Antioxidant and Xanthine Oxidase Inhibition Activities of Cynomorium songaricum Extracts

In this study, we evaluated the antioxidant activities and xanthine oxidase inhibition effects of water and ethanol extracts of Cynomorium songaricum. The ethanol extract of C. songaricum (EE) contained more phenolic and flavonoid compounds than the water extract (WE). The antioxidant activities of the extracts were increased as the concentration of the extract increased. The WE has better effectiveness than the EE for DPPH free radical scavenging activity and nitrite scavenging ability. The nitrite scavenging abilities of WE were 90.02% (EC50 653.15 ㎍/mL) at conditions of pH 1.2 and 2,000 ㎍/mL, and 84.34% (EC50 817.17 ㎍/mL) at pH 3.0. The EE has more effective SOD-like activity and XO inhibition than WE. The SOD-like activity of EE was 81.47% at a concentration of 2,000 ㎍/mL, EC50 was 951.70 ㎍/mL. The xanthine oxidase inhibition of the EE, with an EC50 of 112.47 ㎍/mL, is greater than that of ascorbic acid, which was 192.50 ㎍/mL (p＜0.05). These results suggest that the C. songaricum is a potentially useful antioxidant source for the development of nutraceuticals and medicines.