Research Article

The Preliminary Study on Phytochemical Profile and Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Activities of Harmal (Peganum harmala L.)

Volume: 9 Number: 1 June 30, 2025
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The Preliminary Study on Phytochemical Profile and Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Activities of Harmal (Peganum harmala L.)

Abstract

Harmal (Peganum harmala L.) is a perennial plant that has come to the fore with its medicinal use since ancient times. In this study, the phytochemical profile of the methanol extract of harmal was characterized by HPLC and total phenolic and flavonoid amounts were determined by spectrophotometric methods. Additionally, antioxidant and cytotoxic (HT-29 (human colon cancer line), HeLa (human cervical cancer line), and HEK-293 (human embryonic kidney 293)) activities were investigated. Among 20 different phytochemical compounds screened, the presence of catechin (2.65±0.01 mg/g), coumarin (0.96±0.01 mg/g), ascorbic acid (0.91±0.02 mg/g), protocatechuic acid (0.85±0.01 mg/g), gallic acid (0.60±0.01 mg/g), hesperidin (0.24±0.01 mg/g), ferulic acid (0.06±0.01 mg/g), rutin (0.04±0.01 mg/g), and trans-cinnamic acid (0.03±0.01 mg/g) were detected. Total phenolic amount was found as 63.80±0.13 µg GAE/mg extract and total flavonoid amount was found as 13.50±0.36 µg QE/mg extract. Harmal methanol extract showed varying degrees of antioxidant activity in ABTS•+ (IC50: 353.67±1.10 µg/mL), DPPH• (17.54±0.45%), CUPRAC (absorbance: 0.41±0.02), phosphomolybdenum (A0.50: 99.11±0.02 µg/mL), and metal chelating (38.47±0.77%) assays. Harmal methanol extract was low cytotoxic active on HT-29 cell line (> 800 µg/mL) and near-positive control cytotoxic active on HeLa cell line (IC50: 45.84±0.95 μg/mL). These findings highlight harmal as a valuable reserve in the search for natural antioxidant and cytotoxic (on HeLa cell line) agents, especially with respect to the research focusing on possible pharmaceutical and food additive applications.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

There is no supporting institution in this study.

Ethical Statement

Ethics committee approval is not required for this study.

Thanks

None

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Plant Biochemistry

Journal Section

Research Article

Early Pub Date

May 26, 2025

Publication Date

June 30, 2025

Submission Date

December 26, 2024

Acceptance Date

April 22, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 9 Number: 1

APA
Deveci, E., Yılmaz Altınok, B., & Tel-çayan, G. (2025). The Preliminary Study on Phytochemical Profile and Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Activities of Harmal (Peganum harmala L.). Commagene Journal of Biology, 9(1), 71-79. https://doi.org/10.31594/commagene.1607811
AMA
1.Deveci E, Yılmaz Altınok B, Tel-çayan G. The Preliminary Study on Phytochemical Profile and Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Activities of Harmal (Peganum harmala L.). Comm. J. Biol. 2025;9(1):71-79. doi:10.31594/commagene.1607811
Chicago
Deveci, Ebru, Bahar Yılmaz Altınok, and Gülsen Tel-çayan. 2025. “The Preliminary Study on Phytochemical Profile and Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Activities of Harmal (Peganum Harmala L.)”. Commagene Journal of Biology 9 (1): 71-79. https://doi.org/10.31594/commagene.1607811.
EndNote
Deveci E, Yılmaz Altınok B, Tel-çayan G (June 1, 2025) The Preliminary Study on Phytochemical Profile and Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Activities of Harmal (Peganum harmala L.). Commagene Journal of Biology 9 1 71–79.
IEEE
[1]E. Deveci, B. Yılmaz Altınok, and G. Tel-çayan, “The Preliminary Study on Phytochemical Profile and Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Activities of Harmal (Peganum harmala L.)”, Comm. J. Biol., vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 71–79, June 2025, doi: 10.31594/commagene.1607811.
ISNAD
Deveci, Ebru - Yılmaz Altınok, Bahar - Tel-çayan, Gülsen. “The Preliminary Study on Phytochemical Profile and Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Activities of Harmal (Peganum Harmala L.)”. Commagene Journal of Biology 9/1 (June 1, 2025): 71-79. https://doi.org/10.31594/commagene.1607811.
JAMA
1.Deveci E, Yılmaz Altınok B, Tel-çayan G. The Preliminary Study on Phytochemical Profile and Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Activities of Harmal (Peganum harmala L.). Comm. J. Biol. 2025;9:71–79.
MLA
Deveci, Ebru, et al. “The Preliminary Study on Phytochemical Profile and Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Activities of Harmal (Peganum Harmala L.)”. Commagene Journal of Biology, vol. 9, no. 1, June 2025, pp. 71-79, doi:10.31594/commagene.1607811.
Vancouver
1.Ebru Deveci, Bahar Yılmaz Altınok, Gülsen Tel-çayan. The Preliminary Study on Phytochemical Profile and Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Activities of Harmal (Peganum harmala L.). Comm. J. Biol. 2025 Jun. 1;9(1):71-9. doi:10.31594/commagene.1607811