5.

GC-MS Analysis of the Dichloromethane Extract of the Bulbs of Ornithogalum cuspidatum Bert. (Family: Liliaceae) from Iran

Ehsan Nazifi, Abbas Delazar, Ali Movafeghi, Salar Hemmati, Hossein Nazemiyeh, Lutfun Nahar and Satyajit D. Sarker

1 School of Pharmacy and Drug Applied Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

2 Department of Plant Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

3 Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Biomedical Sciences,

University of Ulster, Cromore Road, Coleraine BT52 1SA, Co. Londonderry, Northern Ireland, UK

Abstract: The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of the vacuum liquid chromatographic (VLC) fractions of the dichloromethane (DCM) extract of the bulbs of Ornithogalum cuspidatum, a native perennial of Iran , Iraq and Turkey , led to the identification of a number of steroidal compounds. The free radical scavenging activity of the DCM extract was assessed by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) assay, and found to be much weaker (RC 50 = 0.5197 mg/mL) than that of the positive control Trolox ® (RC 50 = 3.07 x 10 -3 mg/mL).

Keywords: Ornithogalum cuspidatum ; Liliaceae; steroids; GC-MS; Antioxidant capacity; DPPH