil exerted more potent radical scavenging activity against DPPH and ?OH radicals than that against O2-?radical. The essential oil exhibited significant protective activity against ?OH radical induced DNA damage. The mechanism may be originated from the superior ability of essential oil to scavenge ?OH radicals.