Assessment of free-radical scavenging activity of Gypsophila pilulifera: assay-guided isolation of verbascoside as the main active component

Gypsophila pilulifera, Boiss & Heldr, Caryophyllaceae, is a perennial medicinal herb that grows in the-southwestern region of Turkey. Except for only one report on the isolation-of cytotoxic. saponins from the underground parts of G. pilulifera, there are no published thorough phytochemical or bioactivity studies on this specie. In the present study; the free-radical Scavenging activity of extracts and fractions of the-stems of G. pilulifera was evaluated, using a. slightly modified and more-precise-version of the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DRPH) assay, :reported here for the first time. The DPPH assay-guided HPLC-PDA-purification of the active solid-phase extraction fraction (50% methanol in water) of the methanolic-extract exhibited verbascoside as the main free-radical Scavenger present in this species. The structure of this active compound was resolved by spectroscopy, and the free-radical scavenging potential of verbascoside was determined. (C) 2014 Sociedade Brasileira. de Farmacognosia. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved..